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Occupational pesticide exposure may significantly increase ALS risk

Workplace exposure to pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) is linked to a 60-70% heightened risk of the most common form of motor neuron disease-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS for short, finds a synthesis of the available evidence, published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

4 Aug 2026

Study finds no link between newborn circumcision and autism risk

In a cohort of nearly 3,000 boys followed from birth into childhood, young boys who were circumcised just after birth did not have a higher risk of autism, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

4 Aug 2026

Scientists uncover cellular mechanism behind congenital heart defects

Congenital heart disease affects approximately two in every 100 newborns globally. But why do they occur?

4 Aug 2026

Study maps how birth order tracks disease risk across 10 million siblings

Researchers analyzing claims from more than 10 million siblings linked first-born status to higher odds of several neurodevelopmental and allergic diagnoses, while second-born status tracked with substance abuse and gastrointestinal conditions. The observational study identified 150 significant birth-order associations across the phenome, but claims data and residual confounding prevent causal conclusions.

4 Aug 2026

Complex ophthalmology letters may hinder patient understanding, study suggests

Letters to patients from ophthalmology services--the highest volume outpatient specialty in UK healthcare-include too much complex language and medical terminology which patients are likely to find hard to understand, reveals an analysis of more than 4 million letters from one large hospital trust, published in the open access journal BMJ Health & Care Informatics.

4 Aug 2026

Study links better sleep with higher academic achievement

A study published in the Journal of Political Economy, one of the world's top economics journals, provides the first causal evidence that improving sleep can directly enhance academic performance.

4 Aug 2026

Better sleep may boost academic and social success in adolescents

A new UC Davis Health study published in Psychological Medicine suggests that when it comes to helping adolescents succeed in school and maintain healthy friendships, sleep may matter more than screen time, exercise or diet.

4 Aug 2026

$GLP-1 therapy may help reduce fracture risk among adults with type 2 diabetes$

GLP-1 therapy may help reduce fracture risk among adults with type 2 diabetes

New research by UCLA Health found GLP-1 medications may reduce the risk of serious fractures for adults with type 2 diabetes.

4 Aug 2026

Researchers call for stronger safety testing of lip cosmetics

New peer-reviewed publications find significant gaps in lip product regulation and safety testing, including reliance on inappropriate skin models and significant underestimation of usage and ingestion rates, leaving consumers exposed to potential risks.

4 Aug 2026

Tadalafil may increase glaucoma risk in men with enlarged prostates

An erectile dysfunction drug that is also used to treat symptoms like sudden urgency and frequency, which are associated with an enlarged prostate in men, may heighten the risk of the serious eye condition, glaucoma, finds a large comparative study published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

4 Aug 2026

New study advances understanding of dementia after age 90

It may seem natural to assume that people experience cognitive decline after age 90, but until recently, researchers had limited evidence about how advanced age affects the brain.

4 Aug 2026

Long-term study highlights ongoing care needs among former CAMHS patients

Four in ten children who attend Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Scotland go on to attend specialist psychiatric services as adults, according to new research.

4 Aug 2026

Study links AI companions to increased loneliness and lower well-being

AI companions are becoming increasingly popular, with millions of users forming deep connections with persona-based chatbots and simulated AI partners.

4 Aug 2026

NIH funds research to explore the role of thymulin in inflammaging and cancer

As we age, chronic inflammation-or "inflammaging"-increases throughout the body and weakens our ability to fight cancer.

4 Aug 2026

Korean study finds no overall childhood cancer link with maternal diabetes

Researchers followed 549,851 Korean children and found no statistically significant association between maternal diabetes and overall childhood cancer. The analysis linked maternal diabetes to an 81% higher relative risk of urinary tract cancer, but the absolute difference was only 37 additional cases per 100,000 offspring.

4 Aug 2026

Breast cancer co-opts the immune system to attract nerves that fuel tumor growth

New research from the University of Oklahoma demonstrates how an aggressive form of breast cancer co-opts the body's own immune system to attract nerves that fuel tumor growth.

4 Aug 2026

Exercise helps protect Hispanic adults from late life cognitive decline

Previous studies have examined the associations between adherence to LS7 and cognitive outcomes, with findings suggesting that higher LS7 scores are associated with better cognitive performance, reduced dementia risk and improved brain health.

4 Aug 2026

Malaria infection causes permanent damage to the spleen immune cells

Macrophages formed in the bone marrow can only assume the function of embryonal phagocytes, or "scavenger cells," to a certain degree according to a study by the University of Bonn and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne.

4 Aug 2026

High childhood body mass index linked to adult childlessness

A study of almost 61,000 women in Denmark, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, finds that women who had an overweight or obesity body mass index (BMI) trajectory during childhood were less likely to have children than women with a normal (average) BMI trajectory, and this effect on childlessness was already apparent in their mid-20s.

4 Aug 2026

3D DNA organization in rare immune cells can explain Crohn's disease risk

A new study co-led by Prof. Valeriya Malysheva, group leader at the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, has been published in Nature Genetics.

4 Aug 2026