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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 25-Oct-2026 20:16 ET (26-Oct-2026 00:16 GMT/UTC)

UMBC researcher to build on HIV drug side effect research with new NIAID grant to improve HIV prevention drugs

University of Maryland Baltimore County
Grant and Award Announcement

A new high-risk, high-reward NIAID grant to UMBC chemist Herana Kamal Seneviratne aims to strengthen HIV prevention by explaining why PrEP protects some people more effectively than others. Building on his group’s prior research into the negative side effects of HIV drugs—especially on the brain—the project will examine how the key PrEP medications tenofovir and emtricitabine are activated in colon tissue, a critical site for transmission. The findings could support better dosing and more consistent protection.

UH receives $2.8 million NIH grant to test remote parenting program’s impact on premature infant mental health

University of Houston
Grant and Award Announcement

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awards $2.8 million to the University of Houston to lead the first clinical trial evaluating the remotely delivered PALS parenting program to support healthy brain development in infants born preterm.

Suicide deaths in South Korea could shift toward older, never-married, tertiary-educated men

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Anew study involving Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), based on administrative data from South Korea, projects that as higher education and lifelong singlehood become more common, the composition of older-age suicide deaths may shift toward never-married men with tertiary education. This does not mean that tertiary-educated individuals face higher suicide risks: their suicide rates remain lower than those of less educated groups. Rather, the projected shift is driven by population composition. As tertiary education becomes the norm among younger generations, the growing size of this group could lead to a higher absolute number of suicide deaths among tertiary-educated, never-married men.

Journal: BMJ Public Health
Funder: British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants, Beatriu de PInós, European Research Council

Research study investigates how maternal viral infections shape lifelong immune health in offspring

Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research
Grant and Award Announcement

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a new, five-year $2.4 million R01 grant to Dr. Jiahui Ding, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, to support research that aims to uncover how viral infections during pregnancy reprogram the developing immune system of the fetus, influencing susceptibility to infectious diseases throughout life.

LA wildfires had lasting mental health impacts for the most vulnerable residents

University of Southern California
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Almost one year after the fires, elevated levels of anxiety and depression were concentrated among Angelenos who already faced social and economic hardship.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Like a molecular shrink ray: AI tool redesigns proteins without sacrificing function

Duke University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine have developed an artificial intelligence framework that can redesign proteins on a scale previously seen only in natural evolution. The tool can create shorter, longer, and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving their structure and function.

Journal: Nature

Finding order in the inner chaos of our cells

WashU Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

WashU Medicine researchers have developed a system to synthesize proteins that have a constantly shifting shape. The innovation creates new opportunities to understand the basis of disease and design potential medical interventions.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Human Frontier Science Program, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Syracuse University

Global burden of elevated LDL-C

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About the Study: What is the global disease burden attributable to elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)? In 2023, high LDL-C caused 3.6 million deaths (6.0% of all deaths) and 90.7 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (3.2% of total DALYs). Despite declines of 45.6% in age-standardized mortality rates and 39.5% in DALY rates, the absolute LDL-C–related burden increased by 38.5% from 1990 to 2023, driven by population growth and aging, with notable regional disparities shifting toward middle-sociodemographic settings. Strategic approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat elevated LDL-C across populations globally are needed.

Journal: JAMA

Health care utilization profiles in young Ukrainian refugee children

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About the Study: What distinct latent profiles of short-term health care needs were identified among Ukrainian refugee children, aged 5 years and under, who used the health care system in Southern Poland in 2022? This cohort study identified 5 distinct health care utilization profiles among 9845 Ukrainian refugee children, ranging from low-intensity primary care to intensive hospital and emergency use, with earlier health care system entry among children requiring hospitalization for infectious diseases or emergency care for injuries. These findings suggest that refugee-hosting countries must be prepared to rapidly adapt health care resources, prioritizing emergency and inpatient care in the initial months following a crisis.

Journal: JAMA Network Open