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, ...

Africa confronts escalating internal migration and displacement crises fueled by intensifying climate hazards—particularly prolonged droughts—and persistent armed conflicts, which compound vulnerabilities across the continent. Previous research clearly links these stressors to heightened population movements, but limited empirical work examines climate adaptation's role, especially agriculture's influence, in moderating these effects at grid and country levels. On this premise, a study led by Professor Hyun Kim, Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration at Chungnam National ...

A research team led by Professor Yuan Li at Nanjing Medical University published a research paper entitled "A Cigarette Compound-Induced Tumor Microenvironment Promotes Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma via the 14-3-3η-Modified Tumor-Associated Proteome" in the Chinese Medical Journal. This work provides valuable insights into the role of smoking in HCC progression and drug resistance, offering potential therapeutic targets for overcoming sorafenib resistance. The study began with an analysis of clinical follow-up data from HCC patients, revealing that smokers exhibited significantly poorer ...

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affect millions of people worldwide, yet treatments remain largely limited to symptom management. A defining feature shared by these conditions is the buildup of misfolded proteins that damage neurons over time. Cells normally rely on a protein quality-control system to prevent this damage. At the center of this system are molecular chaperones or heat shock proteins, which help proteins fold correctly or direct misfolded proteins to degradation and helps maintain proteostasis. Among them, the Hsp70 family has attracted growing attention for ...

The vision of a fully connected world is rapidly becoming a reality through the Internet of Things (IoT)—a growing network of physical devices that collect and share data over the Internet, including everything from small sensors to autonomous vehicles and industrial equipment. To ensure this data is secure and not tampered with, engineers are increasingly turning to blockchain as a promising solution. While often associated with cryptocurrencies, blockchain is essentially a decentralized digital ledger; instead of one company controlling the data, it is shared and maintained collectively across a network of computers. Unfortunately, ...

Chemotherapy commonly damages the intestinal lining, a well-known side effect. But this injury does not remain confined to the gut. It reshapes nutrient availability for intestinal bacteria, forcing the microbiota to adapt. The researchers report that chemotherapy-induced damage to the intestinal lining alters nutrient availability for gut bacteria, reshaping the microbiota and increasing the production of indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), a tryptophan-derived microbial metabolite. Rather than acting locally, IPA functions as a systemic messenger. It travels from the gut to the ...

Microorganisms live in biofilms - the equivalent of microbial “cities”- everywhere on Earth. These city-like structures protect and house microbial communities and play essential roles in enabling human and plant health on our planet. Now, a new Perspective article published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes sets out a path to uncover the role of biofilms in health during long-duration spaceflight, and how spaceflight research can reshape our understanding of these microbial communities on Earth. Led by researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and Maynooth University and University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland working within the GeneLab Microbes Analysis ...

Organic matter carried in rivers to the Russian part of the Arctic Ocean may be creating more clouds and keeping the region cooler, a new study has found.   In a new paper published in Communications Earth & Environment, an international team of researchers, including atmospheric specialists from the University of Birmingham, examined an understudied region of the Arctic Circle which includes the Siberian region of Russia, to understand how aerosol formation, which is essential for cloud formation, was influenced by conditions in the region.   The researchers investigated the origins of Arctic clouds, finding that organic ...

This preclinical study explains the mechanism underlying CDK2 and CDK4/6 combination therapy, providing a blueprint for future clinical use These findings are notable because several CDK2 inhibitor candidates are currently making their way to clinical trials This combination treatment targets two types of breast cancer that currently have limited treatment options HOUSTON, JANUARY 22, 2026 ― A new preclinical study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, published today in Nature Communications, ...