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Medicine24 Mar 2026

Five childhood cancer research priorities receive no funding despite being chosen by children and families

The number one research priority chosen by children with experience of cancer – making hospitals a better experience – has recently received no dedicated UK funding, according to a new report from CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association. The report mapped childhood cancer research spending against the priorities that matter most to patients, families and professionals. The report, led by researchers at the University of Surrey, reviewed 452 studies funded by 30 UK organisations between January 2020 and July 2025. Total funding across ...

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Medicine24 Mar 2026

How you walk could help doctors tell two similar brain diseases apart

Doctors often struggle to distinguish early dementia with Lewy bodies from early Parkinson’s disease. The two neurological conditions share many symptoms, including changes in movement, and are frequently misdiagnosed in their early stages. New research from the University of Waterloo suggests that quantifying walking behaviour might be a useful way to tell these diseases apart. The study found that people with early dementia with Lewy bodies walk more slowly, take shorter steps and have a lower walking rhythm ...

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Science24 Mar 2026

Honey bee waggle dance depends on its audience, study finds

A new study by Chinese scientists reveals that the honey bee waggle dance—one of the most famous examples of animal communication—is not a one-way communication but, in fact, a dynamic, two-way interaction shaped by its audience. These findings challenge the traditional view that information flows unidirectionally from dancers to passive followers. The study, conducted by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators, was published in PNAS on March 23. To test whether the content of the waggle ...

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Medicine24 Mar 2026

HKU innovations achieve recognition at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions at Geneva

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) achieved recognition at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, held from 11 to 15 March 2026. Demonstrating its strong research and innovation excellence on the global stage, HKU secured total of 46 awards. Research teams from the Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine (HKUMed), School of Biomedical Engineering, School of Computing and Data Science, and five HKU’s InnoHK Research Laboratories: Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation ...

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Medicine24 Mar 2026

Tiny sensors with the power to detect cancer

Microscopic sensors that are as thin as a strand of hair but capable of taking multiple measurements simultaneously could revolutionise the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases like cancer. Researchers from Adelaide University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and the University of Stuttgart in Germany worked together to develop the tiny sensors using state of the art, ultrafast 3D micro-printing technology. The unique sensors target specific biomarkers and are printed directly onto the tip of optical fibres. ...

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Environment24 Mar 2026

New satellite driven model provides “more realistic and reliable” predictions of sand and dust storm emissions

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, ...

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Environment24 Mar 2026

Quantity not quality: Australia’s conservation expansion is failing biodiversity

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 ...

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Science24 Mar 2026

Ultra-processed foods are linked to reduced fertility and embryonic development

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 ...

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Medicine24 Mar 2026

Immune cell ‘bloodhounds’ track cancer cells’ unique metabolic signatures, eliminate tumors in mice

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 ...

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Medicine24 Mar 2026

Agent Orange linked to aggressive bone marrow cancer in Vietnam veterans

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 ...

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Environment24 Mar 2026

Ancient Antarctic ice cycles impacted ocean productivity thousands of miles away

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 ...

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Medicine24 Mar 2026

New 4D model advances precision treatment for heart failure

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Combining small changes to sleep, diet, and exercise could be key to reducing heart attack and stroke risk

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Clinical trial participants prefer community paramedic home care over usual care pathways

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Isolation and financial hardship linked with lower odds of receiving preventive health care in the U.S.

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% ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Primary care continuity remained high in community health centers despite COVID-19 disruptions

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Innovative panel management strategy benefits patients who need more intensive primary care

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 ...

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Science23 Mar 2026

Study explores frameworks for improved indigenous data sovereignty

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Patients with floaters or flashes could face higher risk of retinal detachment

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Tip sheet and summaries Annals of Family Medicine March/April 2026

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Integrating social risk alerts into primary care workflows may improve blood pressure control

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Bleeding events largely outnumber thromboembolic events in patients with cancer during the last phase of life, most patients continue antithrombotic therapy

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Family medicine practice redesigns patient dismissal process

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Chaplain support at primary care buprenorphine clinic addresses mental health needs of patients

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 ...

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Medicine23 Mar 2026

Joint display method for patient surveys reveals deeper insights into patient satisfaction

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 ...

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