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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Jun-2026 18:15 ET (12-Jun-2026 22:15 GMT/UTC)

A nuclear target to revive anti-tumor immunity

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at the Princeton University Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have identified novel mechanisms by which a metabolic derivative of vitamin A—all-trans retinoic acid—compromises both the body’s normal anti-cancer immune response and, in a different context, the efficacy of a promising type of cancer vaccine.

Journal: Nature Immunology
Funder: Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New Jersey Health Foundation, Brewster Foundation, the Susan Komen Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, American Cancer Society, National Science Foundation

Scientific validity of blue zones longevity research confirmed

American Federation for Aging Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new peer-reviewed paper published in The Gerontologist provides the most comprehensive scientific response to date addressing recent critiques of the so-called “blue zones,” regions of the world known for unusually high concentrations of people living long, healthy lives. In the article, “The validity of blue zones demography: a response to critiques,” authors Steven N. Austad, PhD (Scientific Director, American Federation for Aging Research/AFAR and Distinguished Professor, Protective Life Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham) and Giovanni M. Pes, MD (Professor of Medicine at the University of Sassari) detail decades of demographic research showing that ages in the original blue zones have been rigorously validated using the highest standards of modern gerontological demography.

Journal: The Gerontologist

International research breakthrough for remote Alzheimer’s testing

University of Exeter
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A groundbreaking international study has demonstrated that Alzheimer's disease biomarkers can be accurately detected using simple finger-prick blood samples that can be collected at home and mailed to laboratories without refrigeration or prior processing.

Journal: Nature Medicine

Private equity acquired more than 500 autism centers over the past decade, new study shows

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Private equity firms have acquired more than 500 autism therapy centers across the U.S. over the past decade, with nearly 80% of those acquisitions occurring over a four-year span, according to a new study from researchers at the Brown University Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics
Funder: National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health

New cervical cancer screening guidelines from the US Department of Health and Human Services

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This Viewpoint discusses past cervical cancer screening guidelines and presents new Women’s Preventive Services guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Journal: JAMA

Estimated burden of COVID-19 illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the US from October 2022 to September 2024

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In this cross-sectional study, despite declining from the first (October 2022 to September 2023) to the second (October 2023 to September 2024) surveillance period, the COVID-19 burden continued to have a large impact in the U.S., particularly among adults 65 years and older, underscoring the ongoing importance of prevention measures.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

January 2026 issues of APA journals feature new research on autism, pediatric anxiety, psychedelic therapy, suicide prevention and more

American Psychiatric Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The latest issues of four American Psychiatric Association journals (The American Journal of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Services, American Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice) are now available online.

Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry

UH researcher receives nearly $1M to advance lupus diagnosis and treatment

University of Houston
Grant and Award Announcement

With nearly $1 million in federal funding, a University of Houston researcher will study the connection between an enzyme found in cancerous tumors and immune cells of lupus patients — innovative research that could transform how lupus is diagnosed and treated.

Expensive food makes children fat

University of Bonn
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When food prices skyrocket during an economic crisis, it is primarily urban populations and people with low levels of education who are affected. This can have lifelong negative health consequences – such as stunted growth in children. A research team at the University of Bonn has now demonstrated such long-term effects using the example of the "Asian financial crisis" in the 1990s. At that time, turmoil on the financial markets led to a drastic increase in the price of rice, Indonesia's most important staple food, which left measurable traces in the development of children. The study was published in the journal "Global Food Security."

Journal: Global Food Security