Applications open for the 2026 Semmelweis–Richter Journalism Award highlighting women’s health and pharmaceutical innovation
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2026 01:16 ET (18-Jun-2026 05:16 GMT/UTC)
Researchers at Ouachita Baptist University are creating surgical stitches loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs to deliver the medication directly to the injury. Deep cuts or surgeries require stitches, typically followed by oral anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen. While these medications help with pain, they don’t act specifically on the wounds. Consequently, the site of the stitches can get inflamed, which could slow healing and lead to scarring. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.
Interactions between diet and the gut microbiome have been shown to have broad roles in shaping host metabolism and health. Now, researchers at the Human Biology Microbiome Quantum Research Center (WPI-Bio2Q, directed by Kenya Honda, M.D., Ph.D., co-senior author of the study) and Keio University, together with researchers from City of Hope and the Broad Institute, show how specific gut microbes are able to interpret diet and subsequently drive the conversion of white adipose tissue into beige fat, a metabolically active form of fat that burns energy instead of storing it.
The study, which has been published in Nature, also identified the molecular pathways that connect these aspects of dietary protein intake, microbial metabolism, and the host’s fat-burning response.
“These findings show, in a mechanistic way, how gut microbes are able to act as an important mediator of dietary cues, and how these bacteria are able to produce signals that shape host metabolism” said Scott Behie, member of WPI-Bio2Q and co-author of the study.
Flinders University are experimenting with plant-based oils to develop a promising new structural keratin-type repair application to reduce breakage and improve hair health.
The latest study, published in ACS Applied Bio Materials (American Chemical Society), demonstrates the potential for a sustainable biopolymer mixture made from a rich tung oil acid emulsion to seal cuticles and increase elasticity and reinforce hair damaged by chemicals or heat.