Cancer is caused by faulty genes, but what also shapes a cancer cell’s behaviour is how a gene’s instructions are trimmed and rearranged before they are turned into the proteins that keep a cell alive. A study published today in Nature Communications reveals a new way of measuring that editing process, known as splicing, directly. It is the first time scientists have been able to get a clear view of how tumours systematically rewire their genetic instructions to aid growth and survival, and it ...

Many teens dealing with weight issues are turning to AI models to help them create meal plans with the aim of losing weight. But a new study shows that the resulting plans may not always adequately cover necessary nutrients and calorie intake. Researchers in Turkey compared the meal planning abilities of five AI models, prompting them to create meal plans for teenagers trying to lose weight and compared the results against the recommendations of a registered dietician. They published their findings in Frontiers in Nutrition. “We ...

by W.B. Kagan PISCATAWAY, NJ – Cannabis products containing delta-8 THC have spiked in popularity in recent years, from gummies and brownies to vapes, pre-rolls, and tinctures. These products are frequently marketed as “legal” cannabis and often come in youth-oriented packaging, while lacking clear and consistent cannabinoid-content labels and health warnings to keep consumers safe, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Delta-8 THC products—along with other intoxicating “hemp-derived” products—have ...

Kyoto, Japan -- In type 1 diabetes, the immune system starts to destroy insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Progressive loss of these cells destabilizes the body's glucose levels and drives the course of the disease, so preserving or restoring beta cell mass is a central treatment goal. New therapies aimed at preserving or increasing beta cell mass are advancing rapidly, but a noninvasive, direct measurement of this mass, and how much has been preserved or restored in interventions, is still lacking in routine clinical ...

More than 3 million years ago, when our ancient ancestors embodied by the iconic Lucy were roaming the African landscape, they would have feared a big, bad crocodile with a prominent lump on its head, patiently lurking in rivers and lakes to attack them. That crocodile is a new species, a research team led by the University of Iowa has determined. In a new study, published on March 12 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, the researchers describe the species and give it a name: Crocodylus lucivenator, or Lucy's hunter. The name seems quite appropriate. The ancient reptile lived between 3.4 million to 3 million years ago, overlapping the time period and ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 12, 2026 — About one in three U.S. adults, the equivalent of over 82 million Americans, report having made at least one daily life trade-off in the past year to pay for healthcare expenses, according to new research released today from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America. The most common actions taken are prescription rationing and non-adherence (15%) and borrowing money (15%). Unsurprisingly, the financial strain is most prevalent among households earning ...

Published today in The Lancet Neurology, a new review from the University of Colorado Anschutz in collaboration with UT Southwestern Medical Center, offers the latest scientific explanations for why ketogenic diets reduce seizures in people with epilepsy. The paper brings together insights from both laboratory discoveries and real‑world patient outcomes, showing that ketogenic diets do far more than reduce seizures. The review outlines how these strict high-fat, low carbohydrate diets strengthen the brain’s energy systems, reduce inflammation and protect neurons - providing therapeutic benefits that many current medications are not yet able to achieve. “For ...

PsyMetRiC is the first validated cardiometabolic prediction tool specifically tailored for this group, developed into a healthcare professional-facing web application PsyMetRiC predicts risks of outcome measures that are meaningful in clinical practice, and desired by patients It is among the first prediction tools in psychiatry to be certified by the MHRA for use in real-world healthcare A new clinic-ready web-based risk prediction tool called PsyMetRiC is now available to forecast the risk of young people with psychosis developing cardiometabolic disorders such as obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.  The algorithms behind PsyMetRiC have been specifically tailored for young ...

Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UK) have uncovered a hidden link between gut health and the immune system – all thanks to a tiny island bird. Researchers studied the Seychelles warbler, a small songbird found on Cousin Island in the Seychelles. They collected the birds’ poo to analyse their gut bacteria – and found that their immune genes influence which gut microbes thrive. They say their work sheds light on how animal immune systems and communities of beneficial gut bacteria evolve together - including in humans. Senior researcher ...

Research presented at international urology conference in London shows how far prostate cancer screening has come Nearly 300 abstracts on prostate cancer research from around the world will be presented at the European Association of Urology Congress (EAU26), taking place in London from 13–16 March 2026. Highlights of some of the key advances in the prostate cancer screening field are detailed below. Tobias Nordström is a clinical urologist and Associate Professor at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and a member of the EAU Scientific Congress Office. He said: ...

Findings published by The BMJ today reinforce previous research linking use of the antiseizure drug valproate during pregnancy to neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism in children, and indicate no substantial risk for several other antiseizure drugs including levetiracetam and lamotrigine. However, the researchers say continued monitoring of the few signals - possible associations between a medicine and an unintended side effect - that emerged (eg, for zonisamide) will be important. Antiseizure drugs are ...

The rise in invasive cosmetic procedures demands tighter regulation, better consumer protection, and greater awareness to protect patient safety and reduce cosmetic tourism, argue experts in The BMJ today. The global market for cosmetic procedures is growing rapidly and is projected to exceed $180bn by 2033, note Danielle Griffiths at the University of Liverpool and colleagues. Invasive cosmetic procedures typically involve the insertion of instruments or equipment into the body (eg, tummy tucks and breast augmentation), while non-surgical procedures are minimally invasive (eg, botox and dermal fillers), they ...

Fresh research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) could transform how the NHS protects patients’ medical images from cyber‑attacks. Computer scientists have developed a breakthrough way to encrypt medical images such as X‑rays, CT scans and MRIs, keeping them secure even if hospital networks are breached. Medical imaging systems have been repeatedly identified as weak points, with many relying on legacy protocols that were never designed to be exposed to the internet, making image‑level encryption an urgent priority. Developed ...

A Simon Fraser University study is pushing back against the “easy narrative” that not getting vaccinated is entirely a personal decision. Rather, vaccine hesitancy in Canada comes down to significant cultural, administrative, institutional and governance barrers that reinforce mistrust and create inequitable access to vaccines, say SFU researchers.  Published in the journal Vaccine, the study analyzed 41 peer‑reviewed papers to map how barriers emerge across four areas: cultural and community norms, governance structures, laws and budgets, and institutional design.  Key ...

The first clinical trial to compare two commonly used drugs head-to-head for venous thrombosis treatment has found a clear winner: while both drugs work well to prevent recurrent blood clots, apixaban is safer than rivaroxaban, with fewer bleeding complications. Venous thrombosis occurs when a blood clot lodges in the veins of the legs or lungs. It is the third leading cause of cardiovascular death after heart attack and stroke and is the most common preventable cause of death in hospitalized patients. Clinical guidelines currently recommend that patients recovering ...

A new study demonstrates that agricultural and medicinal plant residues can be transformed into a highly effective material for removing toxic heavy metals from contaminated water and soil while also improving crop productivity. Researchers developed a phosphorus-modified biochar derived from residues of Salvia miltiorrhiza, a widely used medicinal herb, and showed that the material can simultaneously immobilize harmful metals and enhance soil fertility. Heavy metal pollution, particularly from lead and cadmium, is a persistent environmental problem worldwide. These contaminants can accumulate in soils and water, enter the food chain, and pose ...

Food allergies are serious and, for some, potentially deadly. And yet, despite decades of research into allergies and what causes them, very little is known about why the vast majority of people are able to tolerate foods that can sicken or even kill others. “We know a lot about what the immune system sees and does if a patient has an allergy, but we know very little about what happens when things go right,” said Elizabeth “Beth” Sattely, an associate professor of chemical engineering in ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2026   AAN issues guidance on the use of wearable devices Article examines smart watches, fitness trackers and more for neurological care   Highlights: The AAN has issued new guidance on wearable devices and digital apps as potential tools in neurological care, focusing on non-FDA cleared technology. Wearables can monitor physical activity, sleep, heart rate and other health factors. Some can detect conditions like atrial fibrillation. Others can monitor disease-specific symptoms like seizures and headaches. This guidance for neurologists says the technology has great potential ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2026 In former college athletes, more concussions associated with worse brain health Athletes assessed within five years of college graduation Highlights: Former college athletes with three or more concussions had slightly worse physical, mental, behavioral and cognitive health five years after graduation compared to those with no concussions. The study included 3,910 former college athletes from 20 sports, nearly half of whom were women. A majority competed at NCAA Division 1 schools. Athletes were evaluated at the start of their college sports careers and again within five years of graduation. ...

In a new analysis, racial and ethnic disparities in fatal shootings of U.S. residents by police varied widely between states. Roland Neil of the RAND Corporation in California, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on March 11, 2026. In the U.S., police officers fatally shoot about 1,000 people every year. Overall, Black U.S. residents are about twice as likely to die by police shooting than Hispanic U.S. residents, and about three times as likely to die by police shooting than White U.S. residents. However, few studies have examined the extent to which these racial/ethnic disparities differ between different ...

Gender differences in poverty rates in the United States may be associated with women’s differing circumstances — particularly the burden of dependent children — rather than inherent to gender itself, according to a new study published March 11, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Patti Fisher of Virginia Tech, U.S. Women in the United States face higher rates of poverty than men, and their access to economic resources and opportunities is more limited. While factors such as employment, education, and health status are known to influence poverty risk, it has been unclear whether men and women are affected differently by these factors, ...

3D-printed robotic rattlesnake triggers an avoidance response in zoo animals, especially species which share their distribution with rattlers in nature Article URL: https://plos.io/4bdJMhx Article title: The multimodal display of rattlesnakes is a deterring signal that works best with sympatric species Author countries: U.S. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, best known as the delivery vehicle for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines received by billions of people, are now at the center of a much larger medical revolution. Researchers are racing to use them to ferry therapeutic mRNA into cells for cancer therapies and treatments for inflammatory diseases, as well as delivering CRISPR constructs that can correct disease-causing gene mutations. But a stubborn problem has slowed progress on all of these fronts. For LNPs to work therapeutically, they must transfer their cargo into cells by fusing with cell membranes, and they ...

**EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 11 AT 2 P.M. ET** Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have developed a simplified version of biodegradable nanoparticles that can “educate” the immune system to find and destroy disease-causing cells throughout the body. The study, they say, advances the field of engineering immune cells within a patient’s own body to combat cancers and autoimmune diseases including lupus, among other conditions. Engineered immune cells have been successfully used to treat an array of blood cancers, using CAR-T cells, or chimeric antigen receptor T cells. The treatment ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Early pregnancy depends on a remarkable act of coordination. Before the placenta can nourish a growing fetus, the embryo must securely “land” and connect with the mother’s blood supply — a process guided by a specialized group of immune cells called uterine natural killer cells, or uNK cells. A new peer-reviewed study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, supported by the National Institutes of Health and published today in Science Translational Medicine, has uncovered a critical role in successful pregnancies for an immune switch ...