The human gut is home to trillions of beneficial microbes that play a crucial role in health. Disruptions in this delicate community of bacteria and viruses — called the gut microbiome — have been linked to obesity, asthma and cancer, among other illnesses. Yet quick diagnostic tools to identify issues within the microbiome that could be addressed to treat these conditions are lacking. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have shown that disease-associated bacteria in the gut can be detected through exhaled breath. They found that chemicals ...

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have characterized how cellular senescence—a biological process in which aging cells change how they function—is associated with human brain structure in both development and late life. The study, published January 22 in Cell, provides new insight into how molecular signatures of cellular senescence that are present during development and aging mirror those associated with brain volume and cortical organization. Understanding brain structure is a central challenge in neuroscience. Although brain structure changes throughout life and is linked to both aging and neurodegenerative conditions ...

Giant ancestors of modern-day kangaroos — which previous research has estimated could weigh up to 250 kilograms — may have been able to hop in short bursts, according to research published in Scientific Reports. These findings challenge those of previous studies suggesting that giant kangaroos weighing more than 160 kilograms were too heavy for their ankles to withstand hopping. Megan Jones and colleagues studied the hindlimbs of 94 modern and 40 fossil specimens from 63 kangaroo and wallaby species — including members of the extinct giant kangaroo group Protemnodon, which lived during the Pleistocene (between 2.6 million and 11,700 ...

Could this mark a shift in how we think about cancer therapy? At least in the laboratory, evidence suggests it may be. An international research team has succeeded in deciphering a key mechanism that controls the growth of pancreatic cancers. The scientists identified a potential central mechanism by which cancer cells protect themselves from attack by the body's own immune system. Blocking this mechanism resulted in a dramatic reduction in tumours in laboratory animals. A look at the central driver of cell division The results of the study have now been published in Cell. The research was primarily carried out by Leonie Uhl, Amel Aziba and ...

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) today announced the upcoming release of “Charting the Translational Pathway: ISSCR Best Practices for the Development of Pluripotent Stem Cell (PSC)-Derived Therapies,” a new paper highlighting some of the most critical aspects of the ISSCR’s breakthrough interactive resource designed to transform how PSC-derived therapies are developed, evaluated, and advanced toward clinical and commercial success. The paper was published today in Stem Cell Reports. As more than 100 PSC-derived ...

A new study led by Hartmut Geiger at the University of Ulm, Germany, and Yi Zheng and Kodandaramireddy Nalapareddy, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), USA reveals that age-related changes in the gut microbiota directly impair intestinal stem cell (ISC) function and that restoring a youthful microbial environment can reverse this decline. The results were published today in Stem Cell Reports.  Cells lining the intestine are constantly renewed to maintain tissue integrity, nutrient absorption, and regenerative capacity following injury. This process ...

About The Study: Mortality has decreased for every leading cancer-related death in people younger than 50 years in the U.S. except colorectal cancer, which is now the leading cancer death in females and males combined, up from the fifth-leading cancer death in the early 1990s. Breast cancer and leukemia mortality decreased despite increasing incidence. Authors: Corresponding Author Rebecca Siegel, MPH, is available for interviews 11 AM-5 PM EST Tuesday, January 20. Senior Author Ahmedin Jemal, DVM, PhD, is ...

About The Study: Rural hospital bypass (when rural residents receive care at hospitals other than their nearest hospital) rates among commercially insured patients were substantial between 2012 and 2021, generating large payments to receiving hospitals. Relative to Medicare bypass rates, commercial bypass rates were high in this sample. The findings of this study support concerns that commercial bypass contributes to financial distress at rural hospitals. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Caitlin E. Carroll, PhD, email carrollc@umn.edu. To ...

Scientists studying the fossil remains of giant prehistoric kangaroos have found that even animals weighing more than 200kg may not have been too big to bounce, overturning long-held assumptions about the limits of hopping. Today, the red kangaroo is the largest living hopping animal and weighs around 90kg. But during the Ice Age, some kangaroos grew more than twice the size of that - some reaching up to 250kg. For years, researchers believed these giants must have abandoned hopping, as earlier studies suggested that hopping would become mechanically ...

For more than a decade, hospitals have worked to help older adults avoid repeated inpatient stays, incentivized by a federal program that cuts Medicare reimbursements if hospitals have higher-than-expected rates of readmissions for people with certain conditions. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has helped spur innovation, including initiatives to better prepare patients and their families to manage care after hospitalization, and to support them virtually at home. But a new University of Michigan study finds that these financial penalties have hit some hospitals harder than they should, even if those hospitals have done a reasonable job at keeping people with heart ...

[New York, NY [January 22, 2026]—Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed an experimental immunotherapy that takes an unconventional approach to metastatic cancer: instead of going after cancer cells directly, it targets the cells that protect them. The study, published in the January 22 online issue of Cancer Cell, a Cell Press Journal [DOI 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.12.021], was conducted in aggressive preclinical models of metastatic ovarian and lung cancer. It points to a new strategy ...

A chain of immune reactions in the gut—driven by a key signaling protein and a surge of white blood cells from the bone marrow—may help explain why people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of colorectal cancer, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings point to new possibilities for diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. The study began with a focus on TL1A, an inflammatory immune signaling protein known to be associated with IBD and colorectal cancer. Experimental drugs that block TL1A activity have shown great promise against IBD in clinical trials, but how the signaling ...

Myosteatosis, the pathological infiltration of fat into skeletal muscle, is increasingly recognized as a key predictor of poor clinical outcomes across a spectrum of liver diseases. However, the field faces significant challenges, including a lack of standardized assessment methods, definitions, and diagnostic criteria, as well as an incomplete understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms. This narrative review aims to synthesize current knowledge on myosteatosis in liver disease, covering its assessment, clinical impact across various etiologies, proposed ...

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining host health and liver function. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), an emerging therapeutic modality, has demonstrated promising potential in the treatment of chronic liver diseases. To assist clinicians in rapidly mastering and standardizing the clinical application of FMT for chronic liver disease, the Liver-Related Digestive Diseases Group of the Chinese Society of Hepatology, Chinese Medical Association, has developed this expert consensus. The consensus comprehensively addresses key aspects of FMT application, including indications, contraindications, efficacy, safety, donor selection ...

Presentations include first-in-human Phase 1 results in healthy volunteers, 13-week repeat-dose toxicology in two species, and disease mitigation in a chronic T cell transfer-induced colitis model CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SHANGHAI — January 22, 2026 — Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”, HKEX: 03696), a clinical-stage AI-driven biotechnology company, today announced it will present three abstracts at the 2026 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2026 in Las Vegas, USA on January 23, 2026 featuring new data supporting the continued development of ISM5411 (also referenced as ISM012-042), an orally administered, gut-restricted small-molecule ...

Researchers from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed “fast-RSOM”, a new imaging technology that can capture detailed images of the smallest blood vessels directly through the skin – without the need for invasive procedures. By revealing early signs of cardiovascular risk, this technology could help doctors intervene sooner, guide personalized therapies, and improve long-term heart health. A New Window Into Microvascular Health One of the earliest warning signs of cardiovascular disease ...

By resurrecting a 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme and studying it inside living microbes, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have created a new way to improve our understanding of the origins of life on Earth and possibly recognize signs of life elsewhere. Recently published in Nature Communications, the NASA-funded study uses synthetic biology to reverse-engineer modern enzymes and rebuild their possible ancestors. Betül Kaçar, a professor of bacteriology, and Holly Rucker, a PhD candidate in Kaçar’s lab, focused on an enzyme called nitrogenase, which is critical to the process that converts atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by living ...

WASHINGTON—People with obesity and high blood pressure may face a higher risk of dementia, according to a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Dementia is a growing global public health challenge, with no cure currently available. People with dementia experience a severe decline in mental abilities, like memory, thinking and reasoning. The most common forms of dementia are Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and mixed dementia. Dementia is a progressive brain ...

New “AI GYM for Science” dramatically boosts the biological and chemical intelligence of any causal or frontier LLM, delivering up to 10x performance gains on key drug discovery benchmarks and advancing the company’s vision of Pharmaceutical Superintelligence (PSI). CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 22, 2026 – Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”, HKEX: 3696), a leading global AI-driven biotech company, today announced the launch of Science MMAI Gym, also branded as Insilico Medicine’s AI GYM for Science, a domain-specific training environment designed to transform ...

DALLAS, Jan. 22, 2026 — The American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association has expanded it’s International Stroke Conference with multiple pre-conference symposiums in 2026. The meeting is in New Orleans, Feb. 4-6, 2026, and is a world premier global event dedicated to advancing stroke and brain health science. The following is a list of all the pre-conference symposiums: State-of-the-Science Stroke Nursing Symposium Pre-Conference Symposium - Feb. 3, 2026; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT This forum provides updates on nursing topics related to stroke care, including prevention, management, ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Artificial intelligence (AI) is said to be a “black box,” with its logic obscured from human understanding — but how much does the average user actually care to know how AI works? It depends on the extent to which a system meets users’ expectations, according to a new study by a team that includes Penn State researchers. Using a fabricated algorithm-driven dating website, the team found that whether the system met, exceeded or fell short of user expectations directly corresponded to how ...

Background and Aims Bacterial infections (BIs) are common and severe complications in patients with liver cirrhosis, but global data are limited. Here, we aimed to evaluate the global prevalence, temporal changes, and associated mortality risk of BIs in liver cirrhosis. Methods We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for eligible studies published without language restrictions until 11 August 2025. A random-effects model was used for meta-analyses, meta-regression by study year, and pooling adjusted hazard ratios. Results Fifty-nine studies, including 1,191,421 patients with cirrhosis, were analyzed. The pooled prevalence of BIs (33 studies) ...

Predicting the duration of a Central Pacific El Niño event has long frustrated climate scientists and forecasters. Now, a new study reveals that Central Pacific El Niños follow two fundamentally different life cycles—and the difference is determined months before they peak. The research group, led by Prof. Xin Wang from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, shows that strong Central Pacific El Niño events essentially self-destruct by triggering negative feedbacks from the distant Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Weaker events, however, survive by forming a lasting partnership with a regional North Pacific climate ...

Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining unprecedented popularity across the globe, with their number reaching 26 million in 2022 and expected to grow eightfold by the end of the decade. While EVs represent the next-generation technology for transport decarbonization, they are expected to lead to the issue of retired battery management. Notably, EV batteries are utilized only until their capacity reduces to 70-80%, meaning an average lifespan of 8-to-10 years. Therefore, the volume of retired batteries is going to rise rapidly by 2030. To mitigate this problem, scientists have ingeniously come up with ...

Researchers from the Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Tongji University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Fudan University, and the University of Sydney synthesize years of proprioception research with frontier bionic evidence such as osseointegrated neural prosthetics, to propose a disruptive framework of the reconceptualization of proprioception. Their findings were made available online in the Journal of Sport and Health Science on January 01, 2026. Led by Professor Jia Han from the Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Tongji University, ...