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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-May-2026 18:15 ET (30-May-2026 22:15 GMT/UTC)

Higher consumption of food preservatives is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes

INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Higher consumption of food preservatives, widely used in industrially processed foods and beverages to extend their shelf life, has been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. These findings are the result of work carried out by researchers from Inserm, INRAE, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Paris Cité University and Cnam, within the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (CRESS-EREN). They are based on health and dietary data from more than 100,000 adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study, and published in the journal Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

NTU Singapore-led team captures first-ever ‘twitch’ of the eye’s night-vision cells as they detect light, paving the way for earlier detection of blindness-causing diseases

Nanyang Technological University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore have, for the first time, recorded a tiny mechanical “twitch” in rod photoreceptors in living human and animal eyes at the moment they detect light. The finding reveals a fundamental mechanism underlying night vision and could enable new, non-invasive ways to assess retinal health. Rod cells are essential for low-light vision and are often the first affected in age-related retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, which affects an estimated 200 million people worldwide. Current clinical tests for rod function are limited and often subjective. The new approach could lead to objective tools to assess night vision, monitor decline over time and support earlier medical intervention, with further clinical studies planned in Singapore.

Funder: National Medical Research Council, Ministry of Education - Singapore

Blood test reveals risk of multimorbidity

Karolinska Institutet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A small set of common blood biomarkers predicts which older adults will develop specific combinations of chronic diseases – and how quickly, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Medicine reports.

Journal: Nature Medicine

Exposure to natural light improves metabolic health

Université de Genève
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Metabolic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in our society, driven by a sedentary lifestyle coupled with circadian misalignment - a desynchrony between our intrinsic biological clocks and environmental signals. Furthermore, we spend almost 90% of our time indoors, with a very limited exposure to natural daylight. To investigate the specific role of daylight in human metabolism, particularly in glycaemic control, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), Maastricht University, and the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) conducted a controlled study with thirteen volunteers with type 2 diabetes. When exposed to natural light, participants exhibited more stable blood glucose levels and an overall improvement in their metabolic profile. These results, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, provide the first evidence of the beneficial impact of natural light on people with type 2 diabetes.

Journal: Cell Metabolism

From sediment to surface: How invisible plumes trigger harmful algal blooms

Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Harmful algal blooms pose growing risks to freshwater ecosystems, drinking water security, and public health. Yet despite their dramatic appearance at the water surface, the earliest stages of these events often unfold quietly and invisibly below.

Journal: Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

Researchers reveal a novel natural “decoy receptor” that protects against inflammatory bowel disease

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by Prof. QIAN Youcun from the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health (SINH) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified a new member of the human IL-17 receptor family, IL-17REL, which plays a protective role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and showed that genetic variants in IL17REL critically affect IBD.

Journal: Nature Immunology

Non-surgical beauty treatments: A double-edged sword for skin health, new review reveals

Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A comprehensive review highlights how popular non-surgical aesthetic procedures—from injectables to lasers—affect the skin’s core functional triad: equilibrium, resistance, and self-healing. While these treatments enhance appearance, they can disrupt skin balance, weaken defenses, and impair natural repair, leading to adverse reactions. The study provides evidence-based strategies to minimize risks and optimize outcomes in aesthetic medicine.

Journal: Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology

When (and why) doctors might ask patients about guns

University of California - Davis Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence, physicians and researchers from the University of California, Davis, make a case for why discussions about firearms and personal safety are appropriate in the exam room for patients who may be at risk of harm.

Journal: NEJM Evidence
Funder: State of California

NUS Medicine takes on global, publicly accessible platform to strengthen data and insights for women’s health

National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Business Announcement

Women continue to experience a significant health gap, typically influenced by access to treatment, effectiveness of treatment and available resources dedicated to understanding health conditions, with wide-ranging human and economic implications. To contribute in narrowing the women’s health gap, the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health (GloW), under the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) will take over the hosting and enhancement of the Women’s Health Impact Tracking (WHIT) platform, a first‑of‑its‑kind, publicly accessible tool which measures progress on closing the women’s health gap across a set of conditions and countries.