During most eye infections or injuries, neutrophils, immune cells found in the blood, are usually the first line of defense. However, researchers at the Flaum Eye Institute and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester have discovered that the retina responds differently than many other tissues in the body. When photoreceptor cells in the retina are damaged, microglia, or the brain’s immune cells, respond, and the neutrophils are not recruited to help despite passing through nearby blood vessels.

A new article appearing in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry explores the concept of “superfoods” and makes a case that fresh grapes have earned what should be a prominent position in the superfood family.[1]  The author, leading resveratrol and cancer researcher John M. Pezzuto, Ph.D., D.Sc., Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Western New England University, brings forth an array of evidence to support his perspective on this issue.

[1] Pezzuto, John M. (2025). Perspective: Are Grapes Worthy of the Moniker Superfood?  J. Agric. Food Chem. Doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c05738

The commonly held belief that people become happier after 50 appears to apply mainly to unemployed men. At age 50, unemployed men were more than twice as likely to report symptoms of depression as those who had lost a spouse.  By age 65, when retirement becomes the norm, the mental health gap between employed and unemployed men disappears entirely. The findings suggest this improvement stems not from biology or lifestyle, but from easing social expectations around work.