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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 19:16 ET (28-Oct-2026 23:16 GMT/UTC)

Eating disorders more common in teens from low socioeconomic backgrounds

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Teenagers who come from households with a lower income and lower level of education are more likely to have an eating disorder, finds a new study co-led by UCL researchers.

Journal: International Journal of Eating Disorders

Vitamin A metabolite preserves T cells’ function as KAIST points to a new strategy for treating intractable brain tumors

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

- A joint research team of KAIST, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and Konyang University College of Medicine identifies how an active vitamin A metabolite suppresses "terminal exhaustion" in cancer-attacking CD8⁺ T cells

- Activates T cells' "function-preserving switch" to sustain anti-cancer function even during prolonged combat with cancer.

- In mouse glioma models, combination with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy — which releases the 'brake' cancer cells impose on immune cells — enhances treatment efficacy and points to the potential to suppress recurrent brain tumors

Journal: Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
Funder: National Research Foundation of Korea, Samsung Science and Technology Foundation, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Ministry of Health and Welfare

Taxing billionaires and redistributing wealth could save millions of lives amid global aid cuts

Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wealth redistribution policies currently under discussion in international fora could avert between 6.6 and 29.5 million deaths by 2030, according to a study, published in The Lancet, led by ISGlobal in collaboration with other leading economic and health research institutions. The findings suggest that a range of international tax measures could generate substantial resources for development and health programmes at a time when many donor countries are reducing official development assistance (ODA).

Journal: The Lancet

Borderline low hemoglobin levels, usually considered normal, are linked to a higher risk of death

American College of Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A prospective cohort study found that adults whose hemoglobin levels were 1 to 3 g/dL above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) current anemia thresholds had lower mortality compared with those whose hemoglobin levels were both below and above this range.

Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine

How deep sleep shapes mental resilience to stressful situations

Society for Neuroscience
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In mice, an area of the cortex reorganizes itself during deep sleep to strengthen resilience to stressful situations.

Journal: JNeurosci
Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Cambridge scientist uncovers how much protein we actually need and the best sources (for both planetary and public health)

Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge
Peer-Reviewed Publication

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom — Consumers are increasingly confronted with conflicting information surrounding how much protein they should have and which protein sources are healthiest, most sustainable, and best value for money. Cambridge research has uncovered the truth.

Journal: Frontiers

Dopamine-targeting treatments show only modest benefits for anhedonia, prompting call for new research approaches

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Dopamine has long been considered central to understanding anhedonia – the loss of pleasure, interest and motivation that is a common feature of depression and other mental health conditions. However, a new international expert reportpublished in BMJ Mental Health suggests that dopamine alone cannot explain the condition and that future research must look beyond a single biological pathway.

Journal: BMJ Mental Health

A neural brake on adult glioma progression

Nagoya City University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Nagoya City University and collaborators found that inhibitory neurons can restrain adult glioma progression. The study, published in Neuron, shows that GABAergic input suppresses calcium activity in tumor cells and reduces YAP1/mTOR-associated oncogenic programs, revealing a circuit-based mechanism that slows brain tumor growth.

Journal: Neuron
Funder: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kawano Masanori Memorial Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, the Chugai Foundation, the Hori Science & Arts Foundation, Takeda Science Foundation

Newly discovered stem cell reveals potential drug target for spinal stenosis

Weill Cornell Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Hospital for Special Surgery have discovered the unspecialized stem cells that give rise to the body’s tendons and ligaments, the tissues connecting muscles and bones. They also found that when these stem cells become hyperactive in the lower spine, they contribute to lumbar spinal stenosis. This condition, which impacts an estimated 103 million people worldwide, involves enlarged ligaments that can narrow the spinal canal and compress nerves, causing pain, numbness and difficulty walking.

Journal: Cell