A new University of Arizona study provides vital insights into the factors that influence PFAS body burdens in firefighters. Understanding the predictors of PFAS accumulation is a critical step toward protecting their long-term health.

Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine have developed a set of polygenic risk score (PRS) models that significantly improved the ability to predict breast cancer risk in women of African ancestry. Using genetic data from more than 36,000 women, the team created the most comprehensive breast cancer prediction tool for this historically underserved population.

About The Study: Existing evidence demonstrates that opportunistic salpingectomy (removal of the fallopian tubes during unrelated pelvic or abdominal surgery) is significantly associated with a lower risk of developing tubo-ovarian carcinoma. Clinicians should include this prevention intervention in preoperative counseling of eligible women.

About The Study: Rural regions have benefited from immigration policies that direct international-born physicians to underserved areas; the Conrad 30 waiver enabled thousands of J-1 visa holders to remain in the U.S. in exchange for rural service, caring for approximately 44 million patients. H1-B visas are additional vehicles for immigrant clinicians. 

About The Study: The data from this study support the potential benefit of oral semaglutide in reducing heart failure events in people with type 2 diabetes and heart failure. 

PHILADELPHIA—Pink noise—often used to promote sleep—may reduce restorative REM sleep and interfere with sleep recovery. In contrast, earplugs were found to be significantly more effective in protecting sleep against traffic noise, according to new study published in the journal Sleep from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.  

The findings challenge the widespread use of ambient sound machines and apps marketed as sleep aids. 

A prevention strategy developed by Canadian researchers can reduce the risk of the most common and deadly form of ovarian cancer by nearly 80 per cent. The strategy, known as opportunistic salpingectomy (OS), involves proactively removing a person’s fallopian tubes when they are already undergoing a routine gynaecological surgery such as hysterectomy or tubal ligation. The study analyzed population-based health data for more than 85,000 people who underwent gynaecological surgeries in B.C. between 2008 and 2020. The researchers compared rates of serous ovarian cancer between those who had OS and those who had similar surgeries but did not undergo the procedure. Overall, people who had OS were 78 per cent less likely to develop serous ovarian cancer.