Researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) investigated mobile pharmaceuticals in Hong Kong's rivers and estuaries and introduced a novel holistic paradigm to prioritize these contaminants for environmental management. They identified common over‑the‑counter medicines (OTC), particularly painkillers and antihistamines, as the main pollutants and as the highest‑risk drugs for marine ecosystems. To reduce their ecological and health risks, proper disposal of unused or expired drugs and control measures such as interception of contaminated stormwater for treatment and upgrade of sewage treatment systems.

This study explores the bidirectional skin–brain axis in 305 Brazilian adults, revealing strong correlations between anxiety, depression, and stress. Women exhibited significantly higher psychological symptom scores than men. Although dermatology-related quality of life showed weak correlations with mental health, nearly half of participants reported skin disorders and over half were at risk for a mental health condition. Probiotic intake showed no significant association with mental health outcomes, likely due to low consumption levels. Stress and depression independently predicted anxiety. The findings underscore the greater psychological burden on women and highlight the need for longitudinal, culturally tailored research on gut–skin–brain interactions.

It did not take long after the discovery of X-rays in the 1890s for scientists to begin exploring the harmful effects of radiation on living organisms. Yet even after more than a century of research, new insights continue to emerge about how radiation affects the body. In a recent study, researchers at Hokkaido University uncovered a previously unrecognized effect of radiation that leads to changes in the mitochondria of the offspring. The study was published in March 2026 in the journal Redox Biology.

POSTECH Professor Sung-Min Park’s team develops technology to reconstruct speech through movements of neck muscles.

The Biophysics Collaborative Access Team (BioCAT)—led by Illinois Institute of Technology faculty Thomas Irving, Professor of Biology; Weikang Ma, Professor of Biology; and Jesse Hopkins, Professor of Physics—has received the first installment of $2.6 million of a renewal award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to continue operating the BioCAT beamline at Sector 18-ID at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory for the next five years.