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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-Jun-2026 05:15 ET (17-Jun-2026 09:15 GMT/UTC)

How much biochar is enough? New study maps safe and effective use across global ecosystems

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Biochar is increasingly viewed as a powerful tool for restoring degraded ecosystems, improving soil health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and immobilizing pollutants. But a new review published in Biochar highlights a key question for scientists, land managers, and policymakers: how much biochar should be used?

Journal: Biochar

Metasurface spectral AI chip diagnoses dry eye–related gland disorder with 96% accuracy-Ultrafast “in-sensor computing” captures molecular fingerprints of meibomian gland tissue in milliseconds

Chinese Society for Optical Engineering
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A metasurface-based spectral convolutional neural network chip enables real-time, high-precision pathological diagnosis of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), achieving 96.22% diagnostic accuracy—significantly outperforming conventional RGB image analysis (84.00%). This is the first study to apply an optical neural network chip for MGD diagnosis and to establish a spectral histopathology framework for ocular surface disease.

Journal: PhotoniX
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China

UofL breaks ground on $280-million facility for health education and collaboration

University of Louisville
Business Announcement

The University of Louisville has begun construction of a transformative new building that will serve as a cornerstone for education, engagement and research at the UofL Health Sciences Center and as a resource for the broader university and healthcare communities. The Health Sciences Building is designed to provide a rich environment for innovative and collaborative education that will equip existing and future health professionals to provide superior care and discover solutions to our most pressing health challenges.

Funder: Commonwealth of Kentucky

Dietary changes in older people can improve ‘biological age’

University of Sydney
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Older Australians who reduce either dietary fat or animal-based protein show signs of reduced biological age, new research from the University of Sydney shows.

Journal: Aging Cell
Funder: University of Sydney, Charles Perkins Centre, Emeritus Professor George Palmer

Study points to metabolic health as a key factor in mood disorders

Elsevier
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While they share similar depressive and cognitive symptoms, the biological underpinnings of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are distinct. A novel study appearing in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier, is the first to identify clinically relevant pathways linking metabolic dysfunction, brain structure, and cognition in mood disorders, with stronger and more specific effects observed in bipolar disorder. It highlights the potential of targeting metabolic pathways to improve cognitive symptoms in bipolar disorder.

Rethinking bladder cancer surveillance: Can fewer procedures be just as effective?

Dartmouth Health
Business Announcement

A new national clinical trial led by Dartmouth Cancer Center clinical researcher and urologist Florian R. Schroeck, MD, will determine whether a less intensive follow-up plan for bladder cancer patients can deliver the same outcomes while improving quality of life. VATSIT, which stands for “VA Randomized Trial of Surveillance Intervals after Transurethral Resection of High-Grade Bladder Tumors,” is for patients with high-grade, early-stage bladder cancer. It will compare the current standard approach of cystoscopy procedures every 3 to 4 months with a lower-intensity, less invasive urine-testing strategy. VATSIT will expand to more than 30 VA hospitals nationwide. Over 10 years, researchers will track outcomes such as survival, cancer progression, need for additional treatment, and quality of life to determine if fewer procedures can still deliver optimal outcomes for people with bladder cancer.

Funder: Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program

Expanding Medicaid coverage lowered death rates for young adults with kidney failure

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Among young adults with kidney failure, the expansion of Medicaid following the Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010 was associated with substantial declines in one-year death rates, researchers from Brown University found in a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics
Funder: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Researchers develop innovative model for risk assessment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

NIH/Office of the Director
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Findings from a study supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a new model for predicting outcomes for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition with a prevalence of 1 in 500 people and a frequent cause of sudden cardiac death. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that incorporating prospective data including clinical history, imaging, and blood biomarker data into risk assessment can improve prediction of adverse cardiac events in people with HCM.

Journal: JAMA

State-level differences in HPV vaccine uptake among 13- to 17-year-old adolescents

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This cross-sectional study demonstrates substantial state-level variation in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake among U.S. adolescents, even after adjustment for key sociodemographic factors. Several Northeastern states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, exhibited significantly higher odds of HPV vaccination compared with the reference state, Alabama, whereas multiple Southern states, particularly Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia had significantly lower odds of uptake.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics