Higher intake of food preservatives, widely used in industrially processed foods and beverages to extend shelf-life, is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancer, finds a study from France published by The BMJ today.   While further research is needed to better understand these links, the researchers say these new data call for the re-evaluation of regulations governing the use of these additives by the food industry to improve consumer protection.   Preservatives are substances added to packaged foods to extend shelf life. Some experimental studies have shown that certain preservatives ...

Clinical trial shows promising results for PanChol, a single-dose oral vaccine aimed at the up to 4 million annual cholera cases worldwide A team of scientists and physicians at Mass General Brigham has developed a single-dose oral cholera vaccine and tested it in a phase 1 clinical trial, with results published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. “The devastating cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010 triggered my desire to create a new oral live-attenuated cholera vaccine,” said co–senior author Matthew ...

Overview 　Anthracene—a hydrocarbon known for its strong luminescence and high photo-reactivity—has long been considered one of the most iconic and widely studied organic molecules. Its [4+4] photocycloaddition reaction, first reported in 1867, has underpinned the development of countless photo-functional materials, including actuators, adhesives, and chromic systems. 　Despite being a textbook reaction, the structural changes during this photoreaction occur in an extremely short time window (10⁻⁸–10⁻⁶ s), placing the process beyond direct experimental observation for more than a century. Consequently, controlling and visualizing ...

People prescribed the new generation of weight loss drugs may not receive sufficient nutritional guidance to support safe and sustainable weight loss, leaving them vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies and muscle loss, say experts at UCL and the University of Cambridge. In research published today in Obesity Reviews, the team, led by Dr Marie Spreckley from the University of Cambridge, found a lack of robust evidence surrounding nutritional advice and support and the impact this has on factors such as calorie intake, body composition, protein adequacy, and patient experiences. Weight ...

Dogs fed on premium, meat-rich pet food can have a bigger dietary carbon pawprint than their owners, according to the largest study into dog food’s climate impact. In particular, wet, raw and meat-rich products are associated with substantially higher greenhouse gas emissions than dry dog food. Overall, the production of ingredients used in UK dog food is estimated to contribute around one per cent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The findings highlight the need for greater transparency and better labelling of dog food ingredients to help consumers make informed choices, as pet ownership continues to rise, experts say. Scientists ...

Millions of Britons could be ready to swap imported fish for home‑caught favourites like sardines, sprats and anchovies – according to a new study from the University of East Anglia (UEA). A new report reveals that more than 40 per cent of consumers are willing to experiment with fish they’ve never tried before. The study suggests the UK is overlooking a major opportunity to improve national health and bolster local economies by embracing its own rich stocks of small, nutritious fish. The study was led by researchers at UEA’s Centre for Social and Economic Research ...

An estimated 1.6 million adults in England, Wales and Scotland used drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro to help lose weight between early 2024 and early 2025, according to a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers. The research, published in BMC Medicine and funded by Cancer Research UK, found that an additional 3.3 million people said they would be interested in using weight loss drugs over the next year. The team looked at data from 5,260 people who were representative of the general population ...

American College of Cardiology President Christopher M. Kramer, MD, FACC, issued the following statement on the release of new Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The ACC acknowledges and appreciates the release of new federal nutrition guidance and remains committed to helping clinicians and patients use it to support heart health,” said ACC President Christopher M. Kramer, MD, FACC. “We welcome the inclusion of several important science-based recommendations, ...

MILWAUKEE, WI and CAMBRIDGE, MA – January 7, 2026 – The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT), the leading professional organization for the advancement of cell and gene therapies (CGTs), and the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator (OTXL), a non-profit biotech focused on completing development and enabling access to stalled rare disease treatments, today announced a partnership to establish CGTxchange, a jointly owned entity that will serve as a clearinghouse and marketplace for deprioritized CGTs. The new joint venture will address a growing and urgent challenge facing the CGT field: policy and economic shifts in ...

Two new studies published in Anaesthesia (the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) analysing pain and other factors connected with day surgery in the UK show that around 1 in 8 patients having day-case surgery end up not going home and instead are admitted to hospital for various complications. Furthermore, one in 14 go on to develop chronic pain at the operative site after the procedure. The studies are by Dr Martha Belete, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, Torbay, Devon, UK and Dr Adam Brayne, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, ...

Violent crime has fallen to historic lows in Chicago, although gun violence continues to plague neighborhoods with concentrated poverty. A 2023 study of five major cities showed that more than 55% of shootings occurred in just 9% of total census tracts, and that small increases in things like poverty, unemployment, or limited access to health care are associated with large increases in firearm violence. Yet not every neighborhood that struggles with these challenges also has high rates of violence. ...

In a surprising twist amid rising climate concerns, new research shows that scorching soil temperatures during extreme heatwaves do not necessarily boost the uptake of toxic elements like arsenic in rice crops. This finding, from a real world experiment during China's record breaking 2022 heatwaves, challenges fears that global warming will poison staple foods. "Our study reveals that soil warming alone, decoupled from air temperature rises, does not inevitably ramp up arsenic or heavy metal accumulation in rice grains," said Sha Zhang, ...

A new study shows how digital building models can be used to pinpoint where carbon emissions occur across a building’s entire life cycle, offering designers and policymakers a powerful tool to reduce the climate footprint of the construction industry. Researchers developed an integrated method that combines Building Information Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment to calculate carbon emissions from the earliest design stage through construction, operation, and eventual demolition. Using a real office building in China as a case study, the team demonstrated how emissions can be quantified in detail and how targeted reduction ...

Researchers at the University of Delaware have transformed discarded corn cobs and other agricultural byproducts into high performance biochar filters that capture both ammonia and tiny plastic particles from water. In laboratory tests, optimized biochar removed up to 64 percent of dissolved ammonia and more than 97 percent of polystyrene micro and nanoplastics without leaching harmful chemicals back into the water. The study points to a practical way to clean polluted water while recycling agricultural waste and locking ...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (1/07/2026) —New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School offers a new view of how the immune system responds to organ transplants. The findings, published today in Science Advances External link that opens in the same window, show that T cell exhaustion – traditionally viewed as a pathological failure of the immune system — can instead play a protective role by helping the body tolerate a donated organ. The study identifies the spleen as a key control center for transplant tolerance. Researchers found that administering apoptotic donor leukocytes (ADLs) triggers the expansion of donor-specific regulatory T cells, ...

PHOENIX — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed and evaluated MedEduChat, an electronic health record (EHR) that works with a large language model to provide accurate, patient-specific prostate cancer education.   The findings are published in Nature Portfolio Digital Medicine and highlight a new approach to delivering timely, individualized guidance for people navigating a prostate cancer diagnosis.   Cancer patients often face uncertainty as they process complex information about their diagnosis and treatment options. Limited time with ...

Peripheral nerve injury reduces the ability of macrophages to clear dead or dying cells – a process known as efferocytosis – leading to chronic pain Restoring efferocytosis ability reduced neuropathic pain in lab models Efferocytosis is a potential therapeutic target for chronic neuropathic pain Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that targeting a specific immune process could help improve recovery after nerve injury and reduce chronic pain. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was led by Peter Grace, Ph.D., associate ...

Most conversations about breast milk tend to focus on topics like nutrients, antibodies and bonding time rather than bacteria. But it turns out that human milk carries its own tiny community of microbes, and those passengers may help shape a baby’s developing gut microbiome — which in turn can impact nutrient absorption, metabolic regulation, immune system development, and more. A new study published in Nature Communications provides one of the most detailed portraits yet of how different combinations of bacteria in human milk contribute to the assembly of infants’ ...

In the battle against type 1 diabetes (T1D), one researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is leading a bold new front. With $1 million in funding from Breakthrough T1D, the leading global T1D research and advocacy organization, Leonardo Ferreira, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology and Immunology, and his collaborators at partnering institutions will explore a  new approach to treating – and potentially curing – the disease. The team aims to reimagine how the immune system interacts with the pancreas by combining stem cell biology, immunology and transplantation science. The project’s goal is deceptively simple: to restore beta cell ...

Princeton researchers have developed a new tool to speed the discovery of advanced materials known as metal organic frameworks, or MOFs. MOFs are an emerging class of materials that form microscopic sponge-like structures with vast interior surface area. That quality promises to transform how society traps, absorbs and filters substances at the molecular level. The researchers say this could lead to better battery chemistry, more efficient carbon capture and improved access to clean water. But scientists face a problem of choice. MOFs are highly modular, consisting of metal-ion nodes and organic molecules that link the nodes into large networks. The researchers say there ...

An artificial saliva in the form of a mouthwash, produced with the CANECPI-5 protein extracted from sugarcane and modified in a laboratory, can aid in treating teeth in patients with head and neck cancer. In these cases, radiotherapy very close to the mouth can destroy salivary glands and compromise saliva production, which is essential for controlling bacteria and disease. According to research conducted at the Bauru School of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo (FOB-USP) in Brazil, CANECPI-5 forms a protective “shield” for the teeth, guarding the enamel against weakening acids found ...

Transverse tubules (T-tubules) play significant role in muscle contraction. However, the underlying mechanism of their formation is yet to be elucidated. In a recent study, a research team from Japan used a Drosophila model to understand this process. The results show the involvement of LUBEL, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, in the T-tubule biogenesis. Beyond LUBEL’s role in immune response, the study reveals an unexpected function of linear ubiquitination in membrane deformation, driven by BAR-domain proteins. Transverse tubules ...

Over the past two decades, microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have been recognized as emerging pollutants, detected across every environmental compartment of the Earth's system—the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Their pervasive presence has drawn increasing attention from researchers focused on biogeochemical cycles and climate change. Significant gaps remain, however, in quantifying the stocks, sources, transformation, and fate of plastics, especially within the atmosphere, primarily due to analytical limitations ...

Researchers have identified traces of plant poison from the South African plant gifbol on Stone Age arrowheads – the oldest known arrow poison in the world to date. The discovery, published in the scientific journal Science Advances, shows that 60,000 years ago, people in southern Africa had already developed advanced knowledge of toxic substances and how they could be used for hunting. Researchers from South Africa and Sweden have found the oldest traces of arrow poison in the world to date. On 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, ...

Sponges are among earth’s most ancient animals, but exactly when they evolved has long puzzled scientists. Genetic information from living sponges, as well as chemical signals from ancient rocks, suggest sponges evolved at least 650 million years ago. The research is published today [7 January] in Science Advances. This evidence has proved highly controversial as it predates the fossil record of sponges by a minimum of  100 million years. Now an international team of scientists led by Dr M. Eleonora Rossi, from the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, ...