When picturing a “typical” alcoholic, people tend to imagine a person drinking at home alone. But that focus overlooks the social origins of many serious alcohol problems, say the authors of a new review paper in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science.

In a groundbreaking Genomic Press interview, Dr. Michael Wheeler of Harvard Medical School reveals how psychedelics like psilocybin can reverse stress-induced fear behaviors by modulating neuroimmune pathways. His recent Nature publication demonstrates that psychedelics reduce immune cell accumulation in brain meninges while simultaneously reducing fear behaviors, opening new therapeutic possibilities.

The study is the first to examine how substantial growth of preferred pharmacy networks maintained by PBMs may have contributed to the struggles of retail pharmacies.

A novel health-assessment tool uses eight metrics derived from people's physical exam and routine lab tests to characterize their biological ages as well as the age of their individual organ systems.   It may be able to predict a person’s risk of disability and death better than current health predictors. The method, called the Health Octo Tool, might make it possible to identify new factors that affect aging, and to design interventions that prolong life.