Uplifting health stories from trusted sources
Easter is here and chocolate is everywhere—crowding shop shelves, piling up on desks, and likely already sitting in your pantry.
A new daily pill to help with weight loss has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it moved through review faster than most drugs in recent years.
Neuroscientists at University of Iowa Health Care have demonstrated for the first time that noninvasive brain stimulation can alter the activity of a critical deep brain region involved in emotion and memory. Moreover, the study shows that personalizing the stimulation site using a patient's unique brain connectivity pathway can increase the neuromodulation effect.
New findings from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), published in Pharmacological Research, show that an innovative drug effectively prevents prostate tumors from spreading to an advanced and incurable stage in the bones. The targeted small molecule inhibitor, IVMT-Rx-4, also enhances standard-of-care chemotherapy treatment for the disease, offering significant potential for a paradigm shift in the treatment of metastatic tumors.
A new study from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity shows that seasonal influenza vaccination does more than protect against viruses circulating that year; it can also prime the immune system to respond to future strains, including some that emerge decades later. Researchers analyzed blood samples collected in 1994 from adults that had been recently vaccinated against influenza to track how their immune responses fared against influenza strains that circulated over the next 30 years, including influenza A (H1N1, H3N2) and influenza B.
Melbourne researchers have led the world's largest study confirming most patients labeled allergic to penicillin are not truly allergic. The study, described as a "game changer" by lead author Professor Jason Trubiano, demonstrates for the first time that penicillin allergy testing can be safely delivered at scale as part of routine hospital care worldwide. About 1 in 10 hospital patients are recorded as having an allergy to penicillin, limiting their options for antibiotic treatments.
New research led by Gregory Pearson, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences, reveals that the brain's immune defenses operate on a daily schedule, a finding with potential implications for how we think about respiratory infections and their neurological consequences.
A key cancer-fighting gene in leukemia is switched off—not broken—and scientists from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) have found a way to switch it back on. In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, the team reveals not only a potential new way to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) without harsh chemotherapy, but also a promising strategy to study more gene-silencing mechanisms in other diseases.
In recent decades, the zebrafish has become one of the most valuable model organisms in scientific research. For a variety of reasons, including their genetic similarities to humans, these tiny tropical fish have helped researchers unlock secrets to diseases ranging from muscular dystrophy to melanoma. Now, Yale researchers are hoping the zebrafish will do the same for autism spectrum disorder.
A scientific dispute spanning six decades about fundamental mechanisms of visual perception in mammals has now been settled. Researchers at TUM have succeeded in observing the visual information flow from neuron to neuron. Their findings confirm the validity of the 1981 Nobel Prize-winning model by David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel, which had remained controversial in some aspects.
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center have found that adults aged 80 and older with early-stage lung cancer can safely undergo surgery and achieve outcomes comparable to younger patients, challenging longstanding assumptions about age and cancer treatment.
The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Different parts of the brain perform a variety of functions, all of which are necessary for it to operate in one way or another. These functions are carried out by neurons, which communicate with one another in intricate ways. There are many different subtypes of neurons, which differ from each other in gene expression, cell structure, and function.
The Bowelbabe fund, set up by Dame Deborah James in 2022, helps to support Cancer Research UK.
Researchers have demonstrated a new class of low-cost, scalable sensors that can be used to monitor electrical activity in human cerebral organoids. Because electrical signals are key to understanding brain function, this advancement facilitates research into both neurodevelopment and genetic disorders such as Angelman syndrome.
A team of scientists from the University of the Sunshine Coast and around the world has developed a promising way to reduce the risks from biodegradable medical implants. Scientists from UniSC's Center for Bioinnovation and advanced materials and manufacturing scientists from the School of Science, Technology and Engineering collaborated with Foshan's First People's Hospital in China and the University of Tokyo to develop a new coating for medical magnesium implants.