Desert lizards are facing a ‘cost-of-living’ squeeze as global temperatures continue to rise, a new study finds. 

Male adolescents and young adults with cancer have a slightly elevated risk of having preterm birth and children with low birth weight, but no increased risk of birth defects in their offspring, according to research by UTHealth Houston. The population-based study was recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This paper to be published in Science reveals a surprising new role for immune cells in regulating blood sugar.

Key Findings: Immune cells migrate from the intestine to the pancreas during periods of low energy, like intermittent fasting or exercise.

This migration triggers glucagon release, helping to stabilise blood sugar levels.

These results uncover a remarkable, previously unknown “three-way conversation” between the nervous, immune, and hormonal systems.

Why it matters:

Shows that the immune system not only fights infections but also actively maintains metabolic balance, enabling the body to handle fasting and intense exercise more efficiently.

Opens doors to new therapies targeting diabetes, obesity, and even cancer, since some cancers hijack metabolic pathways—including glucagon—to fuel their growth.

Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and McLean Hospital have discovered a surprising mechanism by which the inherited genetic mutation known to cause Huntington’s disease leads to the death of brain cells. The findings change the understanding of the fatal neurodegenerative disorder and suggest potential ways to delay or even prevent it. For 30 years, researchers have known that Huntington’s is caused by an inherited mutation in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene, but they didn’t know how the mutation causes brain cell death. A new study published today in Cell reveals that the inherited mutation doesn’t itself harm cells. Rather, the mutation is innocuous for decades but slowly morphs into a highly toxic form that then quickly kills the cell.