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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-May-2026 07:16 ET (31-May-2026 11:16 GMT/UTC)

Work hard, play hard?

Flinders University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As Australians return to work after the holidays, many will be reflecting on their health and wellbeing goals for the year ahead. New research reveals that while workplace factors like long hours, work-related stress and shift work do influence high-risk drinking, personal and social factors play an even bigger role.

Journal: Drug and Alcohol Review
Funder: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Changes in genetic structure of yeast lead to disease-causing genomic instabilities

The University of Osaka
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team at The University of Osaka revealed that the loss of heterochromatin can cause a chain reaction leading to genetic changes and the subsequent development of diseases including cancer. Using fission yeast, the study specifically found that loss of Clr4, which encodes a methyltransferase, can induce an increase in R-loop levels at pericentromeric repeats, and the later conversion of R-loops into ADR-loops can prompt gross chromosomal rearrangements.

Journal: Nucleic Acids Research
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Uehara Memorial Foundation, Takeda Science Foundation

The Lancet: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy decreased over time, though mistrust persists among certain groups, study of over 1 million people in England suggests

The Lancet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Findings reveal a general decline in vaccine hesitancy during the 15 months following the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in 2021-2022, with almost two-thirds of those initially hesitant going on to receive one or more COVID-19 vaccinations.

The most common reasons for original COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were concerns around vaccine effectiveness and side effects. But people who cited these reasons for hesitancy were more likely to change their minds and subsequently get vaccinated.

In contrast, participants who reported being hesitant because of a generalised anti-vaccine sentiment, a mistrust of vaccine developers, or having a low perceived risk from COVID-19 remained more reluctant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The authors say that public health officials and policymakers need to recognise that certain types of vaccine hesitancy are highly context-specific and may be more readily addressed, while others are more resistant to change.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: National Institute for Health Research, Department of Health and Social Care

Psychosis patients ‘living in metaphor’ -- new study radically shifts ideas about delusions

University of Birmingham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People experiencing delusions during an episode of psychosis may be ‘living out’ a deeply held emotion, according to new research that provides a ‘radically different perspective’ on one of the most puzzling elements of psychosis.

Journal: The Lancet Psychiatry

UC San Diego Health Sciences Grant Writing Course helps launch successful research careers

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

According to a new study, 79% of participants in the UC San Diego Health Sciences Grant Writing Course have received grant funding for their research since taking the course, which emphasizes peer review and collaboration.

Journal: Academic Medicine

Getting a grip on aging

University of California - Riverside
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study suggests that a little-known region deep in the brain could be crucial for preserving physical strength as we age. The findings could help detect and prevent frailty before it begins.

Journal: Frontiers in Neuroscience

One genetic map could rewrite how we understand mental health

Texas A&M University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A massive study with over 6 million participants reveals genetic clusters behind 14 psychiatric disorders, opening the door to better diagnoses and treatments.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Autism Speaks, Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, European Research Council, Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Research Council of Norway, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease, European Union Horizon 2020, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Study links burn pit smoke exposure to increased lung particle burden in post-9/11 veterans

National Jewish Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at National Jewish Health provides quantitative evidence linking burn pit smoke exposure during military deployment to increases in harmful carbon-based particles in the lungs of post-9/11 veterans with distal lung disease.

Journal: Scientific Reports

New publication details journey of the molecule behind male birth control pill

University of Minnesota
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A newly published manuscript authored by Dr. Gunda Georg, YourChoice Therapeutics and Columbia University Medical Center describes the chemical journey of YCT-529, a non-hormonal male birth control pill, and the promising molecular science behind it. The Journal of Medicinal Chemistry plans to feature the paper as a supplementary cover. Researchers are currently studying YCT-529 in a phase 2a human study.

Journal: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry