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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Jan-2026 11:11 ET (2-Jan-2026 16:11 GMT/UTC)

More types of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in Sydney tap water than previously thought

University of New South Wales
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A UNSW analysis of Sydney water has found at least 31 PFAS chemicals, including 21 not previously recorded in Australian tap water, and one detected in tap water globally for the first time.

Journal: Chemosphere
Funder: Australian Research Council

Provision of abortion medications using online asynchronous telemedicine under shield laws in the US

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This study analyzes use of online asynchronous telemedicine abortion services for the period July 2023 through September 2024 via data from a nonprofit asynchronous telemedicine service that provides abortion medications throughout the U.S.

Journal: JAMA

GLP-1 receptor agonists and sight-threatening ophthalmic complications in patients with type 2 diabetes

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this cohort study of individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use was associated with a modestly increased risk of incident diabetic retinopathy (DR); however, fewer patients experienced sight-threatening DR complications, including blindness, even among those with preexisting DR. These findings suggest that all patients with T2D treated with GLP-1 RAs, regardless of preexisting DR, should be regularly screened and monitored for potential complications of T2D.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Semaglutide or tirzepatide and optic nerve and visual pathway disorders in type 2 diabetes

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this study of patients with type 2 diabetes who had no prior eye disorders, patients prescribed semaglutide or tirzepatide had an increased risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and other optic nerve disorders, although the overall risk was low. These findings highlight the need for close monitoring of these conditions.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Livestock played a role in prehistoric plague infections

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To try to solve the puzzle of how the infection persisted and spread over thousands of years in Eurasia, an international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Infection Biology, Harvard University, the University of Arkansas, the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, and Seoul National University investigated the bones and teeth of Bronze Age livestock at the pastoralist site Arkaim (Russia), a Eurasian Steppe site belonging to the Sintashta-Petrovka culture known for its innovations in cattle, sheep, and horse husbandry. There they identified a 4,000-year-old sheep infected with the same LNBA lineage of Y. pestis that was infecting people at the time.

Journal: Cell

BU creates new AI tool to predict markers of Alzheimer’s disease

Boston University School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have built an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can accurately predict key signs of Alzheimer's disease—such as the presence of sticky proteins called amyloid beta and tau—using common and less expensive tests like brain scans, memory checks and health records.

Journal: Nature Communications

New cancer drug boosts effectiveness of chemotherapy – even in resistant tumours

King's College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A groundbreaking cancer drug could enhance how patients respond to chemotherapy even in treatment-resistant tumours.

Journal: Science Translational Medicine