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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-May-2026 03:15 ET (27-May-2026 07:15 GMT/UTC)

An ‘illuminating’ design sheds light on cholesterol

University of Pennsylvania
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While high levels of cholesterol are linked to heart disease, stroke, and other health problems, this complex and vital molecule is found in every cell of the body and regulates crucial processes. By building light-controlled molecules that look and act like cholesterol, the University of Pennsylvania's Dirk Trauner have created a new set of tools allowing the researchers to toggle cholesterol’s biological activity on or off, paving the way for advanced therapeutics.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Funder: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Carlsberg Foundation

Hidden viruses in wastewater treatment may shape public health risks, study finds

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Viruses are everywhere in wastewater treatment plants, quietly interacting with bacteria as sewage is cleaned and reused. A new study reveals that these viral communities are far more complex and influential than previously recognized, with implications for water safety, antibiotic resistance, and how treatment performance is monitored.

Experimental microneedle painkiller patch for pigs shows proof of concept

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An experimental pain-relieving drug delivery method for farm animals using biodegradable microneedle patches was conducted by researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station to alleviate some pain after procedures like castrations and tail docking and decrease labor for farmers. While the drugs administered through the experimental microneedle pain patches on pigs did show up in the animals’ system, the drug concentrations were not sufficient.

Despite the limited performance, the project remains a proof of concept that pig skin can absorb medication delivered through a dissolvable microneedle patch. The research team also found that the patches work better on the neck than the ear. No adverse responses were observed at application sites, highlighting the safety and tolerability of the patches. Additionally, a new approach is being developed using the microneedle patch technology as a way to incorporate tattoos for animal tagging.

Journal: RSC Pharmaceutics
Funder: National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Digital tools can improve dementia care – for people with dementia aging in place and their caregivers

George Mason University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study reveals that digital health resources, while still inaccessible for many people, offer many benefits, including improved mental health and social connection.

Journal: Current Geriatrics Reports

Soil bacteria and fungi emerge as a top predictor of childhood allergic disease

American Geophysical Union
Reports and Proceedings

The unique blend of fungi and bacteria in a region’s soil may be the strongest factor explaining its rates of childhood allergic disease, with certain assemblages of soil critters appearing linked with better health outcomes, according to new research to be presented at AGU’s 2025 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

Researchers discover that a hormone can access the brain by hitchhiking

Touro University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While examining how exercise affects hormone transport, researchers at Touro University Nevada discovered that extracellular vesicles (EVs) - a communications system within our bloodstream - can carry the hormone precursor proopiomelanocortin (POMC) across human blood vessel barriers, including blood-brain barrier models, significantly more efficiently than POMC on its own.

Because the blood-brain barrier blocks so many existing therapies, this mechanism could have meaningful implications for future approaches to drug delivery, pain management, metabolic disorders, and stress response.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Blood test may help identify which colon cancer patients benefit from NSAIDs

Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A blood test could help doctors decide which patients with colon cancer should receive anti-inflammatory medication along with chemotherapy after surgery, according to new study in JAMA Oncology. Based on data from an Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology study, this finding could lead to more personalized treatments and better outcomes for patients.

Journal: JAMA Oncology
Funder: Karen Guo Colon Cancer Fund, Project P, Douglas Gray Woodruff Chair in Colorectal Research Fund, Stone Research Fund, Pfizer, Natera

Researchers see dramatic drop in HIV-infected immune cells in patient after cancer treatment received

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Advancements in HIV/AIDS research, drug development and clinical practice since the 1980s have made it possible for people living with HIV to lead long, productive lives and keep the virus in check at undetectable levels and nontransmissible as long as therapy is maintained. However, a cure ― completely ridding the body of the virus — has only been documented in a handful of patients who underwent complex and high-risk bone marrow transplants for life-threatening blood cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation

Support for parents with infants at pediatric check-ups leads to better reading and math skills in elementary school

NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Guiding parents to have pretend play and read aloud with their babies increased parental support of their children’s cognitive development and academic skills by the time they turned six—especially for families facing poverty.

Journal: PEDIATRICS