New York, NY (October 15, 2025) – The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has received a prestigious $4.5 million, five-year K12 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a pioneering program that will train the next generation of leaders in women’s health research. The program, called the Mount Sinai Life-course Exposomics Analytic Program (LEAP) in Women’s Health, is led by Rosalind J. Wright, MD, MPH, Dean for Public Health and Chair of the Department of Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine. LEAP is part ...

WASHINGTON—People with excess body fat who build and keep muscle may be less likely to develop obesity-induced heart, liver, or kidney damage or die early, according to a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Despite clear evidence that excess body fat can directly cause illness, obesity is often viewed as a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes rather than a chronic disease. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. BMI is ...

Lung cancer screening might be the best-kept secret in health care today. Only about 16 percent of those who are eligible in the U.S. get screened for lung cancer, but a study coming out in NEJM Catalyst on Wednesday provides a roadmap for how health systems can improve those numbers. The study details how the UR Medicine primary care network reached a nearly 72 percent lung cancer screening rate. “Our biggest success was not only screening a high percentage of eligible patients, but also enrolling those patients in the comprehensive program to ensure they receive the necessary annual follow-up screenings,” said Robert Fortuna, MD, ...

Have you ever wondered what makes shark skin so tough and sleek? It’s dermal denticles – tiny, tooth-like structures that cover a shark’s skin. Made of the same material as teeth and shaped like small scales with grooves, these microscopic armor plates aren’t just for show. Dermal denticles serve important roles in helping sharks glide effortlessly, and protect their skin, especially during mating. Although much is known, researchers still lack a full understanding of how dermal denticle shape changes across different parts of the shark’s body as it grows and if there are differences between ...

New York, NY [October 15, 2025]—Doctors often must make critical decisions in minutes, relying on incomplete information. While electronic health records contain vast amounts of patient data, much of it remains difficult to interpret quickly—especially for patients with rare diseases or unusual symptoms. Now, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have developed an artificial intelligence system, called InfEHR, that links unconnected medical events over time, creating a diagnostic web that reveals hidden patterns. Published in the September 26 online issue of Nature Communications, the study shows that Inference on Electronic Health ...

A new study in eGastroenterology links gut dysbiosis with severe steatosis in metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In a 61-patient cohort, those with the inflammation-linked Bact2 enterotype developed severe steatosis at lower thresholds. Adding microbiota status to standard clinical tools improved diagnostic accuracy from 80% to 90%, suggesting a path toward earlier detection and personalized care. MASLD: A Growing Global Burden Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease ...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- An estimated 90% of patients receiving home health care have at least one discrepancy between their medication lists and what they’re actually taking — making it more likely they will end up in the hospital. A Washington State University initiative helped a Spokane home health care agency ensure its patients’ medication lists were in proper order and reduced hospitalizations of high-risk heart-failure patients by more than half over a 10-week period. The project aimed to help nurses and other in-home clinicians “think like a pharmacist” when reviewing medication lists for patients. It combined interdisciplinary teamwork, training ...

The Sahara Desert is one of the driest areas in the world. It gets just 3 inches of precipitation per year — one-tenth of the amount of Chicago’s rain, sleet and snow. But by the second half of the 21st century, rising global temperatures could make the Sahara much wetter, according to UIC researchers. By that time, the North African desert could see 75% more precipitation than its historical norm, as reported in Npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. Under extreme climate conditions, rainfall is expected to increase in southeastern and south-central Africa, too, the researchers said. “Changing rainfall patterns will affect ...

Studies have shown that lighted nets can reduce bycatch of sea turtles and sharks, but the idea has faced many hurdles to adoption. The batteries are short lived, expensive to replace and raise disposal concerns. The lights are too heavy and prone to snagging nets. Fishers find them difficult to work with. To get past these hurdles, researchers at Arizona State University collaborated with a team of coastal gillnet fishers to develop solar-powered lights that function as buoys, like any others threaded onto the float line of a fishing net. The LED lights flash on and off to conserve energy and can stay active for over five days with no sunlight. The net-illuminating gear is highly effective ...

Researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have devised a battery powered by vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and glucose. Inspired by how human bodies break down glucose for energy using enzymes, the team incorporated riboflavin into a prototype flow cell battery. The riboflavin mediator helped shuttle electrons between the battery’s electrodes and the glucose electrolyte, generating an electrochemical flow from the energy stored in the sugar. “Riboflavin and glucose flow cells can generate electricity from naturally ...

Iron-deficiency anemia is a common condition marked by tiredness, headaches or ice cravings. But the oral iron supplements used to treat it can leave behind excess iron that causes inflammation and an upset stomach. A new supplement reported in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces combines iron, prebiotics and probiotics. In trials, the treatment successfully restored blood iron levels in anemic mice without initiating an inflammatory response or throwing off the balance of the gut microbiota. “By advancing biomaterial-based iron delivery, this research offers a transformative approach to address ...

For children and young adults diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a common type of bone cancer for that age group, the odds of survival can be devastatingly low (20-30%) when the disease spreads to the lungs. “Treatments for osteosarcoma haven’t changed since the 1980s,” Balakrishna Koneru, Ph.D., said. “That leaves us with a critical need for more effective and innovative therapies for these patients.” In an effort to improve the outcomes for these young patients, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded a two-year, $198,822 grant to Koneru, an assistant professor of pediatrics ...

A new study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports indicates that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) have an extremely high geographic association, even after controlling for race, gender, wealth, latitude, and access to neurological healthcare.  “The results of the study are surprising because previous studies have typically concluded there was no evidence for a mechanistic or genetic link between the two diseases,” explains study author Melissa Schilling, a professor at New York University’s Stern ...

More than a third of Canadian teens say climate change is impacting their mental health, according to a national study led by Athabasca University researchers. A survey of 800 Canadian youth aged 13 to 18 found that 37% reported their mental health was impacting their mental health to some extent. Teens indicated climate change has led to feelings of anxiety, stress, and worry, and fuels concerns and uncertainty for the future. “We’re seeing a lot of increased attention around how young people are feeling around climate change. A lot of that ...

Endovascular aneurysm repair is a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms—life-threatening bulges in the aorta's abdominal section. However, it carries the risk of recurrence owing to endoleaks after stent graft implantation, necessitating regular follow-up especially since these leaks cannot be easily linked to specific symptoms. Unfortunately, only imaging-based monitoring such as computed tomography angiography or magnetic resonance imaging is available at the moment. This conventional follow-up protocol ...

Beta-blockers are widely prescribed pharmaceuticals used to manage cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, arrhythmias, and post-heart attack recovery. Among them, atenolol (ATL) and metoprolol (MTL) are particularly common. Their high chemical stability benefits therapeutic efficacy but also means they degrade slowly, persisting in the environment. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are largely ineffective at removing these compounds, allowing them to enter rivers and lakes, where even low concentrations can exert chronic toxic effects on algae, fish, and other aquatic organisms. To remove such persistent pharmaceuticals, researchers have explored the development ...

Child maltreatment, which includes abuse and neglect, is one of the most serious public health concerns worldwide. These adversities leave a lasting impact on the emotional well-being, memory, and social development of affected individuals. The problem, however, reaches far beyond its psychological impact, affecting the brain and biological processes through genetic changes, which have remained unclear until now. A recent study led by Senior Asst. Professor Shota Nishitani and Professor Akemi Tomoda from the Research Center for Child Mental Development at University of Fukui, Japan, in collaboration with Professor Masataka Nagao from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Oct. 15, 2025 — The conditions where you live may influence your brain health and risk for dementia, according to a new study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine  The study, published today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, found that individuals living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social vulnerability, environmental injustice and socioeconomic disadvantage showed measurable differences in brain structure and function.  “This study is consistent with other research showing that the state of the social environment in which people ...

New report from the World Economic Forum and Frontiers identifies ten technologies with the potential to accelerate climate action, restore ecosystems, and drive sustainable innovation within planetary boundaries. The World Economic Forum and leading open science publisher Frontiers today launched the inaugural 10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health report, a landmark publication spotlighting ten breakthrough innovations that ...

There’s mounting evidence that popular drugs prescribed for diabetes management and weight loss — better known by trade names like Ozempic and Wegovy — could be effective in reducing alcohol use. A study from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, released this month in Scientific Reports, found that these types of GLP-1 agonists slow the speed at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, which also slows the effects on the brain. “People who drink know there’s a difference between nursing a glass of wine and downing a shot of whiskey,” said Alex DiFeliceantonio, ...

Throughout human history, many cultures have developed belief systems that tied nature to the supernatural, fostering practices that preserved and sustained their environments. Forest spirits, river gods, or deities were often seen as guardians of natural domains, and exploiting nature carried the risk of retaliation from these beings. Today, with mounting concerns over the overexploitation of the world’s natural resources, can bringing back some of these supernatural beliefs help deter such behaviors? The underlying idea is that fear of retribution ...

Kyoto, Japan -- Around the world, we are already witnessing the detrimental effects of climate change, which we know will only become more severe. Extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, tropical cyclones, and heat waves are projected to intensify, and this will negatively impact both human society and natural ecosystems. Assessing how climate change affects extreme weather is important not only from a scientific point of view, but also from a practical perspective. It is critical that we start adapting to climate change and mitigating the effects of potential disasters. This situation ...

TORONTO, Canada—A groundbreaking study analyzing data from over 5 million older Americans has found that those who migrate within the U.S. have significantly better health outcomes than those who remain in their birth state, offering compelling evidence of a “healthy migrant effect” within U.S. borders. Published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, the study examined the prevalence of five types of disability among Americans aged 65 and older: serious vision and hearing problems, cognitive impairment, limitations in daily activities (ADLs), and physical limitations such as ...

George Gamow® award, established by the Russian-American Association of Scientists (RASA-America, Russian-American Science Association) in memory of the outstanding Russian-American physicist, Professor Georgy Antonovich Gamow (1904-1968) and to encourage members of the Russian-speaking scientific diaspora for outstanding achievements recognized by the wider scientific community, for 2024 is awarded to: Anna Krylov, professor of the University of Southern California “For her pioneering contributions to theoretical and computational chemistry, particularly the development of novel electronic structure ...

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more than 25 times as potent as CO2 in warming the Earth. Reducing methane emissions is necessary to reduce the impact of global warming. In urban areas, evidence suggests that natural gas use and sewage treatment are responsible for generating methane. However, the extent of the contribution of other sources is unclear, especially in Japan. A research group led by Associate Professor Masahito Ueyama at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Agriculture measured methane and ethane concentrations ...