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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Jan-2026 07:11 ET (2-Jan-2026 12:11 GMT/UTC)

3D-printed kidney tumors show potential for more targeted treatment

IOP Publishing
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at Tsinghua University have developed a method to grow kidney tumours in the lab using cells from real patients, offering a potential new tool in the fight against renal cancer. Their research, published in the journal Biofabrication, outlines how 3D bioprinting technology can be used to replicate the unique characteristics of each patient’s tumour.

Journal: Biofabrication

KAIST develops AI that automatically designs optimal drug candidates for cancer-targeting mutations

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Traditional drug development methods involve identifying a target protin (e.g., a cancer cell receptor) that causes disease, and then searching through countless molecular candidates (potential drugs) that could bind to that protein and block its function. This process is costly, time-consuming, and has a low success rate. KAIST researchers have developed an AI model that, using only information about the target protein, can design optimal drug candidates without any prior molecular data—opening up new possibilities for drug discovery.

Journal: Advanced Science
Funder: National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Health and Welfare

Mucosal Vaccine Delivery Systems: The Future of Immunization (Part 1)

Bentham Science Publishers
Book Announcement

Mucosal Vaccine Delivery Systems: The Future of Immunization (Part 1) is a new release from Bentham Science that delivers a comprehensive exploration of mucosal immunization strategies, offering fresh perspectives and advanced insights into the evolving landscape of vaccine delivery science.

New survey reveals top reasons why kids avoid going to school

Nationwide Children's Hospital
Reports and Proceedings

A new national survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of The Kids Mental Health Foundation, founded by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, reveals nearly a third of parents (30%) whose child missed school due to fear or anxiety last year report their child missed more than a week of school.

AI could soon detect early voice box cancer from the sound of your voice

Frontiers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have shown that patients with benign vocal fold lesions and laryngeal cancer can be distinguished through acoustic features of the voice, especially the harmonic-to-noise ratio and its variation within speech. Now that the proof-of-principle has been established, this task can be fed into machine learning algorithms, to build AI applications that triage patients at risk for laryngeal cancer based on their voice.

Journal: Frontiers in Digital Health
Funder: NIH Common Fund

University of Hawaiʻi researchers discover link between maternal obesity and autism-like behaviors in offspring

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine have uncovered a connection between a mother's weight before pregnancy and autism-like behaviors in her offspring. The study marks a significant advance in understanding how early life factors influence brain development.

Led by Professors Alika K. Maunakea and Monika Ward from JABSOM's Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry & Physiology and the Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research, the research shows that maternal obesity triggers metabolic shifts that cause lasting epigenetic changes in a mother’s eggs. These changes are passed on to the developing embryo and affect genes involved in brain development, including Homer1, a protein important for regulating synaptic signaling, learning, memory and response to neural activity.</p>

Journal: Cells

New study uncovers how genetics and lifestyle drive the heart disease dilated cardiomyopathy

Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team, led by scientists from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute has studied around 3000 people affected by the heart disease dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) – a driver of heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest.

They discovered those who had a mutation in a particular gene called TTN were 21 times more likely to develop DCM than family members who did not carry a mutation.

For the first time, the team found a person's general health and lifestyle factors contributed to an earlier DCM diagnosis.

Journal: European Heart Journal