EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-Dec-2025 08:11 ET (31-Dec-2025 13:11 GMT/UTC)

Gene essential for vitamin D absorption could help unlock treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases

Frontiers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have identified the human gene SDR42E1 as essential for the absorption of vitamin D from the intestine, its subsequent metabolic processing, as well as the production of lipids and steroids. Without the functional protein, the survival of cells dropped by 53%. This discovery has at least two potential applications in precision medicine. First, the experiments showed that the gene can be blocked to selectively kill cancer cells. Second, boosting SDR42E1’s expression could help treat many other diseases, for example, autoimmune and metabolic disorders, against which vitamin D and its related forms are thought to protect.

Journal: Frontiers in Endocrinology
Funder: Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council

From passive to intelligent: Bioengineered organs meet electronics

Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As bioelectronics merge with tissue engineering, bioengineered organs are gaining the ability to sense, respond, and adapt in real time—ushering in a new era of smart regenerative systems.

Journal: Trends in Biotechnology

Short-term digital mental health interventions reduces depression and anxiety in Ukrainian children and adolescents displaced by war

Queen Mary University of London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a first of its kind randomised controlled trial, researchers found delivering a problem solving digital mental health intervention to young Ukrainian refugees significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. The findings show that a small, low-cost, scalable intervention delivered in schools through mobile devices may support the mental health of millions of displaced young people.

Funder: Dean’s Competitive Fund, Harvard University

Guselkumab demonstrates superior efficacy in landmark clinical trials and offers new hope to Crohn’s disease patients

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a major advance for patients with Crohn’s disease, a new study led by researchers at Mount Sinai Health System found that guselkumab, a medication with a mechanism of action that is new to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment, outperformed an established standard of care in promoting intestinal healing and symptom relief.

Journal: The Lancet

UCalgary led research helps kids with acute gastroenteritis recover at home

University of Calgary
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A University of Calgary led study offers evidence that children with frequent and recent vomiting from an intestinal infection should be provided with two doses of ondansetron, a well-tolerated and safe anti-nausea drug, at the time of discharge from the emergency department (ED).

Most children seeking ED care due to vomiting are discharged home. Although they usually feel better when they leave the ED, the vomiting recurs in nearly one-third of children.

Dr. Stephen Freedman and his team conducted a double-blind randomized clinical trial in six pediatric hospitals in Canada. They enrolled more than 1,000 children aged six-months to 18 years. In the study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, children administered ondansetron were less likely to have moderate-to-severe symptoms after ED discharge.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Research Manitoba, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine

What ever-growing incisors can teach us about genetic disease

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

Penn Engineers and CHOP Researchers Join Forces to Unlock the Mysteries of Tooth Enamel and Possibly the Future of Dental Health

Journal: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Institute for Health Research

UK Government and UK Research and Innovation join forces to launch multi-billion-pound compute roadmap

UK Research and Innovation
Grant and Award Announcement

The roadmap heralds a significant increase in publicly accessible compute capacity. Investments include up to £2 billion to deliver a holistic and user-centred compute ecosystem with £1 billion to expand the AI Research Resource 20-fold by 2030.

Funder: UK Research and Innovation