EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Jun-2026 13:16 ET (16-Jun-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)

1-Apr-2026

World is falling behind on UN’s child mortality Sustainable Development Goal

A new study tracking global progress on child mortality finds that the world will miss a key United Nations (UN) health target by at least five years at current rates, with the burden falling heavily on Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings were published this week in the open-access journal PLOS One by Min Liu of Peking University, Beijing, China, and colleagues.

Journal: PLOS One
Funder: Nationally Funded Postdoctoral Researcher Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China

1-Apr-2026

Walking is top leisure-time physical activity for US adults

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study of U.S. adults, walking was, by far, the most popular leisure-time physical activity, while rural residents also enjoyed gardening, hunting and fishing, and urban residents more commonly reported running, weightlifting and dance. Urban residents were more likely than rural residents to meet physical activity guidelines. Christiaan Abildso of West Virginia University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on April 1, 2026.

Journal: PLOS One

1-Apr-2026

Targeted therapy improves long-term outcomes for patients with rare mutations driving lung cancer

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In some non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), changes to the RET gene (known as RET fusions) can drive tumor growth. In a phase 1/2 clinical study with a 42-month-long follow-up period, researchers from Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute evaluated the long-term efficacy and safety of the FDA-approved drug pralsetinib, which targets RET. Investigators found that treatment led to durable responses with manageable safety profiles in 281 patients with advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive NSCLCs. Results are published in Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology
Funder: Blueprint Medicines, Genentech/Roche

1-Apr-2026

Researchers warn of risks posed by ‘contaminants of emerging concern’ found in crops, agricultural soil

McGill University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new international study offers insights into the health risks posed by crops’ absorption of “contaminants of emerging concern” (CECs) and flags knowledge gaps the authors say must be addressed.

Journal: Plants People Planet
Funder: UK Research and Innovation, Nanjing University

1-Apr-2026

Johns Hopkins team develops therapeutic, nasally delivered DNA vaccine for tuberculosis

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a paper published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a research team at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reports developing a therapeutic intranasal (nose-delivered) DNA vaccine against tuberculosis (TB).

Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation

1-Apr-2026

Oregano, rosemary and ‘time’: Long-term swine study shows natural-compound benefits

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a rare long-term public study that compared the effects of phytochemicals from rosemary and oregano with antibiotic growth promoters, animal scientists with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station found that the natural agents given to weaned pigs supported favorable gut health and growth performance later in their lives by preserving microbial diversity to improve nutrient utilization.

Journal: Animal Research and One Health

1-Apr-2026

Innovative targeted therapy halts prostate cancer spread to the bone

Virginia Commonwealth University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New findings out of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine show that an innovative drug effectively prevents prostate tumors from spreading to an advanced and incurable stage in the bones. The targeted small molecule inhibitor, IVMT-Rx-4, also enhances standard-of-care chemotherapy treatment for the disease, offering significant potential for a paradigm shift in the treatment of metastatic tumors.

Journal: Pharmacological Research
Funder: Virginia Commonwealth University, Commonwealth Health Research Board

1-Apr-2026

Targeting MD2 could limit prostate cancer bone metastasis

Impact Journals LLC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BUFFALO, NY — April 1, 2026 — A new research perspective was published in Volume 13 of Oncoscience on March 11, 2026, titled “Targeting MD2 in prostate cancer bone metastasis: Mechanistic insights and therapeutic potential.”

Journal: Oncoscience

1-Apr-2026

Doctors group files legal petition urging USDA to require colorectal cancer warning labels on processed meat

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Reports and Proceedings

To help protect Americans from colorectal cancer, which is now the leading cause of cancer death for people under 50, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a legal petition today urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to require warning labels on processed meat and poultry products, such as bacon, deli meat, and hot dogs, which have been classified as “carcinogenic to humans” because of their link to colorectal cancer.