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Could one amino acid help explain why men tend to live shorter lives?

A UK Biobank cohort and Mendelian randomization study involving 272,475 participants linked higher circulating tyrosine with greater all-cause mortality and genetically predicted higher tyrosine with shorter lifespan. After accounting for phenylalanine, the relationship with shorter lifespan was clearest in men, while findings in women were less consistent, suggesting a potential sex-specific role for tyrosine in longevity.

7 Sep 2026

Bariatric surgery restores menstrual cycles and reduces polycystic ovaries in obese women

Metabolic bariatric surgery improves menstrual cycle frequency and symptoms of polycystic ovaries in women living with obesity, a new study from the University of Surrey reports.

7 Sep 2026

New study uncovers bacterial route to testosterone production

Many prostate cancers depend on androgen hormones, including testosterone, to grow. That is why treatments for advanced disease often try to reduce testosterone production or block its effects.

4 Sep 2026

The obesity-microbiome story is more complicated than ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria

This review finds that obesity is linked to reciprocal interactions between diet, the gut microbiome, microbial metabolites, and host metabolic pathways that influence appetite, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and energy balance across the lifespan. It highlights diet as a particularly tractable way to influence this system, while emphasizing that microbiome changes associated with GLP-1 therapies remain difficult to separate from weight loss and that functional multi-omics approaches may help enable more personalized interventions.

3 Sep 2026

Progesterone levels linked to brain patterns underlying mood changes

The influence of the hormone progesterone on mood is well known. Now researchers from the University of Barcelona have shown how higher levels of progesterone during the menstrual cycle are linked to less distinct patterns of activity in areas of the brain involved in controlling emotions.

2 Sep 2026

Menopause may start changing the gut years before periods stop

A longitudinal study of 964 women found that blood markers of gut epithelial barrier dysfunction and microbial product translocation began to rise around 2 to 2.5 years before the final menstrual period and remained elevated after menopause. The findings suggest that changes in gut barrier integrity may form part of the biological transition through menopause and could help explain links between menopause, inflammation, and later health outcomes.

2 Sep 2026

Women with shorter reproductive lifespan face higher risk of developing bronchiectasis

Women with a shorter reproductive lifespan are at greater risk of developing bronchiectasis, according to a new study in the July 2026 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open access journal.

27 Aug 2026

Wearable device detects hidden hormone patterns behind high blood pressure

A common but often overlooked cause of high blood pressure may be hiding in plain sight – and data from a pioneering wearable device could hold the key to its earlier diagnosis, according to new research.

26 Aug 2026

Study links finasteride to fewer complications after heart attack in men

Patients treated with medication for benign prostatic hyperplasia at the time of a severe acute heart attack experienced fewer serious complications from the attack, according to a study from the University of Gothenburg.

26 Aug 2026

Stress gene switches on more easily in the brains of people with schizophrenia

Experts at the University of Sydney have found that a gene involved in regulating the body's response to stress switches on more easily in the brains of people who live with schizophrenia.

26 Aug 2026

Maternal obesity alters fetal liver metabolism via placental molecular signals

A mother's obesity during pregnancy may send molecular signals across the placenta that permanently alter her son's liver metabolism, according to a new study in mice published in Nature Communications.

26 Aug 2026

Loneliness can reprogram the brain to increase alcohol use

Loneliness can reprogram the brain in ways that push alcohol consumption, reports a new preclinical study led by Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

25 Aug 2026

Higher BPA exposure tracked with higher estrogen and progesterone in women

Researchers found that higher urinary concentrations of BPA and several phthalate metabolites were associated with higher serum estrogen and progesterone levels in 90 premenopausal women from Iran. The cross-sectional study also identified positive associations for combined chemical exposures, although the authors cautioned that the mixture findings are exploratory and cannot establish causality.

24 Aug 2026

New AI model reveals hidden code behind gene activation

Precise activation of tens of thousands of genes is critical for healthy development and growth. Specialized segments of our DNA are responsible for carefully orchestrating genetic sequences that result in the production of enzymes, hormones, proteins and other crucial components underlying cell structure and function.

21 Aug 2026

Study shows how prostate tumors rewire metabolism to resist therapy

Prostate tumors can rewire amino acid metabolism to override the normal brakes on cholesterol production, a process that may fuel hormone therapy resistance, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

20 Aug 2026

More coffee, higher testosterone? This study found a more complicated picture

Higher habitual coffee intake was associated with a leaner body composition, lower circulating branched-chain amino acids, and distinct cardiometabolic patterns in 2,264 middle-aged Finnish adults. Hormonal associations differed by sex, with broader testosterone- and SHBG-related patterns in men and more limited SHBG-related changes in women.

20 Aug 2026

Review reveals how nicotine damages blood vessels and heart health

A review published today in Nature Reviews Cardiology provides the most detailed picture yet of how nicotine damages the cardiovascular system – tracing the biological chain of events from the moment nicotine binds to receptors in blood vessel walls through to the atherosclerotic plaque rupture that triggers heart attacks and strokes.

19 Aug 2026