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Study links Doomsday Clock to mortality and mental health

Since 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) has used the metaphor of the Doomsday Clock as a means of communicating how close the human species is to self-imposed annihilation, represented as midnight.

12 Mar 2025

Dementia risk higher among adults with HIV in Malawi

Adults living with HIV in Malawi are more than twice as likely to also have dementia compared to those without HIV, according to a new study by a team of US and Malawian researchers.

12 Mar 2025

Natural ingredient gluconolactone offers hope for targeted lupus therapy

Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs, causing inflammation and damaging organs.

12 Mar 2025

Some CT scans deliver too much radiation, researchers say. Regulators want to know more.

Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco medical school, has spent well over a decade researching the disquieting risk that one of modern medicine's most valuable tools, computerized tomography scans, can sometimes cause cancer.

12 Mar 2025

Sent home to heal, patients avoid wait for rehab home beds

After a patch of ice sent Marc Durocher hurtling to the ground, and doctors at UMass Memorial Medical Center repaired the broken hip that resulted, the 75-year-old electrician found himself at a crossroads.

12 Mar 2025

Machine learning models fall short in predicting in-hospital mortality

It would be greatly beneficial to physicians trying to save lives in intensive care units if they could be alerted when a patient's condition rapidly deteriorates or shows vitals in highly abnormal ranges.

11 Mar 2025

Study investigates genetic mutations linked to occupational exposures

Occupational and environmental exposures can put specific groups of people at higher risk of cancer, including firefighters. A new study by investigators at Mass General Brigham examines a cancer rarely studied in firefighters: gliomas-a type of tumor that forms in the brain or spinal cord.

11 Mar 2025

One in three young people estimated to live with pediatric onset chronic conditions

The prevalence of chronic conditions has risen to unprecedented levels over the past twenty years, with nearly 1-in-3 young people estimated to now be living with pediatric onset conditions that significantly affect their lives, new research suggests.

10 Mar 2025

Many individuals with Niemann-Pick disease lack neutralizing antibodies against AAV2 or AAV9

A new study in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy showed that more than half of individuals with Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) who were tested lacked neutralizing antibodies against either adeno-associated virus (AAV) 2 or AAV9.

10 Mar 2025

Swapping butter with plant-based oils in daily diet could lead to significant health benefits

People who consume plant-based oil instead of butter may experience beneficial health effects and even have a lower risk of premature death, according to a new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

7 Mar 2025

Research poses a new explanation for how cancer-fighting drugs attack and destroy tumor cells

Research by UMass Chan Medical School scientists Sharon Cantor, PhD, and Jenna M. Whalen, PhD, poses a new explanation for how cancer-fighting drugs attack and destroy BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumor cells.

7 Mar 2025

Study finds link between pregnancy mineral levels and lower blood pressure in midlife

Women with higher levels of essential minerals circulating in their blood during pregnancy, particularly copper and manganese, along with vitamin B12, had a lower risk of developing high blood pressure in middle age, about 20 years later, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2025.

6 Mar 2025

Phase 1 trial examines safety and feasibility of stem cell treatment for Parkinson's

A recently launched Phase 1 clinical trial at Mass General Brigham is examining the safety and feasibility of a groundbreaking treatment approach for Parkinson's disease in which a patient's stem cells are reprogrammed to replace dopamine cells in the brain damaged by the disease.

6 Mar 2025

Wildlife and forest walks help alleviate PTSD symptoms in veterans

A new study published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions has revealed that exposure to wildlife and forest walks can help ease the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in US war veterans.

6 Mar 2025

Breast cancer mortality rates plateau in women under 40 and over 74

A new paper in the Journal of Breast Imaging, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that breast cancer mortality rates have stopped declining in women older than age 74, and reconfirms that breast cancer mortality rates have stopped falling in women younger than age 40.

6 Mar 2025

Telehealth for ADHD treatment linked to higher substance use disorder risk

For nearly five years, people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder have had the option of getting their stimulant medications prescribed and renewed by doctors they see only over a computer screen, despite the risks that these stimulant drugs can pose if misused.

6 Mar 2025