University of Arizona and CNIC researchers find that the cell’s tiny power plants plug directly into the nucleus — like docking a charger — to fuel the genes that build hearts, brains and bodies

A new Northwestern University study has found one in three middle-aged American adults ages 35 to 64 cannot consistently read prescription instructions correctly, understand medical forms or recall details from doctor visits involving chronic condition diagnoses. These skills — often referred to as health literacy — are critical for managing common conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which commonly emerge in midlife.

The study author said, “This work is not about pointing out what people can't do, but rather, can we confuse patients less?” 

While previous research has found more than half of adults 65 and older have a difficult time engaging with the health care system, this is the first study to focus on middle-aged adults. 

The race to complete the human pangenome — which comprises all genetic information across the human species — has been underway since 2022, when the first complete reference human genome sequence was released by the international Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium. Now, a team led by scientists at the Research Organization of Information and Systems has made a significant contribution to a more complete understanding of human genetics with 20 near-complete variant groups located in disease- and immune-related regions from 10 Japanese males.