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Scientists develop a superior diagnostic tool to spot hidden gene fusions in pediatric cancer

Researchers have introduced a novel diagnostic method that can more sensitively detect gene fusions in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common type of pediatric cancer, compared to other publicly available fusion detection algorithms.

14 May 2026

Solving the mystery of ALS survival differences with new biological insights

Patients with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, live an average of only three years after symptoms begin, though some can survive closer to 10 years. What drives these differences in survival has remained a mystery.

14 May 2026

Tracking the aging process across tens of millions of individual cells

While much is mysterious about the aging process, change over time remains its cornerstone. The biological shifts that accompany aging seemingly occur in many cells in the body.

13 May 2026

Gene mapping highlights strong immune and brain connections in depression

Neurons and white blood cells differ greatly in shape, function, and location within the body. However, researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil discovered that certain genes are equally dysregulated in both cell types in people with depression.

11 May 2026

Exercise or caffeine? Study finds neither clearly beats placebo for mental fatigue

Researchers compare the effects of caffeine and aerobic exercise on mental fatigue in adults.

10 May 2026

Obesity and Alzheimer’s linked through early metabolic disruptions

By 2030, the population in the United States aged 65 and older is expected to reach 71 million or about 20% of Americans. This growth is likely to increase the burden of age-related diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting about 1 in 9 adults over 65.

5 May 2026

NIH awards $3.9 million grant to develop a non-opioid pain treatment

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $3.9 million grant to a multi-institutional team led by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute to develop a non-opioid pain therapeutic and advance it into a Phase 1 clinical trial.

4 May 2026

Meth use accounts for nearly 1 in 6 heart attacks, California study shows

Methamphetamine (meth) use accounted for nearly 15% of heart attacks for a decade in a northern California study, published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

30 Apr 2026

Single-cell sequencing reveals why some CAR-T therapies succeed while others fail

Single-cell RNA sequencing is giving researchers a clearer view of why some CAR-T cells persist, expand, kill tumors effectively, or become exhausted. The review synthesizes 44 clinical scRNA-seq studies involving 500 patients and highlights how exhaustion, memory, cytotoxicity, clonal diversity, and metabolism may shape CAR-T responses.

30 Apr 2026

AHA calls for lifelong brain health strategy to prevent cognitive decline

The AHA scientific statement calls for a life-course approach to brain health that integrates cognitive, emotional, behavioral, vascular, environmental, inflammatory, sleep, microbiome, and social factors. It highlights how early-life exposures, mental health, pollution, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, gut dysbiosis, and socioeconomic adversity may shape brain resilience and later-life cognitive decline.

29 Apr 2026

Emergency settings more likely to initiate risky medications for seniors

Initial prescriptions for medications affecting cognition, such as antipsychotics, are disproportionately likelier to come from acute and post-acute settings such as emergency rooms, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities than they are from doctors' offices, new UCLA research suggests.

28 Apr 2026

Engineered gut bacteria successfully treat metabolic drivers of liver disease

When the liver fails, toxins - such as ammonia - that should be filtered from the blood build up and reach the brain.

28 Apr 2026

Drinking coffee alters your microbiome, mood, and memory

Coffee consumption influences the microbiota-gut-brain axis, affecting cognitive performance and emotional regulation through complex biological pathways.

24 Apr 2026

New review advances personalized care for meningioma patients

A comprehensive new review led by Mayo Clinic is helping shape how clinicians diagnose and treat meningioma, the most common primary brain tumor, with a focus on personalized, patient-centered care and the latest advances in precision oncology.

17 Apr 2026

Nature-inspired vesicles offer new path for precision medicine therapies

A quiet revolution is underway in modern medicine: Drug development is aiming to move from managing disease to correcting it through RNA and gene-editing therapies.

17 Apr 2026

How the immune system may influence Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and related diseases

This review argues that neurodegeneration is shaped not only by toxic protein buildup but also by immune signaling, with microglia and T cells able to either protect the brain or worsen damage depending on context. It also highlights aging, head injury, and viral infection as major forces that reshape CNS immunity and may influence disease progression and future treatment strategies.

16 Apr 2026

Researchers discover a molecular signature to flag dysfunctional aging cells

UCLA researchers have identified a rogue population of immune cells that quietly accumulates in aging tissues and in the livers of people with fatty liver disease. Clearing these cells, they found, dramatically reduced inflammation and reversed liver damage in mice - even while the animals remained on an unhealthy diet.

16 Apr 2026

Superficial skin exposures pose a higher rabies risk than previously thought

While it was previously thought that keratinocytes (skin cells) were only passive conductors that allow the rabies virus to pass through, novel research reveals that these cells play a much more active role. The findings of a new study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (JID), published by Elsevier, provide direct evidence that keratinocytes can support viral replication and transmit the rabies virus to neurons. The investigators offer a mechanistic explanation for how superficial skin exposures from scratches or minor bites by dogs and bats can lead to neuroinvasion, contributing to the risk of infection.

16 Apr 2026

New lab-grown organoids accurately mimic pediatric brain tumor biology

Efforts to identify and evaluate next-generation therapeutics for pediatric brain tumors are easily stymied by the quality and availability of laboratory models for research. To address this issue, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital developed patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor organoid xenografts that accurately reflect the biologic underpinnings of embryonal brain tumors.

16 Apr 2026

Aston University bioscientist receives £125,000 to investigate genetic reasons for neurodegeneration

Aston University bioscientist Dr John Reynolds has won a £125,000 Springboard grant from the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) for research into neurodegeneration caused by a rare genetic disease.

15 Apr 2026