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Study finds unisex armor can trap more blast energy on female torsos

Researchers used free-field C4 blasts and anatomically representative male and female manikins to test how unisex SAPI body armor changes shock exposure under different blast angles. They found that while armor lowered peak pressure in both, the female torso shape created larger air gaps that trapped energy longer and increased impulse exposure, especially around the underbust region.

6 Apr 2026

Study explores role of AI automation in psychotherapy practice

Psychotherapy has always been a deeply human endeavor: a patient talking, a therapist listening and responding, and healing happening through words. But with the rapid rise of conversational artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), that paradigm is shifting fast.

6 Apr 2026

New blood biomarker improves cancer risk detection in people with Lynch Syndrome

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a new blood-based biomarker that can help identify and characterize asymptomatic people with Lynch Syndrome (LS) who are more susceptible to developing cancer based on early immune detection signatures, allowing clinicians to stratify patients based on their personal risk level.

6 Apr 2026

New technique can simultaneously treat lung cancer and muscle-wasting condition

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a technique for simultaneously treating lung cancer and a serious muscle-wasting condition that often accompanies it.

6 Apr 2026

Prenatal smoking linked to broader mental health issues in children

Children exposed to maternal smoking before birth are more likely to experience behavioral and mental health challenges, according to a large study funded by the National Institutes of Health's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

6 Apr 2026

Fecal microbiota transplant can improve survival in severe C. difficile infection

A new study from the University of Minnesota Medical School demonstrated that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can rapidly reverse systemic inflammation and improve survival in patients with fulminant Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection - a life-threatening condition characterized by a sepsis-like state.

6 Apr 2026

New compounds reduce inflammation without weakening immune defense

Scripps Research scientists have developed a new class of drug compounds that reduce harmful inflammation while leaving the body's ability to fight infections intact-a long-sought goal in treating autoimmune diseases.

6 Apr 2026

Expanded Medicaid improved access to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

Medicaid insurance expansions between 2017 and 2023 sharply increased access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder in a period when fatal overdoses continued to climb, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

6 Apr 2026

New strategy exploits specific genetic vulnerability in colorectal cancer patients

Researchers have identified a novel therapeutic approach for colorectal cancer by exploiting a specific genetic vulnerability found in a majority of patients.

6 Apr 2026

Study shows how blind people map surroundings using sound

Some blind people use returning echoes from their own mouth clicks to perceive external surroundings, or echolocation.

6 Apr 2026

Estonian study reveals varied stress responses during first pandemic year

Karel Kulbin, a well-being researcher at Tallinn University, focuses in his doctoral thesis on how perceived stress levels and depressive symptoms among Estonian residents changed during the first year of the pandemic and what role active leisure activities played in this.

6 Apr 2026

New target identified to overcome resistance in neuroendocrine tumors

Neuroendocrine cells are unique in their ability to act both as nerve cells and hormone-making cells.

6 Apr 2026

Prickly pear may pack a surprising punch against metabolic syndrome

This narrative review examines how Opuntia ficus-indica fruit, or prickly pear, may help target multiple features of metabolic syndrome through its fiber, betalains, polyphenols, carotenoids, and other bioactive compounds. The authors conclude that the fruit shows promising mechanistic and preclinical potential, but stronger human trials are still needed before firm clinical claims can be made.

6 Apr 2026

Study shows masculine depression is not just a male mental health pattern

Researchers found that depressed inpatients with high masculine depression scores had a substantially greater acute mental health burden across multiple symptom domains, even after accounting for overall depression severity. The paper also found this pattern was not specific to men, supporting “masculine depression” as a descriptive, sex-independent behavioral profile rather than a male-only condition.

6 Apr 2026

How gut microbes may shape heart attack damage and recovery

This review argues that gut microbes and the metabolites they produce, especially SCFAs and TMAO, may shape how the heart responds to myocardial infarction through epigenetic pathways such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs. It also outlines potential intervention routes, including diet, probiotics, postbiotics, and metabolite-targeted therapies, while noting that much of the evidence remains translational and not yet clinically definitive.

6 Apr 2026

AI helps researchers find antimicrobial peptides in Earth’s harshest habitats

Researchers built the Extreme Environment Microbiome Catalog from 78,213 genomes across global extreme habitats, revealing major taxonomic and biosynthetic novelty, including 32,715 representative species, nearly 4 billion non-redundant genes, and 163,693 biosynthetic gene clusters. They then used protein language models to identify 3,032 candidate non-toxic antimicrobial peptides, with 84 of 100 synthesized peptides showing antibacterial activity and low cytotoxicity in the 50 tested in mammalian cells.

6 Apr 2026

Flu vaccination may cut heart attack and stroke risk after infection

In Danish adults aged 40 years or older, laboratory-confirmed influenza was linked to a sharp short-term rise in first-time heart attack and stroke risk, especially in the first 7 days after infection. Prior same-season influenza vaccination was associated with about half the excess cardiovascular risk among infected individuals, suggesting possible protection even in breakthrough cases.

6 Apr 2026

Evolocumab trial could reshape how doctors treat high-risk cholesterol patients

A new ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline and editorial argue that guideline development is rigorous but can lag behind fast-moving science, using the VESALIUS-CV trial as a clear example. The trial showed that intensive LDL cholesterol lowering with evolocumab reduced cardiovascular events in high-risk patients without prior heart attack or stroke, with implications for future guideline updates.

6 Apr 2026

New method identifies key proteins that trigger harmful immune responses

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new method to identify which proteins are most likely to trigger an immune response - a discovery that could help improve transplant care, regenerative medicine and other areas where the immune system plays a critical role.

6 Apr 2026

Mayo Clinic researchers develop experimental nanotherapy to treat aggressive brain tumors

Mayo Clinic researchers developed an experimental nanotherapy that delivers two cancer drugs directly to brain tumors, according to a study published in Communications Medicine.

6 Apr 2026