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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 11:16 ET (28-Oct-2026 15:16 GMT/UTC)

Marshall University research identifies lasting brain changes associated with adolescent binge alcohol exposure

Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research from the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine provides insight into how binge alcohol exposure during adolescence may cause lasting changes in brain function that persist into adulthood, potentially identifying a new target for future treatment approaches.

The study, published August 15 in Molecular Psychiatry, found that intermittent ethanol exposure during adolescence disrupted communication between astrocytes—supportive brain cells increasingly recognized for their role in neural signaling—and synapses in the hippocampus, a region of the brain important for learning and memory.

Journal: Molecular Psychiatry

A bacterial protein fragment drives tissue fibrosis, but antibody treatment can help, study finds

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A bacterial protein fragment called corisin drives the process of pulmonary fibrosis by infiltrating and disrupting the cell’s quality-control system, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Mie University in Japan found in a new study. Meanwhile, blocking corisin with an antibody impeded the damage.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Takeda Science Foundation, Charles and Margaret Levin Family Foundation

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month: How Alliance Clinical Trials help reshape early detection and improve treatments

Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology
Business Announcement

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is highlighting the importance of clinical research in advancing better treatments and improving early detection to ultimately help prevent and cure prostate cancer.

Funder: Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Foundation

Semen facilitates infection with Monkeypox virus

Goethe University Frankfurt
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Monkeypox virus used to be transmitted predominantly from animals to humans. In recent years, however, new virus variants have become increasingly capable of spreading from person to person. Researchers at Goethe University and Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt have now found that seminal fluid facilitates the uptake of monkeypox virus into cells.

Journal: Emerging Microbes & Infections

Study aims to empower parents to prevent teen vaping

University of Oklahoma
Grant and Award Announcement

Parents are an important line of defense against teen vaping, yet many lack the knowledge and tools needed to recognize vaping products, understand their risks and prevent their children from using them. A new University of Oklahoma study will examine whether targeted social media messages can give parents the information they need to help prevent their children from vaping nicotine and cannabis.

Individual breaths shape brain activity

Society for Neuroscience
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Each breath at rest corresponds to the shape of brain waves, suggesting that individual breaths may shape mental processes that influence the quality of life.

Journal: JNeurosci

Every breath you take has a unique impact on the brain

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at the University of California San Diego shows that the brain does not simply respond to breathing as a steady rhythm. Instead, the detailed shape of each individual breath is closely linked to the shape of neural activity in brain regions involved in cognition, emotion and memory.

Journal: JNeurosci

Every organ ages on its own schedule—and the schedules are in sync

Sanford Burnham Prebys
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study of aging in our organs found that each organ ages on its own schedule. Arteries remodel fastest from age 30-39 while reproductive organs do so at menopause.

Most of our body ages in two waves, and those who experience aging more rapidly in one organ also have accelerated aging in partner organs. The researchers built a map from analyzing 25,000 organ images that points to hormonal signaling as a possible conductor of this symphony of aging throughout the body.

Journal: Nature Aging

The brain health movement just got bigger with BrainHealth.com

American Academy of Neurology
Business Announcement

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has launched BrainHealth.com, a new public resource offering expert-reviewed information, tools and stories to help people improve and protect their brain health. BrainHealth.com is designed for people living with neurological conditions, supporting a loved one or just looking for ways to embrace brain health in everyday life.