EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-Jan-2026 12:11 ET (1-Jan-2026 17:11 GMT/UTC)

Scientists use climate data to map, predict amphibian chytrid disease

Smithsonian
Peer-Reviewed Publication

High-resolution climate maps can help scientists predict amphibian disease outbreaks and identify areas where the chytrid disease, while prevalent, may be less deadly. Armed with this knowledge, researchers may be able to seek out wild chytrid-survivors in these climate refuges, as well as use these sites to reintroduce captive-bred frog populations.

Journal: Diversity and Distributions
Funder: Directorate for Biological Sciences, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

State-level public awareness of HPV, HPV vaccine, and association with cancer

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, public awareness about human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccination, and the link between HPV and cancers was overwhelmingly low, particularly in Midwestern and Southern U.S. states. These findings are troubling because these regions have recently seen a marked rise in HPV-associated cancers. Notably, the lack of HPV and HPV vaccine awareness in the Midwest and South is alarming, as a majority of states in these regions have suboptimal HPV vaccination rates.

Journal: JAMA Oncology

Ocular adverse events with semaglutide

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that semaglutide was not associated with an increased risk of eye disorders or diabetic retinopathy. Despite the fact that an association between semaglutide treatment and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) was found, current evidence remains insufficient to establish definitive conclusions regarding its association with NAION. Further studies with larger sample sizes and adequate evaluation of NAION are warranted to clarify this potential risk.

Journal: JAMA Ophthalmology

MIT researchers use generative AI to design compounds that can kill drug-resistant bacteria

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

With help from artificial intelligence, MIT researchers designed novel antibiotics that can combat a drug-resistant form of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Journal: Cell
Funder: U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, NIH/National Institutes of Health, Audacious Project, Flu Lab, Sea Grape Foundation, Rosamund Zander and Hansjorg Wyss for the Wyss Foundation, An anonymous donor

Addressing the bird flu outbreak requires a one health perspective integrating the entire dairy community

Elsevier
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Since its emergence in US dairy cattle, highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu, H5N1) has defied control, spreading to other species and disrupting every stage of the dairy sector. A newly published invited review in the Journal of Dairy Science presents the most comprehensive look yet at the virus’s impact and calls for a unified response. With current science pointing to complex transmission dynamics and broad consequences, the authors argue that only a One Health approach, taking into account the intersection of animal and human health with that of the environment, can effectively combat H5N1 and prevent future outbreaks.

Journal: Journal of Dairy Science

AFAR receives NIH award renewal totaling more than $5.7 million for the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center

American Federation for Aging Research
Grant and Award Announcement

The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) has received a five-year renewal award totaling $5,722,435 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue and expand the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (NSC3). The NSC3 coordinates the activities of the 8 Nathan Shock Centers (NSC) of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, which provide expert resources to expand basic research into the biology of aging.

Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

NRG Oncology opens new “ARCHER” clinical trial (NRG-GU015) testing a shorter treatment duration of radiation therapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer

NRG Oncology
Business Announcement

NRG Oncology (NRG), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group focused on improving outcomes for adult cancers, recently opened a new clinical trial “ARCHER” (NRG-GU015) to study a shorter duration of radiation therapy for patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer.