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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-Oct-2025 21:11 ET (7-Oct-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)

Mushroom study expands knowledge of natural bitter compounds – new highly effective bitter compound identified

Leibniz-Institut für Lebensmittel-Systembiologie an der TU München
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The molecular world of bitter compounds has so far only been partially explored. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich in Freising and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Halle (Saale) have now isolated three new bitter compounds from the mushroom Amaropostia stiptica and investigated their effect on human bitter taste receptors. In doing so, they discovered one of the potentially most bitter substances known to date. The study results expand our knowledge of natural bitter compounds and their receptors, thus making an important contribution to food and health research.

Journal: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Funder: Leibniz Research Alliance “Bioactive Compounds and Biotechnology”

Scientists assemble worlds first immune cell atlas from diverse Asian populations

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from A*STAR GIS, along with collaborators from South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and India, have assembled the world's first Asian Immune Diversity Atlas (AIDA). This groundbreaking study, published in Cell, profiles over 1.2 million immune cells from 625 healthy donors across five Asian countries. AIDA offers critical insights into immune variations, paving the way for precision medicine and tailored diagnostics for Asian populations

Journal: Cell

AI tool can track effectiveness of multiple sclerosis treatments

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help interpret and assess how well treatments are working for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been developed by UCL researchers.

Journal: Nature Communications

Powerful new tool can identify cells promoting health or disease

Gladstone Institutes
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of researchers at Gladstone Institutes has released a novel computational tool called CHOIR that can improve the detection of "off-key" cells. CHOIR, short for “cluster hierarchy optimization by iterative random forests,” categorizes thousands or even millions of cells into separate, biologically distinct groups, helping home in on specific cell types or conditions that may underlie disease.

Journal: Nature Genetics

Equitable access to digital technologies may help improve cardiovascular health

American Heart Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mobile health technologies, such as wearable devices, mobile health apps and telehealth or remote coaching, have shown potential to help people start and maintain heart-healthy behaviors, such as eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, quitting smoking, monitoring sleep and more. People impacted by adverse social drivers of health, such as lower socioeconomic status, insufficient health care access, housing instability and/or low-income communities, may face barriers accessing cost-effective health technologies.

Journal: Circulation

Is AI in medicine playing fair?

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into health care, a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reveals that all generative AI models may recommend different treatments for the same medical condition based solely on a patient’s socioeconomic and demographic background. Their findings, which are detailed in the April 7, 2025 online issue of Nature Medicine [DOI: 10.1038/s41591-025-03626-6], highlight the importance of early detection and intervention to ensure that AI-driven care is safe, effective, and appropriate for all.

Journal: Nature Medicine

New insights into the risk of developing dementia: Economists contribute to medical research

Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Vaccination to prevent shingles also reduces the risk of developing dementia in later life, according to a research paper published recently in Nature. This conclusion is based on the analysis of data collected in connection with the introduction of a shingles immunization program launched in Wales in 2013. Economists with their special expertise in statistical analyses have made a significant contribution to the corresponding study.

Journal: Nature