Could finger length provide vital clue to understanding human brain evolution?
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-Jun-2026 17:16 ET (5-Jun-2026 21:16 GMT/UTC)
The evolution of the human species is marked by an increase in brain size and research suggests that could be partly dependent on increases in prenatal oestrogen. As individuals with high oestrogen relative to testosterone have long index fingers (2D) in relation to their ring fingers (4D), new research suggest this could be revealed by looking at the length of a person’s fingers.
To address the urgent need for advanced ocean health monitoring, a research team at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and MIT, led by Wyss Founding Core Faculty member James Collins, Ph.D. and Wyss Senior Scientist Peter Nguyen, Ph.D., has developed an inexpensive, laboratory-free and CRISPR-based approach to be used by many to rapidly quantify marine species and their physiological states on-site. Housed in highly portable, easy-to-handle device, the biosensing platform has potential to enable the prediction of outbreaks in marine communities, and routine monitoring of critically threatened species.
New research suggests the liver plays a previously unrecognized role in bone health, but only in males.
A McGill University-led study published in Matrix Biology found that a protein made in the liver helps regulate bone growth in male mice, but not in females. The findings may help explain why men with liver disease are more likely to experience bone loss.
An analysis of national U.S. health and diet data found a strong link between ultra-processed food consumption and cardiovascular disease. Adults whose diets were highest in ultra-processed foods—like sodas, packaged snacks, and processed meats—had a 47% higher risk of heart attack or stroke than those who ate the least, even after adjusting for other factors. The findings underscore ultra-processed foods as a major, preventable driver of heart disease and a pressing public health concern.
Korea University College of Medicine recently hosted a special lecture by Professor Adelheid Wöhrer from the Institute of Neuropathology and Neuro-Molecular Pathology at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria.
A peer reviewed, randomized controlled study with 199 women living in poverty in the city slums of Uganda was published today in Health Care for Women International. This study was conducted following two extended country-wide lockdowns in Uganda during the Covid 19 pandemic. Researchers found that the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) technique reduced perceived stress, anger, and fatigue; increased self-efficacy; and improved sleep quality. TM helped these women to improve their mental and physical health and positively impacted their ability to cope in this crisis.
For decades, gynecological tests have relied on a simplified view of the vaginal microbiome, categorizing bacteria as either “good” or “bad.” New research from University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists challenges that assumption, revealing that bacteria of the same species can behave in fundamentally different ways, with important implications for women’s health.