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What links smoking, body fat, mental health, genes, and heart risk? Inflammation may be part of the answer

In a large UK Biobank study, higher levels of the chronic inflammation marker GlycA were associated with smaller heart chambers, thicker heart walls, impaired diastolic function, reduced stroke volume, and a 43% higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in the highest versus lowest GlycA group. Genetic susceptibility also modified the associations between environmental exposures, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk, while inflammatory proteins in the IL-1, TNF, and IL-6 pathways statistically mediated several of these associations.

23 Sep 2026

Why scientists still cannot say how much plastic infants are actually consuming

A systematic review of 22 primary studies and four reviews found plastic-derived contaminants across infant foods and feeding equipment, but major differences in sampling, analytical methods, and quality control made exposure estimates difficult to compare. The authors found substantial evidence gaps for nanoplastics and oligomers and concluded that better-standardized exposure assessment is needed before infant health risks can be reliably evaluated.

22 Sep 2026

Children of single mothers by choice show favorable birth outcomes

The children of single mothers who conceive through medically assisted reproduction (MAR) have similar outcomes to babies of partnered mothers who had conceived naturally, a UCL-led study has found.

22 Sep 2026

Blood test detects more cancers when added to standard screening

A single blood draw that screens for more than 50 cancers substantially increased cancer detection when added to standard screening, identifying cancers that otherwise might have gone undetected until later stages, according to a new study from the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute.

22 Sep 2026

Ketamine-related bladder problems reported among young teenagers

Non-prescribed ketamine use may start at the age of 13, suggest data from a UK clinic dedicated to the treatment of bladder problems associated with misuse of the drug and published in a clinical letter in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

22 Sep 2026

Higher ultra-processed food intake linked to multiple health risks

A higher ultra processed food (UPF) intake is linked to a heightened risk of several major chronic health issues, such as digestive diseases, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome/diabetes, as well as death, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal Family Medicine and Community Health.

22 Sep 2026

A hidden measles signal may reveal how large the next outbreak could be

Researchers used historical measles surveillance and demographic data from pre-vaccination England and Wales to reconstruct how the susceptible population changed between epidemics. Their model linked susceptibility at the start of an epidemic year with the magnitude of the following outbreak, pointing to a potential route for one-year-ahead forecasting that requires further development for modern surveillance settings.

22 Sep 2026

Cancer incidence rises faster among people with type 2 diabetes

A nationwide study being presented at the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (Sept 28 – Oct 2) has found that people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a higher risk of developing cancer, with cancer incidence rising more among people with T2D than those without diabetes over the past 25 years, largely driven by obesity-related cancers.

22 Sep 2026

Higher BMI linked to brain differences in preschool children

Children as young as 4 with a higher body mass index (BMI) showed differences in several brain regions involved in reward, taste and hunger, according to a new study from Florida International University.

22 Sep 2026

Study identifies potential resistance mechanism in metastatic uveal melanoma

Uveal melanoma is a rare and aggressive cancer that starts inside the eye and often spreads to the liver. Few treatment options exist, and unlike some forms of skin melanoma which can respond well to modern therapies, metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM) remains difficult to treat.

22 Sep 2026

C-Path awards $1.7 million to advance five drug development projects

Critical Path Institute (C-Path) today announced that its Translational Therapeutics Accelerator has awarded $1,699,500 through five Bridging Research and Innovation in Drug Development Grants (BRIDGe).

22 Sep 2026

UF professor wins federal grant to develop technology for detecting early-stage endometriosis

Armed with a prestigious federal grant, University of Florida engineering professor Laura Kim, Ph.D., and her research team will develop technology to detect early-stage endometriosis.

22 Sep 2026

Loneliness and social isolation cost people years of healthy life

The numbers paint a grim picture. Roughly half of all U.S. adults are lonely, according to a 2023 report, and nearly as many feel socially isolated.

22 Sep 2026

Childhood trauma linked to risky health behaviors in late adolescence

Experiencing childhood trauma appears to increase a young person's likelihood of smoking, substance use and developing unhealthy eating habits by contributing to behavioral problems during adolescence, such as impulsivity and poor self-control.

22 Sep 2026

CAR T-cell therapy enables safe pregnancies in autoimmune patients

Autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus mainly affect young women, often in a phase of their lives where they would like to have children.

22 Sep 2026

Sensory neurons remember past allergens to trigger future allergic reactions

Mass General Brigham researchers found that sensory neurons retain a 'memory' of allergens that may help explain why allergies develop over time.

22 Sep 2026

MLC1 auto-antibodies identified as possible trigger for NMOSD-like diseases

NMOSD is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder that damages support and supply cells in the central nervous system, known as astrocytes.

22 Sep 2026

Low spinal bone density may predict faster brain aging

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that lower bone mineral density in the spine was associated with faster cognitive decline and accelerated age-related white matter injury, according to a new study published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.

22 Sep 2026

Aging population drives rise in smoking-related mortality risks

Smoking kills. But why does smoking seem more likely to kill now than a few decades ago? In 1987, a smoker had a 3.4% chance of dying within five years. By 2013, a smoker had a 4.9% chance of drying within five years.

22 Sep 2026