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Understanding PIEZO2 mutations and sensory disorders

Every time we feel a gentle tap on the skin, specialized nerve cells convert that physical force into an electrical signal that the brain can interpret as touch. While scientists have long known that a protein called PIEZO2 acts as a key sensor for touch, it remained unclear why PIEZO2 is specialized for the localized mechanical forces experienced by sensory neurons, whereas its close relative PIEZO1 responds to broader mechanical stresses such as those generated when cells stretch, as occurs in blood vessels.

9 Mar 2026

Med14 protein drives GLP-1 benefits in pancreatic beta cells

GLP-1s are building a reputation as "wonder drugs." First characterized for their ability to improve insulin release and treat diabetes, the drugs were later found to promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health.

6 Mar 2026

Wnt signaling in fibroblasts drives gastric cancer metastasis to the liver

Researchers at the Cancer Research Institute and the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have uncovered a critical mechanism that enables gastric cancer to spread to distant organs.

6 Mar 2026

PET imaging reveals molecular mechanism behind ketamine's antidepressant effects

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, and approximately 30% of patients develop treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a condition that does not respond adequately to conventional antidepressant therapies.

6 Mar 2026

Disrupted iron levels after SARS-CoV-2 infection may trigger long COVID

Problems with iron levels in the blood and the body's ability to regulate this important nutrient as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection could be a key trigger for long COVID, new research has discovered.

6 Mar 2026

New fragmentome technology can detect early liver fibrosis and cirrhosis

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report that an artificial intelligence (AI)-based liquid biopsy test using genome-wide cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentation patterns and repeat landscapes can detect early liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, and may also reveal signals of broader chronic disease burden.

4 Mar 2026

Researchers develop versatile machine learning tool to automate complex clinical diagnostics

A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed a versatile machine learning model that could one day greatly expand what medical scans can tell us about disease.

4 Mar 2026

New research on two million people quantifies how genetic risks overlap across diagnoses

A sweeping new peer-reviewed study published in Genomic Psychiatry has introduced a concept that could reshape how psychiatrists and geneticists think about mental illness: genetic specificity.

3 Mar 2026

Eye movement testing reveals long-term effects of mild traumatic brain injury

A study from researchers at the CU Anschutz Marcus Institute for Brain Health suggests that veterans with concussions may continue to show subtle but measurable brain function differences more than a decade after their injury.

2 Mar 2026

Global breast cancer burden rising fastest in low-income countries

Despite recent advancements in breast cancer treatments, new breast cancer cases in women are predicted to rise by a third globally from 2.3 million in 2023 to more than 3.5 million in 2050.

2 Mar 2026

High-dose curcumin fails to produce lasting gut-microbiome changes in IBD patients

In an open-label study of 29 men, including patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in remission, 6 g per day of curcumin for eight weeks led to modest, transient shifts in gut microbiota composition without sustained restructuring. Despite achieving high fecal concentrations and minimal systemic bioavailability, curcumin did not produce durable microbiome changes, and disease activity scores remained stable.

2 Mar 2026

COVID-19 ARDS survivors face lasting disability and high late mortality, researchers report

In this single-center ambispective cohort of 283 Polish patients with COVID-19–related ARDS requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, cumulative mortality reached 44.5% at four years after ICU admission. Among survivors, substantial proportions reported persistent functional limitations, insomnia, fatigue, and reduced quality-adjusted life years.

2 Mar 2026

NLRP3 inflammasome plays dual, time-dependent roles during acute wound healing

Wound healing is a multistep biological process involving inflammation, tissue formation, and remodeling.

2 Mar 2026

Acoziborole receives positive opinion for single-dose sleeping sickness treatment

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted a positive opinion to Acoziborole Winthrop (acoziborole) as a single-dose oral treatment for both early- and advanced-stage gambiense sleeping sickness in adults as well as in adolescents 12 years and older weighing at least 40 kilograms.

27 Feb 2026

New approach to reducing radiation toxicity

Radiation therapy is highly effective at killing cancer cells, but it often harms healthy skin around the treatment area, a common side effect experienced by up to 95% of cancer patients undergoing treatment. In worst-case scenarios, it can result in delayed or halted treatment.

26 Feb 2026

New biomarkers for targeted gastric therapy

HER2-positive gastric cancer accounts for a substantial proportion of advanced cases and has long been treated with HER2-targeted therapies. While trastuzumab deruxtecan has shown superior activity compared with earlier agents, most patients either fail to respond initially or eventually develop resistance.

26 Feb 2026