α-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential omega-3 acid, is known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and could help support cardiovascular health. Although perilla oil, which is widely consumed in South Korea, is composed of up to 70% ALA, its positive cardiovascular effects are underexplored. In a new study, researchers evaluate the effects of perilla oil supplementation on blood coagulation and inflammatory markers through a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial.

A recent study published in National Science Review has revealed global inequalities in lake water quality through the development of GlakeWQ, the first satellite–machine learning framework enabling consistent assessment across countries. Mapping 16,409 lakes in 145 countries, the framework shows that only about two-thirds of lakes meet sustainable water quality standards, leaving approximately 1.15 billion people exposed to potential water quality-related health risks and highlighting the urgent need for equitable freshwater management.

A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a novel AI framework, the Generalist–Specialist Collaboration (GSCo), which enables a generalist foundation model and specialist models to collaborate on disease diagnosis. GSCo outperforms both standalone models in tasks such as medical imaging, visual question answering, and radiology report generation, while significantly reducing development costs of medical models to adapt to new clinical tasks. This marks a meaningful step toward bringing AI medical models into everyday clinical workflows. The study, titled "Towards generalizable AI in medicine via Generalist–Specialist Collaboration," was published in the prestigious academic journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

A new Perspective in Science Bulletin argues that AI tools for intracranial aneurysm detection should be evaluated beyond test-set accuracy. The authors propose a four-stage pathway covering lesion-level validation, reader performance, prospective implementation and post-deployment surveillance to assess whether AI can deliver real clinical benefit.

The brain and body interact bidirectionally through complex neural, endocrine, immune, and metabolic pathways. Systemic diseases can affect brain structure and function, while brain disorders can influence peripheral organ systems. This review surveys recent neuroimaging studies that reveal disease-specific brain alterations across multiple systemic conditions, including cardiovascular, metabolic, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. We highlight common and distinct patterns of brain involvement and discuss the potential of imaging biomarkers for early diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. Advanced imaging techniques provide unprecedented insights into brain-body interactions in health and disease.

Muscle and bone, key tissues that maintain the body's structure and function, are closely connected both anatomically and physiologically. Growing evidence suggests that vascular dysfunction serves as a critical link between sarcopenia and osteoporosis. This review summarizes the structural and functional interactions between the musculoskeletal and vascular systems, examines shared mechanisms underlying sarcopenia and osteoporosis, and discusses potential therapeutic strategies targeting vascular health to mitigate both conditions. The crosstalk between muscle-derived and bone-derived factors, mediated by the vascular system, offers new insights for understanding and treating these age-related conditions.