New satellite driven model provides “more realistic and reliable” predictions of sand and dust storm emissions Cardiff-led team tackles decades-long problem of overestimating when and where sediment transport occurs   The technology used to predict sand and dust storm (SDS) severity has for decades systematically over-estimated when and where sediment is transported across the Earth’s surface, a new study shows. Existing models, which draw on satellite, surface, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and weather data, make emission predictions and underpin early warning systems to try and reduce the health and climate impacts of SDS events globally. However, ...

Australia has almost doubled the size of its national parks and reserves since 2010, but an analysis shows the expansion has not been where it’s needed to protect threatened species and ecosystems. The study led by Professor James Watson at The University of Queensland found the amount of land gazetted for protection jumped from 12.8 per cent of the country to 22.3 per cent between 2010 and 2022. Professor Watson said while the headline numbers were important to recognise, there was a critical problem underneath. “Despite thousands of square kilometres ...

Eating large amounts of ultra-processed food (UPF) is linked not only to reduced fertility in men, but also to slower growth in early embryos, and smaller yolk sacs, which are essential for early embryonic development, according to new research. The authors of the study, which is published today (Tuesday) in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals, say their findings suggest that reducing the consumption of UPFs, especially around the time of conception and pregnancy, is better for both parents ...

A technique that transforms immune cells into cancer-seeking bloodhounds may overcome a roadblock that has hampered immunotherapy for solid tumors, according to a new study by Stanford Medicine researchers. The approach equips certain types of immune cells with proteins on their surfaces that can recognize byproducts of cancer cells’ abnormal metabolism diffusing in the spaces between cells and stimulates the immune cells to migrate toward the tumor. It differs from another common immunotherapy, called CAR-T cell therapy, in that CAR-T cells are engineered to have receptors that recognize ...

MIAMI (March 23, 2026) – More than 50 years after Agent Orange was used in Vietnam, a new national study published online ahead of print in Blood Advances highlights the genetic changes that link exposure to Agent Orange to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of bone marrow cancers that can progress to acute leukemia. The findings shed light on why some veterans develop more severe bone marrow cancers and will hopefully help these individuals obtain access to needed, service-connected care. The research, led by Mikkael A. Sekeres, M.D., chief of hematology at ...

MADISON — Cycles in the growth and decay of Antarctica’s ice sheets once shaped marine biological productivity thousands of miles away in the subtropical ocean, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the obliquity cycle — a 40,000-year astronomical cycle tied to changes in Earth’s axial tilt — influenced ocean productivity in subtropical latitudes about 34 million years ago, when the Antarctic ice sheet was ...

A made-in-Calgary 4D heart model is transforming treatment for heart failure patients having a specialized pacemaker inserted, called cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). In a national clinical trial, published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, Dr. James White, MD,  and his team found a clear benefit to using the model to target treatment. Developed at the University of Calgary, the heart model uses cardiac MRI images to generate a patient-specific replica, or digital twin, of a patient’s heart. These personalized “beating heart” models can be used to guide the placement of the specialized ...

EMBARGO: 24 March 2026 at 00:01 CET   Key takeaways  Small, combined improvements to sleep, diet and physical activity can reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure, new research shows.   Sleeping for 11 minutes more, doing an extra 4.5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and eating an additional quarter of a cup of vegetables every day were associated with a 10% lower risk of major cardiovascular events.  The ...

Original Research   Clinical Trial Participants Prefer Community Paramedic Home Care Over Usual Care Pathways Background: Researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial to test whether a program called Care Anywhere with Community Paramedics (CACP) could shorten or prevent hospital use. The study enrolled 240 adults receiving care through Mayo Clinic sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Study participants needed medical services that could be delivered by community paramedics at home but would have otherwise required hospital-based ...

Original Research  Isolation and Financial Hardship Linked With Lower Odds of Receiving Preventive Health Care in the U.S.  Background: Researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a national telephone survey, to better understand how social isolation and physical isolation intersect with material deprivation, including financial strain and inadequate health care access. The study examined six preventive services: COVID-19, flu and pneumococcal vaccination, and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings.  What They Found:   Among 281,582 adults, 31.9% ...

Original Research  Primary Care Continuity Remained High in Community Health Centers Despite COVID-19 Disruptions     Background: Continuity of care — seeing one’s own primary care clinician for most visits — is a basic tenet of primary care. This study examined continuity trends from 2019 through 2023 in a national sample of community-based health centers spanning the period before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers used OCHIN Epic electronic health record (EHR) data to measure continuity among patients using the Usual Provider of Care (UPC) index (the proportion of visits ...

Innovations in Primary Care  Innovative Panel Management Strategy Benefits Patients Who Need More Intensive Primary Care  Primary care panel sizes are often determined without detailed data on patient complexity, which can strain access to care and contribute to clinician burnout. Geisinger Health System used Charlson Comorbidity Health Analytics (CCHA) and Needs-Based Segmentation (NBS) tools to support complexity-based panel management across 45 primary care clinics serving more than ...

Original Research  Study Explores Frameworks for Improved Indigenous Data Sovereignty  Background: In Canada, current approaches to managing health data do not always reflect principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, which emphasize Indigenous peoples’ rights to control how data about their communities are collected, used, and shared. This study examined how practice-based research and learning networks (PBRLNs) currently approach data governance and explored how Indigenous data sovereignty frameworks could apply. Researchers ...

Original Research  Patients With Floaters or Flashes Could Face Higher Risk of Retinal Detachment  Background: Data from ophthalmology practices showed that experiencing newly emerging floaters in vision is more strongly associated with retinal tears than experiencing flashes. However, these associations have not been studied in primary care. In this study, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic records from seven family practices in the Netherlands to examine whether patients presenting with floaters, flashes, or both had different risks of retinal detachment in primary care.  What ...

Original Research  Patients With Floaters or Flashes Could Face Higher Risk of Retinal Detachment  Background: Data from ophthalmology practices showed that experiencing newly emerging floaters in vision is more strongly associated with retinal tears than experiencing flashes. However, these associations have not been studied in primary care. In this study, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic records from seven family practices in the Netherlands to examine whether patients presenting with floaters, flashes, or both had different risks of retinal detachment in primary care.  What They Found: Researchers reviewed 1,181 episodes ...

Original Research  Integrating Social Risk Alerts Into Primary Care Workflows May Improve Blood Pressure Control  Background: Screening for social risks has expanded in recent years. However, less is known about how integrating social risk information into clinical workflows influences patient outcomes. The study was conducted in the OCHIN network, a national consultancy for community health care organizations. Six clinics implemented the intervention; 44 clinics served as controls and were followed for 12 months.  What They Found: The intervention included electronic health record-integrated alerts identifying patients overdue for social risk ...

Original Research  Bleeding events largely outnumber thromboembolic events in patients with cancer during the last phase of life, most patients continue antithrombotic therapy Background: Blood thinners can prevent strokes and blood clots, but they also increase bleeding risk. It is unclear whether patients with cancer continue to benefit from these medications during the final weeks of life. Researchers in the Netherlands examined blood thinner use and related events in people with cancer during this period using routine general practitioner (GP) records from 2018 to 2022. They analyzed data from 2,860 adults starting when the GP first registered palliative care and reviewed records ...

Innovations In Primary Care  Family Medicine Practice Redesigns Patient Dismissal Process  Clinicians at an academic family medicine practice in upstate New York serving more than 25,000 patients revised their patient dismissal process after a review found that all immediate dismissals during a six-month period involved Black patients, who represent about 36% of the practice population. The clinic replaced the expedited dismissal approach with a structured review process led by an interdisciplinary Practice Concerns Review Committee. Rather than defaulting to warning letters or dismissal, the new approach centers patient engagement, shared problem solving, collaborative ...

Innovations In Primary Care  Chaplain Support at Primary Care Buprenorphine Clinic Addresses Mental Health Needs of Patients  Medication treatment with buprenorphine is widely used for opioid use disorder. Yet many people early in recovery experience emotional distress, social isolation, and difficulty finding meaning or rebuilding relationships. This report describes a team-based buprenorphine clinic within an academic family medicine residency practice that incorporated a clinically trained chaplain into patient ...

Methodology  Joint Display Method for Patient Surveys Reveals Deeper Insights Into Patient Satisfaction Background: Many patient surveys include both numerical ratings and written comments,  responses that are frequently analyzed separately, which can limit what researchers learn from the data. This report demonstrates a method for analyzing survey ratings and open-text comments together. Researchers used survey data from Alberta, Canada’s Long COVID Interprofessional Outpatient Program (IPOP), which provided multidisciplinary care for adults ...

A new study led by researchers at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology suggests that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet may be driven, in part, by tiny proteins hidden within our mitochondria, opening a new window into how diet shapes aging and disease risk. The study, led by USC Leonard Davis Instructional Associate Professor of Gerontology Roberto Vicinanza, found that people who closely follow a Mediterranean-style diet have higher levels of two mitochondrial microproteins, humanin and SHMOOSE ...

New research led by Colorado State University highlights a critical need for system-level thinking and innovation in shaping the electric power grid of the future. Professor Zongjie Wang recently published a paper in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature portfolio, that outlines a novel framework. The proposed method helps different how parts of the grid – transmission and distribution operations – work together to make holistic decisions, without requiring system centralization. The research is particularly relevant as power industry leaders and consumers grapple with the impacts of weather-related outages, rising energy costs, and ...

A free open-access webinar will introduce the Cancer Genome Interpreter (CGI), an advanced bioinformatics tool to interpret mutations in cancer genomes developed  by IRB Barcelona and co-created with European hospitals to turn complex cancer genomics into actionable insights. On Thursday, 9 April 2026 (14:00–15:30 CET), the CGI-Clinics consortium will host a free online workshop to present the Cancer Genome Interpreter (CGI), an AI-powered platform designed to support the interpretation of tumour genomes. ...

The National Science Foundation Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York, which aims to transform upstate into America's battery tech capital, will receive $45 million over three years for the second phase of the program. The initiative, led by Binghamton University and its core partners — Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Griffiss Institute, Launch-NY, and NY-BEST — is one of nine inaugural Engines launched under NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program.  Since its launch in 2024, the Energy Storage Engine has received $15M from the NSF. The initiative may receive up to ...

This winter was one of the warmest on record across the West; as a result, many snowy, alpine areas have seen bouts of winter rainfall where there would ordinarily only be snow. These unusual weather patterns have contributed to an abysmal ski season, but they can also set the stage for dangerous avalanches. At temperatures close to freezing, precipitation can fall as rain but freeze when it hits the snow, forming an icy crust. Snow that accumulates on top of that crust is unstable and prone to abrupt slides, causing an avalanche that can close down a major highway in moments, endanger backcountry ...