The year-long algal bloom along the South Australian coastline has not only devastated marine life and triggered health risks for humans and pets: it has also had a significant psychological impact on local residents, according to new research.

A new scientific review reveals how residues from traditional Chinese medicine production can be transformed into high performance biochar materials capable of removing toxic pollutants from water and soil. The work highlights a promising pathway to convert large volumes of herbal waste into valuable environmental solutions.

For the millions of people living with lupus – a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage the kidneys, brain and other vital organs – treatment options remain limited and often come with serious side effects. A $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow a University of Oklahoma researcher to continue investigating a protein that may help explain why the disease develops and how it might be treated more precisely.

New research published in Lancet Public Health set out to see how different alcohol policy scenarios could potentially reduce the number of alcohol-related cancers in Canada. 

Social work researchers Holly Matto and Emily Ihara partner with Fairfax City, Va., and Loudoun County, Va., to improve crisis response using a Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority Grant.

Dr. John Apolzan, director of the Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, published an editorial on the importance of fruit intake to vascular health in the Journal of the American Heart Association, a leading peer-reviewed publication focused on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health research.

 

The editorial, “Fruit-Rich Dietary Pattern Improves Endothelial Function: Implications for Food Is Medicine,” is a commentary on the study “Effects of Increasing Total Fruit Intake With Avocado and Mango on Endothelial Function and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults With Prediabetes,” which reinforced existing evidence that diets higher in fruit intake improve nutrient status and health outcomes.