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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Jun-2026 18:16 ET (15-Jun-2026 22:16 GMT/UTC)

Towards deep brain stimulation without surgery

Université de Genève
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Brain stimulation techniques can correct abnormal activity in the neural circuits involved in conditions such as Parkinson's disease and depression. However, current transcranial stimulation methods delivered through the scalp reach only the brain’s surface, limiting their effectiveness. Deep brain stimulation, on the other hand, can target deeper structures but requires surgical implantation of electrodes. A team from the Synapsy Centre for Neuroscience and Mental Health Research at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with ETH Zurich, the Wyss Center Geneva and EPFL, has succeeded in improving a promising intermediate technology called "temporal interference stimulation". This method could allow deeper and more targeted non-invasive brain stimulation. The study can be found in Cell Systems.

Journal: Cell Systems

More outdoor play during preschool years linked to better mental health later in childhood

University of Exeter
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Children who spend more time playing outdoors between the ages of two and four may be less likely to develop emotional and behavioural difficulties later in childhood.

That’s according to new research led by the University of Exeter, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Previous studies have shown a link between outdoor play and children’s mental health, but this is the first study to explore how outdoor play in the early years relates to children’s mental health over time.

Journal: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

New drug could slow the development of Alzheimer’s

ETH Zurich
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have shown how an enzyme triggers cell stress and promotes the advance of Alzheimer’s disease in a self-perpetuating process. The team has developed an active ingredient that breaks this vicious circle. In mice treated with the substance, dementia advances much more slowly.

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

AI model enables over a million-fold acceleration of diffuse optical tomography for real-time diagnosis

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of predicting light propagation in biological tissue in diffuse optical tomography (DOT), a non-invasive imaging technique for detecting abnormalities such as hemorrhages and tumors. The model performs these calculations in approximately 2 milliseconds, exceeding the speed of conventional simulation methods by more than one million times, paving the way for real-time diagnostic applications.

Journal: Biomedical Engineering Letters

Lighter X-ray aprons could spare health-care workers from chronic pain

University of Waterloo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a lightweight, flexible polymer material that could replace lead in X-ray aprons while providing comparable protection from harmful radiation. By incorporating specially engineered tungsten nanoparticles into a silicone-based nanocomposite, the team created a shielding material that is nearly 90 per cent lighter than traditional lead aprons, potentially reducing the back and neck injuries commonly experienced by health-care workers who wear them for extended periods.

Journal: Materials Today Physics

Finding Nemo: AI tech could spot smuggled seahorses in suitcases

Frontiers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Marine wildlife trafficking is big business, raking in billions of dollars every year and threatening species’ survival and the health of ecosystems. But trafficked sea creatures are often concealed in ordinary travelers’ luggage or packages, which makes it hard to spot and seize illicit shipments. Now scientists have used a neural network, a form of AI, to teach an algorithm to spot three commonly trafficked products — shark fins, sea cucumbers, and dried seahorses — in CT scans of bags like those taken at airports. The algorithm, which had a 92% success rate in testing, could help detect marine wildlife trafficking at scale and stop the trade in progress.

Journal: Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability
Funder: Rapiscan Systems, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Taronga Foundation

Treatment with 9-mg mazdutide for weight reduction in Chinese adults with obesity

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Mazdutide, a once-weekly glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor dual agonist, provided clinically meaningful weight reduction in Chinese adults with moderate to severe obesity compared with placebo, but participants receiving the drug experienced gastrointestinal adverse reactions compared with those receiving placebo.

Journal: JAMA

Infections are major “health hazard” for people with diabetes

City St George’s, University of London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Infections should be considered a “health hazard” in people living with diabetes, with experts warning that current clinical guidelines fail to reflect a substantial but under-recognised burden of illness, hospitalisation and death. This is according to a major study published today in Diabetes and presented at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions conference in New Orleans.

Journal: Diabetes

Congestion relief zone results after year one suggest notable road safety benefits

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Early trends have pointed to reductions in traffic congestion, travel times, and air pollution within the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ), the initiative launched by New York City in 2025. Traffic crashes also declined significantly after tolling began, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in partnership with the Yale School of Public Health.

Journal: American Journal of Epidemiology
Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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