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Brain organoids reveal how Alu-mediated gene deletion can lead to neurodegeneration

Brain diseases, including dementia, have long been studied using experimental animals such as mice.

27 Aug 2026

New mutant rat model replicates human chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health burden affecting approximately one in ten adults globally. Even with improved treatments, many patients continue to have worsening loss of kidney function, resulting in the need for dialysis or transplantation.

27 Aug 2026

Multi-ancestry genetic score improves risk prediction for Alzheimer's disease

Late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive disorder characterized by cognitive decline and memory impairment, affecting an estimated 6.9 million people in the U.S.

27 Aug 2026

New platform enables large-scale production of custom proteins

Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don't naturally do.

27 Aug 2026

Gut microbiome atlas maps how bacteria establish themselves and shift in inflammatory bowel disease

Researchers created a microbiome-wide atlas mapping more than seven million colonization factor genes across 4,716 human gut microbial species, revealing three putative strategies linked to metabolism, stress resistance, and microbial communication. Applying the framework to inflammatory bowel disease showed that colonization-factor profiles can provide a compact, biologically interpretable view of disease-associated microbiome changes.

27 Aug 2026

Nanoparticles regenerate neurons and improve cognition in Alzheimer’s mice

The adult human brain has limited capacity to repair or regenerate neurons lost to Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia.

26 Aug 2026

Phytoene in tomatoes may help protect against fatty liver disease

New study suggests a lesser-known compound in tomatoes may help protect against fatty liver disease, which affects more than 1 in 3 American adults.

26 Aug 2026

Tea, berries and dark chocolate featured in a diet linked to lower Parkinson’s risk

A prospective UK Biobank study of 123,655 adults found that a dietary pattern richer in flavonoid-containing foods was modestly associated with a lower incidence of hospital-recorded Parkinson’s disease. The association was strongest among those with the highest flavonoid diet scores, while exploratory proteomic and transcriptomic analyses pointed to possible neuroimmune and cell-adhesion pathways but did not establish causality or mechanism.

26 Aug 2026

Research improves understanding of biological mechanisms behind cluster headaches

Inflammation, altered gene regulation, and exposure to substances in tobacco smoke may all contribute to the development of cluster headache.

26 Aug 2026

Hormone replacement therapy may reduce dementia risk for some women

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may reduce the risk of dementia, particularly for certain groups of women - according to a study from the University of East Anglia and the University of Exeter.

26 Aug 2026

Study reveals public willingness to select embryos using traits when given choices

A study of more than 2,000 people in the United States and China finds that the line between medical and non-medical traits, which underpins the rules on embryo testing in most countries, does not match the preferences of the public.

26 Aug 2026

Scientists identify new drug target to combat airborne tuberculosis

Tuberculosis bacteria released into the air from infected individuals dry out to form infectious particles that are second only to measles in contagiousness.

26 Aug 2026

Why living to 100 may depend on far more than diet and exercise

A critical narrative review found that healthy diets, regular physical activity, strong social ties, and psychological well-being can support healthier aging and reduce premature mortality, but none has been shown to reliably determine who reaches 100. The authors argue that exceptional longevity arises from complex interactions among biological resilience, genetics, social and environmental conditions, lifelong exposures, and chance rather than any universal lifestyle formula.

25 Aug 2026

Researchers traced lifelong obesity resistance in mice back to an early microbial encounter

Natural wild-derived microbiota protected mice against diet-induced obesity across sexes, genetic backgrounds, and age by increasing energy expenditure and promoting a thermogenic program in brown adipose tissue. The effect depended on the immune system’s initial encounter with the microbiota and required CCR2-associated myeloid activity, revealing a long-lasting microbiota-immune-brown fat pathway.

25 Aug 2026

Diabetes study reveals differing health risks for men and women

In the years following type 2 diabetes diagnosis, women are more likely to develop mental health conditions, while men are more likely to develop cardiovascular and renal complications, according to a study published August 25th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Fabiola Eto from Queen Mary University of London, UK, and colleagues.

25 Aug 2026

New molecular pathway explains why eye pressure rises at night

Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes progressive damage to the optic nerve, leading to loss of sight. One major risk factor is an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP), or the pressure inside the eye.

25 Aug 2026

What decades of wine research can, and cannot, tell us about health

A narrative review found that moderate wine intake has repeatedly been associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with proposed mechanisms involving ethanol and grape-derived polyphenols, but the evidence remains largely observational and cannot establish causation. The authors argue that drinking pattern, beverage type, age, cancer risk, and risk-modeling choices all influence how the J-shaped association should be interpreted and how alcohol guidelines are developed.

25 Aug 2026

The diet-Alzheimer’s connection is more complicated than “eat this, avoid that”

A mini-review finds that dietary patterns may influence Alzheimer’s disease through interconnected pathways involving neuroinflammation, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, homocysteine, and the gut-brain axis. The authors argue that genetics, sex, age, physical activity, and socioeconomic context may modify these relationships, supporting more individualized approaches to nutrition research and dementia prevention.

25 Aug 2026

New statistical framework untangles genetic and environmental autism risk

A powerful new research tool from a University of Virginia School of Medicine scientist and colleagues is set to advance our understanding of how genetics and environment contribute to autism risk.

24 Aug 2026

Targeting cyclin-dependent kinases offers new pathways for cancer therapy

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Germany. In the search for new therapeutic approaches that target the uncontrolled growth of tumor cells, a class of enzymes known as cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) has come into focus.

24 Aug 2026