EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Jun-2026 12:16 ET (2-Jun-2026 16:16 GMT/UTC)

15-Dec-2025

Cleveland researchers launch first major study to address ‘hidden performance killer’ in athletes

Case Western Reserve University
Business Announcement

Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals announced the launch of the first large-scale collaborative study focused on onychomycosis, a chronic fungal infection of the nails, among athletes.

15-Dec-2025

Penn and UMich create world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan have created the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots: microscopic swimming machines that can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months and cost just a penny each. Barely visible to the naked eye, the robots are smaller than grains of salt and could advance medicine, manufacturing and more.

Journal: Science Robotics
Funder: University of Pennsylvania, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Fujitsu

15-Dec-2025

New study shows early motherhood carries wage penalty, while delaying pays off

Rice University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A woman’s early career pregnancy decision may shape her financial future for decades, according to new research. The findings come at a time when reproductive rights and access are shifting nationwide, raising new questions about how policy changes intersect with women’s careers, economic mobility and workforce participation. Rice University researcher Eden King said the idea for the project emerged after reading language in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling asserting that access to reproductive autonomy has no effect on women’s economic standing.

Journal: Journal of Applied Science

15-Dec-2025

Researchers show visual training dramatically improves cognitive function after concussion

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by scientists at UC San Diego and Perception Dynamics Institute shows a visual training method called PATH can rapidly sharpen attention, memory and reading after concussion—and functional brain imaging scans confirm the improvement. Researchers say PATH beat standard therapies and are now launching a larger clinical trial.

Journal: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Funder: Department of Veterans' Affairs

15-Dec-2025

Project explores barriers to NHS career progression facing international medical graduates

University of Plymouth
Grant and Award Announcement

A three-year project, led by the University of Plymouth and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is exploring why some international medical graduates see their careers blossom once they start working in the NHS while others do not. The ‘SUP IMG’ project started this summer, building on research carried out for the General Medical Council which found that less than 5% of graduates who complete their training overseas join specialist or GP registers on arrival, and few – 11.6% within five years and 27.2% within 10 years – go on to become consultants or GPs. By contrast, around 75% of UK graduates become consultants or GPs over the same timeframe.

Funder: National Institute for Health Research

15-Dec-2025

Helping young adults rethink uncertainty reduces anxiety and depression: study

University of New South Wales
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Finding uncertainty hard to tolerate is linked to poorer mental health among young adults, and a short course addressing this has shown promising results.

Journal: Psychological Medicine
Funder: Wellcome Trust, National Health and Medical Research Council

15-Dec-2025

A rapid diagnostic breakthrough against a silent global threat

Koç University
Grant and Award Announcement

A research team led by Prof. Dr. Füsun Can at Koç University School of Medicine has developed a rapid diagnostic approach that simultaneously detects antibiotic resistance and high virulence in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Recognized with the 2025 Nature MDx Impact Award, the work addresses a critical clinical need by enabling earlier, more targeted treatment of highly dangerous bacterial infections.

15-Dec-2025

Breaking the 'unbreakable' barrier: how mismatched bone marrow transplantation is rewiring immune tolerance

Immunity & Inflammation
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a newly published review, Professor Xiao-Jun Huang's team at Peking University People's Hospital explore how haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT), once limited by severe immune complications, has transformed into a routine treatment and a unique platform for studying the restoration of immune homeostasis.

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Natural Science Foundation, Beijing Municipal Health Commission project

15-Dec-2025

Ret finger protein (RFP): a hidden molecular switch that fuels obesity

Chonnam National University, The Research Information Management Team, Office of Research Promotion
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Identifying the molecular basis of obesity has been a cornerstone in metabolic research. Building on this, a research team from Chonnam National University Medical School, Republic of Korea, discovered a new role of Ret finger protein (RFP) in driving fat cell formation and metabolism. They found that mice lacking RFP resisted weight gain and had better metabolic profile even on a high-fat diet—highlighting RFP as a promising target for obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Journal: Experimental & Molecular Medicine