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Common asthma drug improves strength in children with muscle disease

A common asthma medication improves motor skills and muscle strength in children with congenital myopathies, a group of incurable muscle diseases.

14 Oct 2026

Chronic inflammation spikes during the earliest phase of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome

In a nationally representative sample of more than 4,000 American adults, a common marker of inflammation was nearly doubled in people in the first stage of the syndrome, defined by excess or unhealthy body fat, compared with those with no metabolic risk factors.

14 Oct 2026

Finnish study finds poor oral health increases jawbone necrosis risks in breast cancer patients

Antiresorptive drugs, which reduce bone breakdown, are an important part of treatment for breast cancer that has spread to the bones. However, their use can be associated with osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), a condition in which bone tissue in the jaw dies.

14 Oct 2026

Mosquito saliva study opens new doors for blocking Zika, Dengue, and West Nile infections

Mosquitoes do more than simply transmit the viruses they carry: their saliva may actively help these viruses establish infection in the body from the very moment of the bite.

14 Oct 2026

Scientists identify novel autoimmune driver behind DNA repair breakdown in childhood cancer

Researchers have found the first evidence for a previously unsuspected cause of pediatric cancer. They showed that children with such cancers were more likely than their healthy peers to produce ‘auto-antibodies’ targeting six proteins necessary for normal DNA repair. Likewise, they showed that young adults with cancer had greater amounts of these circulating antibodies already years before diagnosis.

14 Oct 2026

People who walk more each day tend to score better on several brain tests

Researchers analyzed 14 years of physical activity and blood pressure records from 3,093 US adults and found that higher daily step counts were associated with better performance on tests of attention, cognitive control, and reward-related decision-making. Higher systolic blood pressure was associated with poorer delay-discounting performance, but accounted for only 4.8% of its association with physical activity, while the single cognitive assessment prevented conclusions about causation or cognitive decline.

14 Oct 2026

From turmeric to fenugreek, scientists examine nature’s potential role in diabetes care

A narrative review examined how curcumin, honey, culinary spices, and traditional remedies may influence oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial function, and insulin signaling in diabetes. Although experimental research and some clinical trials suggest potential metabolic benefits, the authors emphasize that larger, well-controlled studies are needed to establish their effectiveness and safety alongside conventional treatments.

14 Oct 2026

Coffee, citrus and genetics: What scientists found inside human breast milk

In a bioRxiv preprint, researchers analyzed 458 metabolites in breast milk samples from 349 mothers to investigate how maternal diet, genetics, clinical characteristics, and milk-cell gene expression relate to milk composition. Maternal diet explained the greatest share of metabolite variation among the measured maternal factors, while specific genetic variants and gene-expression patterns were associated with individual metabolites, although the study did not establish effects on infant health.

14 Oct 2026

Your diet may have more to do with your sense of smell than you think

Researchers analyzed dietary patterns and odor identification in 6,690 adults in Italy, finding that healthier plant-rich diets, particularly those emphasizing fruits and vegetables, were associated with better olfactory function and lower odds of hyposmia. Diets emphasizing less healthy plant foods showed the opposite association, although the cross-sectional study could not establish whether diet influences smell or impaired smell affects food choices.

14 Oct 2026

Cigarette smoke exposure alters ovarian and testicular function in mice

New research has shed light on how exposure to cigarette smoke could affect reproductive health in both men and women, identifying changes in biological processes involved in ovarian function and sperm production.

13 Oct 2026

Researchers uncover how metastatic colorectal cancer evades immune attack

Researchers at Hokkaido University, in collaboration with an international team of scientists led by the University of South Florida Health and Tampa General Hospital, have uncovered an important mechanism behind immune evasion in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

13 Oct 2026

Nature-based activities may offer lasting relief from loneliness

About one in three Americans and one in six people worldwide feel lonely on a regular basis, a troubling reality that has prompted some public health officials to declare an "epidemic of loneliness."

13 Oct 2026

Disadvantaged children with intellectual disabilities face greater mental health difficulties

Children with intellectual disabilities face greater mental health difficulties when they are from a disadvantaged background, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

13 Oct 2026

Parents of children with mental health problems face stigma

Parents of children with mental health problems may experience stigma when the ideals that matter most to being considered a "good parent" are perceived as not being met, according to preliminary research led by Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

13 Oct 2026

Improving nurse staffing could ease emergency department crowding

A new study led by researchers from Penn Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) finds that improving hospital nurse workloads could alleviate delays in care contributing to emergency department crowding.

13 Oct 2026

$5.8 million study explores gut-brain inflammation in people with HIV

Oregon Health & Science University researchers have secured a $5.8 million, five-year federal award to investigate whether damage to the gastrointestinal tract contributes to neuroinflammation in people living with HIV - raising the potential for new treatments to preserve brain function in people with HIV and older adults.

13 Oct 2026

CHOP researchers link MAP2K4 variants to a neurodevelopmental disorder

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have discovered the mechanisms of previously unknown changes in a gene that result in symptoms associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder.

13 Oct 2026

Scientists studied diet and lung cancer in 95,612 adults. One eating pattern stood out

A prospective study of 95,612 U.S. adults found that those with the highest sulfur microbial diet scores had a 23% higher adjusted lung cancer incidence hazard and a 19% higher lung cancer-related mortality hazard than those with the lowest scores. However, the associations weakened after accounting for overall dietary quality and competing causes of death, and the findings do not establish a causal relationship.

13 Oct 2026

Doctors avoided two common words when talking about weight with patients

Researchers analyzed 123 recorded primary care consultations involving adults with type 2 diabetes and elevated BMI, finding that weight was discussed in just 39% of visits. Clinicians avoided potentially stigmatizing terms such as "overweight" and "obesity," while weight-related conversations occurred more frequently among patients taking GLP-1 receptor agonists.

13 Oct 2026

Pancreatic cancer cells continuously reshape DNA to evade treatment

A new analysis of nearly half a million cells from dozens of pancreatic tumors, led by researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and New York University (NYU), reveals how pancreatic cancer cells continuously reshape their genetic makeup over time, enabling them to evade treatment.

13 Oct 2026