A new study from Tulane University found that, over the past decade, more states have moved to make it easier for people with opioid use disorder to get potentially life-saving medication. The study published in Health Affairs found that, as of 2023, 22 states have passed laws prohibiting private insurance plans from requiring prior authorization, a process that requires doctors to get insurer approval before prescribing certain medications for opioid use disorder. That’s an increase from only two states in 2015. “This signals a positive trend that states ...

For someone who has heart surgery or experiences a major cardiovascular event, cardiac rehabilitation can significantly improve their short and long term recovery. People who participate in this comprehensive exercise, lifestyle and education program are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital and have a lower risk of future heart attack. Despite a slew of benefits linked to cardiac rehabilitation, attendance remains poor — with even fewer women utilizing the program. “Even when women do participate, the research tells us that ...

Research Highlights Higher levels of exposure to artificial light at night were linked to increased stress-related activity in the brain, inflamed arteries and a higher risk of heart disease, according to a small study of adults in Boston. Nighttime light pollution appeared to affect heart health, making it an environmental factor that could be changed to help reduce heart disease in communities with higher levels of nighttime light, researchers said. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented ...

Research Highlights: Optimal cardiovascular health, based on the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 metrics, may decrease the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia for adults with Type 2 diabetes. Among adults with both Type 2 diabetes and a high genetic risk for dementia, researchers found that having moderate or high cardiovascular health, compared to having low cardiovascular health, greatly lowered the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment and dementia over 13 years. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at American Heart Association’s ...

Research Highlights: Initiating CPR within the first five minutes after cardiac arrest can nearly double the chances of survival for children, according to preliminary research analyzing data for more than 10,000 children from a U.S. registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The time window to initiate successful CPR in children may be half that of the window for adults — 5 minutes vs. 10 minutes, respectively. The study’s findings highlight the importance of bystanders (lay rescuers) initiating CPR quickly after cardiac arrest, ...

Research Highlights: An artificial intelligence (AI) tool detected structural heart problems using a single-lead ECG captured by the electrical heart sensor on the back and digital crown of a smartwatch. The AI algorithm was tested on single-lead ECGs taken on a smartwatch in a group of 600 adults. The algorithm accurately identified structural heart diseases such as weakened pumping ability, damaged valves or thickened heart muscle. Smartwatches with single-lead ECG sensors paired with an AI tool such as the one developed for this study could help make screening for structural heart disease easier and more accessible ...

Research Highlights: People with a condition in which protein build up stiffens heart walls – called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy – were more likely to have a stroke if they also had a mechanical malfunction in the atrial chamber of their heart. A noninvasive risk assessment tool may help identify people with the condition who are at high stroke risk and might benefit from preventive measures, according to researchers. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at American Heart Association’s scientific meetings are not peer-reviewed, ...

Research Highlights: Adults with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and at moderate or high risk of cardiovascular disease who took low-dose aspirin were less likely to experience a serious cardiovascular event, including a heart attack, stroke or death, than peers who did not take aspirin. Any low-dose aspirin use was associated with significantly lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to no low-dose aspirin use, with greater benefit observed among those individuals who took it the most often. Low-dose aspirin use was associated with similarly lower risks of a cardiovascular event ...

Research Highlights: A review of 5 years of health records for more than 130,000 adults with insomnia who had used melatonin for at least a year found they were more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, require hospitalization for the condition or die from any cause. The association between melatonin and increased risk of heart failure or death found in this study, which cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship, raises safety concerns about the use of melatonin, which is widely available, and may warrant more research on melatonin to assess its cardiovascular safety, researchers said. Note: The study featured in ...

Research Highlights: For people with Type 2 diabetes, following at least six healthy lifestyle habits when taking GLP-1 RA medications can lower their risk of heart attack, stroke, hospital visits due to cardiovascular disease and death, more than medication alone or healthy lifestyle changes alone. A study of more than 63,000 military veterans with Type 2 diabetes who took GLP-1 RA medications found that those with at least six healthy lifestyle habits had a 50% lower risk of serious cardiovascular events when compared to veterans with a lower adherence to a healthy lifestyle who were receiving standard diabetes care but not taking GLP-1 RA medication. Note: The study featured ...

Human astroviruses are a leading viral cause of the stomach bug—think vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. It often impacts young children and older adults, leading to vicious cycles of sickness and malnutrition, particularly for those in low and middle income countries. It’s very commonly found in wastewater studies, meaning it’s frequently circulating in communities. As of now, there are no vaccines for this virus.  New research from the lab of Rebecca DuBois, a professor of biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, reveals the strategy that the human astrovirus uses to enter the body. A study detailing these results was published in the journal ...

Scientists at UC San Diego have moved one step closer to unlocking a superpower held by some of nature’s greatest “masters of disguise.”  Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish and other animals in the cephalopod family are well known for their ability to camouflage, changing the color of their skin to blend in with the environment. This remarkable display of mimicry is made possible by complex biological processes involving xanthommatin, a natural pigment.  Because of its color-shifting capabilities, xanthommatin has long intrigued scientists and even the military, but has proven difficult to produce and research in the lab — until now. In a new study, ...

Investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a versatile and non-toxic technology for controlling the activity of any gene in a cell. Such “gene-switch” tools allow scientists to “turn on” or “turn off” a target gene to study how it works, model diseases and design new therapies. The tool potentially could be adopted throughout biomedical research, including in the development of gene therapies. The new tool, called Cyclone (acyclovir-controlled poison exon), is described in a paper published Nov. 3 in Nature Methods. The tool was inspired ...

Research Highlights: Adults with elevated levels of three biomarkers for heart disease—lipoprotein a (also called Lp(a)), remnant cholesterol and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)—had nearly triple the risk of heart attack compared to those without elevated levels. In addition, people with elevated levels of only one of the three biomarkers had a 45% increased risk of heart attack and those with elevated levels of two biomarkers had double the risk. The three biomarkers measure different pathways to cardiovascular disease—genetics, cholesterol metabolism and inflammation. Combining the results may help health care professionals identify and begin treatment ...

More than one-third of the world’s population uses a writing system that includes both uppercase and lowercase letter forms. In these writing systems, capitalization is the use of an uppercase form for the first letter of a word. Learning to capitalize in English requires a speller to identify two clues: a word’s type (capitalize if it’s a proper noun, i.e., a specific person, place or thing), and its sentence position (capitalize if it’s at the start of a sentence). Capitalization rules in English appear to be simple, which means that they are taught early, and are not usually revisited in the later school years. However, little is known about how well English-speaking ...

The activation and deactivation of apoptosis is a promising field of research in basic biomedical research. The team led by Prof. Franz Hagn from the Chair of Structural Membrane Biochemistry at the TUM School of Natural Sciences has now discovered a new switch: "Many research teams worldwide are working on the exciting topic of apoptosis and its targeted control. The big advantage is that we are dealing with a highly efficient, evolutionarily developed regulatory mechanism. So, we don't have to invent something ...

A specialized shark-hunting pod of orcas in the Gulf of California has been caught on camera expertly targeting young great white sharks — flipping them upside-down to eat the energy-rich liver. The pod, known as Moctezuma’s pod, could be taking advantage of warming waters altering shark nursery areas to hunt juveniles, which lack the experience to flee as older sharks do. These observations suggest that orcas may hunt white sharks more often than we realized. However, a broader survey collecting more data is needed to draw strong conclusions.   “I believe that orcas that eat elasmobranchs — sharks and rays — could eat a great white shark, ...

A terrestrial broadcasting transmission technology developed by Korean researchers has been adopted as the next-generation broadcasting standard in Brazil, following its adoption as a North American standard. Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on August 29 that the physical layer transmission method for Brazil’s next-generation broadcast standard (DTV+) has been finally selected by Brazilian Presidential Decree. It is a transmission technology that combines ATSC 3.0-based multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) and layered division multiplexing ...

New research shows that modern agriculture is impacting biodiversity inside protected areas in Europe, while some traditional agricultural practices may help preserve it. The Natura 2000 is the largest network of protected areas in the world, established to conserve the most valuables habitats and species in the European Union (EU). Researchers conducted a large-scale survey among Natura 2000 protected area managers across all Europe focusing on management practices, funding and threats to biodiversity facing the Natura 2000 network.   The ...

Living farther than 30 km from a family physician can negatively affect access to health care, found a new Ontario study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250265. Over the last 10 years, access to primary care has declined in Canada, and this decline accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after moving, many patients reported continuing with their family physicians, despite travelling longer distances to reach them. “Distance to health care services is an important ...

Provincial governments that partner with for-profit virtual health care companies need to be cautious to protect public trust in the health care system, according to an analysis article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250639. At least 4 provinces in Canada have partnered with corporate virtual care organizations as part of efforts to deal with challenges in primary care access, offering medical care via video, phone and text messaging. “There are risks associated with direct-to-consumer virtual ‘walk in’ style ...

As Medicaid funding cuts enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are expected to reduce health coverage among adults, researchers and clinicians from Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian and Ariadne Labs argue in a New England Journal of Medicine perspective, published Nov. 1, that children are at increasing risk of unintended downstream effects. The bill, which became law on July 4, will cause 10 million people to lose their health insurance by 2034, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates. Children aren’t mentioned explicitly in the bill, but the authors say that many parents who lose coverage ...

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a new atomically layered material which experiences a five order of magnitude resistivity reduction when oxidized, more than a hundred times the reduction seen in similar, non-layered materials. By analyzing the structure, the team discovered a synergy between oxidation and structural modification which drives dramatic changes in physical properties. The new material promises more power efficient next-generation devices, ...

Oct. 31, 2025--Researchers at the Columbia University Fertility Center reported the first successful pregnancy using an AI-guided method they developed to recover sperm in men with azoospermia, in which ejaculate contains little or no sperm.  The case is described in a research letter published in The Lancet.  Male factors account for approximately 40% of couples with infertility. Of those, about 10-15% of men with infertility have azoospermia.    “A semen sample can appear totally normal, but when you look under the microscope you discover just a sea of cellular ...

A sweeping new study has uncovered global patterns in how bacteria thrive and interact within lakes and reservoirs, offering new insights into the invisible forces that sustain freshwater ecosystems. The research, led by scientists from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, analyzed hundreds of samples from around the world to understand how geography, temperature, and nutrients shape bacterial communities in water and sediments. Freshwater ecosystems are vital sources of drinking water, biodiversity, and economic activity, yet they are increasingly threatened by pollution, eutrophication, and climate change. Microorganisms, though microscopic, play a central role in ...