Supermarket receipts show trends in menstrual pain relief
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jun-2026 01:16 ET (14-Jun-2026 05:16 GMT/UTC)
More than a quarter of women buying menstrual products also purchase pain relief at the same time—and those in lower-income areas are significantly less likely to do so—according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health by Dr. Victoria Sivill of the University of Bristol, UK, and colleagues, which used supermarket loyalty card data to map menstrual pain disparities across England.
Transposable elements (TEs), also called transposons, are DNA sequences capable of moving or replicating from one location to another within a genome. While TEs are the most significant fraction of the human genome (approximately 40-50%), only recently have scientists begun to appreciate their impact impact on human diseases from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders.
Usually, our cells keep TEs quiet when we are young, but in a new study from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, researchers have discovered that TEs are actively expressed in human brains as large RNAs that can then be processed into small RNAs (18-32 nucleotides long). This finding provides new molecular insights into how our brains age normally, as well as how neurodegenerative disorders can impact these normal patterns of transposon RNA expression.
Using catheters coated with specialized carbon nanotubes, MIT researchers developed a new way to monitor bladder cancer patients for tumor recurrence.
When intestinal lining breaks down, it can allow harmful gut bacterial antigens to slip into the bloodstream alongside nutrients. This breach in the gut’s protective barrier, known as "leaky gut," is more than a digestive issue – it’s a sign of inflammatory bowel disease and has been increasingly linked to a number of chronic conditions.
A team of researchers working in the lab of UNLV cellular biologist Prasun Guha has uncovered a key mechanism underlying leaky gut and identified a promising and natural way to repair it. In a new study, the team shows how phytic acid, a natural compound found in whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds, plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier.