EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 23:16 ET (29-Oct-2026 03:16 GMT/UTC)

6-Sep-2026

International symposium on global trends in sperm donor identity disclosure

Kumamoto University
Meeting Announcement

As reproductive medicine evolves worldwide, traditional anonymity in sperm donation is giving way to a growing recognition of an individual's right to know their genetic origins. Hosted by Kumamoto University, this international hybrid symposium brings together leading experts from Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Join multidisciplinary discussions on legal frameworks, ethical challenges, and support systems shaping the global shift toward donor identity disclosure. Free and open to the public with simultaneous interpretation.

Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

6-Sep-2026

Shrews remodel their skulls to cope with winter cold

Hokkaido University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In addition to shrinking and regrowing, shrew skulls change shape with the seasons.

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

6-Sep-2026

Laughter therapy can help people with COPD breathe more easily

European Respiratory Society
Reports and Proceedings

A clinical trial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) shows that laughter therapy can reduce breathing difficulties and is as effective as more traditional breathing exercises. The research is presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Researchers say laughter therapy offers an effective low-cost treatment that patients can practice at home without any equipment or specialist support, alongside their other treatment.

Meeting: European Respiratory Society Congress 2026

6-Sep-2026

Smoking leads to increased loneliness

European Respiratory Society
Reports and Proceedings

Smoking is not social and leads to increased loneliness, according to a large Europe-wide study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Meeting: European Respiratory Society Congress 2026

6-Sep-2026

In a third of cases, AI chatbots wrongly reassure sleep apnea patients their symptoms aren’t serious

European Respiratory Society
Reports and Proceedings

In a third of cases, AI chatbots wrongly reassure sleep apnoea patients that their symptoms are not serious, discouraging them from seeking a referral to a specialist, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Meeting: European Respiratory Society Congress 2026

6-Sep-2026

How losing the “guardian of the genome” can damage DNA and drive cancer

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study finds that when p53, one of the most important cancer-protecting genes, stops working, cells produce too much RNA and consume excessive amounts of the building blocks needed to copy their DNA. This shortage disrupts DNA replication, leading to DNA damage, chromosome instability and major genetic changes that can promote cancer development. The findings reveal a previously unknown way in which p53 protects genome integrity and point to new avenues for understanding cancers in which p53 is damaged or missing.

Journal: Molecular Cell

4-Sep-2026

Bacteria can make testosterone. What could that mean for prostate cancer?

Auburn University Department of Physics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have discovered that a bacterium from the human urinary tract can turn a common steroid precursor into testosterone. The finding does not show that bacteria cause prostate cancer, but it opens a new line of research into whether microbes can influence the hormone environment around the prostate. Computational biophysicists at Auburn University helped explain how the bacterial enzymes perform this surprising chemistry.

Journal: Nature Communications

4-Sep-2026

Grant supports evaluation of California’s traditional health care practices benefit

University of California - Riverside
Grant and Award Announcement

A $1.25 million grant to UC Riverside from the California Department of Health Care Services will support a statewide evaluation of California’s traditional health care practices benefit.

Funder: California Department of Health Care Services

4-Sep-2026

How new moms cope with stressful news may matter more than the news itself, study finds

University of Notre Dame
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Notre Dame anthropologist Kristine Joy Chua and her research team asked the question: How do expectant mothers manage uncertainties and cope with sociopolitical stressors in their lives? The answer: They used creative coping strategies grounded in their culture and upbringing to reframe difficult circumstances and maintain a positive outlook, focusing instead on the things they could control and the well-being of their families.

Journal: Social Science & Medicine
Funder: Wenner-Gren Foundation