EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This month, we’re focusing on nutrition and the powerful role it plays in our lives. Here, we’ll share the latest research on how nutrients affect the body and brain, how scientists investigate diet and health, what these findings may mean for building healthier habits, and more.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Jan-2026 12:11 ET (12-Jan-2026 17:11 GMT/UTC)

25-Sep-2025

Reducing the environmental ‘paw-print’ - plant-based dog foods are better for the environment than red meat options

University of Nottingham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has found that the production of meat-based pet foods has a much greater impact on the environment in comparison to plant-based alternatives.

The study, led by Rebecca Brociek from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, and published in Frontiers in Nutrition - Nutrition and Sustainable Diets, showed that plant-based diets for pets had the lowest impact across all measures of environmental impact. This included the land needed to produce them, greenhouse gas emissions, the polluting effects of production on soil and water reservoirs, and freshwater withdrawal.

Pet food production contributes substantially to global environmental issues, driven largely by animal-derived ingredients.

Journal: Frontiers in Nutrition

24-Sep-2025

Can a mango a day keep diabetes away?:

George Mason University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Clinical nutrition researcher Raedeh Basiri studied the importance of choosing quality over quantity when it comes to sugar consumption and the potential benefits of daily mango consumption for those with prediabetes.

Journal: Foods

24-Sep-2025

Milk matters: How donor human milk storage affects preemie gut health

Medical University of South Carolina
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study from the Medical University of South Carolina, published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, reveals that shorter storage durations of donor human milk are linked to reduced gastrointestinal complicatoins in premature infants, including necrotizing enterocolitis. These findings suggestt that minimizing milk storage time may help to preserve protective properties crucial for preterm gut health, offering new insights into neonatal nutrition practices and improving outcomes for vulnerable newborns.

Journal: Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Funder: NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH/National Institutes of Health, David and Laura Stone Endowment for Advancement in Neonatal Medicine

24-Sep-2025

Weight loss treatments for people with diabetes and obesity could lower the risk of obesity-related cancers

University of Leicester
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Weight loss treatments, including medication and surgical procedures, may help lower the risk of obesity-related cancers in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, a new study shows.

Journal: Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism
Funder: NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre

23-Sep-2025

Can augmented reality be used as a portion size estimation aid tool? A pilot randomized controlled trial

Osaka Metropolitan University

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers developed an AR 3D food model to teach portion size estimation and conducted an intervention study to test its effectiveness.

Journal: Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics

23-Sep-2025

BMJ Group retracts trial on apple cider vinegar and weight loss

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ Group has retracted research suggesting that small daily quantities of apple cider vinegar might help people who are overweight or obese to lose weight. The small clinical trial was published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health in March 2024 and its findings press released. The study findings generated widespread international attention at the time, and continue to be frequently referred to in media coverage.

Journal: BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health

23-Sep-2025

Scientists show how to grow more nutritious rice that uses less fertilizer

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The cultivation of rice—the staple grain for more than 3.5 billion people around the world—comes with extremely high environmental, climate and economic costs. But this may be about to change, thanks to new research led by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and China’s Jiangnan University. They have shown that nanoscale applications of the element selenium can decrease the amount of fertilizer necessary for rice cultivation while sustaining yields, boosting nutrition, enhancing the soil’s microbial diversity and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. What’s more, in a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they demonstrate for the first time that such nanoscale applications work in real-world conditions.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences