EurekAlert! National Institutes of Health

Latest news releases from NIH-funded organizations

Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 11-Sep-2025 07:11 ET (11-Sep-2025 11:11 GMT/UTC)

6-Aug-2025

Sweet disguise: body hides RNA with sugar

University of Connecticut
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To our immune system, naked RNA is a sign of a viral or bacterial invasion and must be attacked. But our own cells also have RNA. To ward off trouble, our cells clothe their RNA in sugars, Vijay Rathinam and colleagues in the UConn School of Medicine and Ryan Flynn at Boston Children’s Hospital report on Aug. 6 in Nature.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Rita Allen Foundation, Sontag Foundation, Scleroderma Research Foundation, NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

6-Aug-2025

Centuries after discovery, red blood cells still hold surprises

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that red blood cells, not just platelets, actively contribute to the contraction of blood clots. This finding challenges long-standing assumptions about clot biology and could lead to new ways of diagnosing and treating clotting disorders, strokes and conditions like thrombocytopenia, where platelet counts are dangerously low.

Journal: Blood Advances
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association

6-Aug-2025

UC Irvine researchers find combination of natural compounds for brain cleaning

University of California - Irvine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A form of vitamin B3 and an antioxidant found in green tea help brain cells eliminate damaged bits and boost energy levels.

Compounds reduce protein plaques linked to Alzheimer’s disease in aging brains.

The National Institutes of Health and the UC Irvine Foundation funded the project

Journal: GeroScience
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

6-Aug-2025

Nonmedical use of prescription ADHD drugs among teens has dropped

University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Despite concerns about increased stimulant prescribing, nonmedical use of ADHD drugs among adolescents has declined in the last 20 years, a University of Michigan study shows.

While medical use of prescription stimulants for ADHD among adolescents increased slightly between 2005 and 2023, nonmedical use declined more.

"Lifetime medical use was 2% lower in 2005 when compared to nonmedical use, and is now 2% higher," said study co-author Philip Veliz, U-M research associate professor at the U-M School of Nursing and Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health

Journal: JAMA
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

6-Aug-2025

Could lithium explain — and treat — Alzheimer’s disease?

Harvard Medical School
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Study shows for the first time that lithium plays an essential role in normal brain function and can confer resistance to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease. The findings — 10 years in the making — unify decades-long observations in patients, providing a new theory of the disease and a new strategy for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Conclusions are based on a series of experiments in mice and on analyses of human brain tissue and blood samples from individuals in various stages of cognitive health.

Journal: Nature
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Aging, Ludwig Family Foundation, Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, Aging Mind Foundation