Health

More than 35,000 men in the United States die from prostate cancer each year. Now, a new study reveals the immune cell weaponry we might use to save lives.

A rise of high-tech recovery culture is underway. As sports science becomes increasingly accessible, we're seeing a trickle-down effect from elite athletes to weekend warriors, and even recreational exercisers, who are exploring ways to biohack better health and speed up recovery.

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the brain's memory center team up in a key reward region to help mice—and likely humans—combine memories of places and contexts with the drive to pursue rewards. The findings offer fresh insight into how the brain integrates information about "where" and "what feels good" to guide everyday decisions, such as heading to a favorite restaurant to meet friends or seeking out rewarding experiences. Specifically, this discovery, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, shows that inputs from the dorsal and ventral hippocampus converge on the same individual neurons in another brain region, the nucleus accumbens, where they interact in ways that amplify each other's effects.

Scientists have long known that our skin is home to vast communities of bacteria, fungi and viruses. But knowing which microbes are present only tells part of the story. What matters just as much is which microbes are active, what genes they switch on, and how they interact with one another on the skin.

Suburban areas often struggle with a first- and last-mile mobility problem, where residents have difficulty reaching the nearest public transport hub from their homes. Demand-responsive transport (DRT) has emerged as a flexible solution, yet the potential health benefits of combining DRT with existing public transport networks have yet to be assessed.

Statistics show clear differences in the population's immune system according to sex: men are more susceptible to infections and cancers, while women have stronger immune responses, which translate, for example, into better responses to vaccines. Even so, with a more reactive immune system, the probability of the body attacking itself also increases, causing 80% of autoimmune disease development to occur in women.

For decades, "mental well-being" has been one of the most used, but least agreed upon, terms in mental health. Now, a landmark study led by Adelaide University and Be Well Co has brought alignment to one of mental health's most fundamental questions—what does it actually mean to be well?

Animal behavior reflects a complex interplay between an animal's brain and its sensory surroundings. Only rarely have scientists been able to discern how actions emerge from this interaction. A new study in Nature Neuroscience by researchers in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT offers one example by revealing how circuits of neurons within C. elegans nematode worms respond to odors and generate movement as they pursue smells they like and evade ones they don't.

It can be estimated theoretically that more unique biological interactions exist than stars in our known universe. The biological foundations of life are built on an unimaginably vast network of interactions, where molecules, cells, systems and organisms are constantly colliding.

Paula Vanderpluym's smartwatch may look like a small part of her wardrobe, but to a team of researchers in Toronto, it represents something bigger: the potential to proactively care for people living with heart failure. A new study led by researchers at University Health Network and the University of Toronto shows that data from a consumer smartwatch can detect early signs of worsening heart failure—days to weeks before unplanned medical care is needed.

Mount Sinai researchers have created an analytic tool using machine learning that can predict cardiovascular disease risk in millions of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder, according to findings recently published in Communications Medicine. The team said their study is the first to provide estimates of whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a widely used therapy for obstructive sleep apnea, will increase or decrease an individual's cardiovascular risk. It highlights the potential for precision medicine and varied approaches to tailor clinical care and reduce cardiovascular disease risk in vulnerable patients.

A new Yale School of Medicine (YSM) study has uncovered surprising new details about how our eyes process what we see. When we look at something, our visual system breaks down different aspects of the scene—such as color, contrast, and motion—and processes those components separately. It's called parallel visual processing and it's what allows our brains to work out what we're seeing so quickly.

By conducting the world's first randomized clinical trial, researchers have demonstrated that while overall survival rates remained comparable in this initial phase, TEE-guided precision CPR enhances end-tidal CO2 levels (indicating better CPR quality and forward blood flow), transforming traditional "blind" compressions into a data-driven science. This research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, paves the way for individually customized resuscitation, challenging global standards to maximize survival for millions worldwide.

Researchers have discovered that a mutation of the MDGA1 gene, a key factor modulating the connections and characteristics between nerve cells, serves as a new cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and suggested the possibility of a drug to treat the disorder. This study holds great significance, as it provides biological clues on why autism is more frequent among men than among women. The findings are published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

A research team led by Professor Jiwon Um from the Center for Synapse Diversity and Specificity at DGIST has discovered a mechanism by which somatostatin, a brain neurotransmitter, directly regulates brain immune cells to alleviate Alzheimer's disease. This study is expected to provide a strong foundation for repurposing existing medications for dementia treatment by shifting brain immune cells that worsen the condition into a "protective mode." The research is published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.