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Microplastics lab studies may fail to reflect real-world exposure

Microplastics pose health risks, but lab studies often fail to reflect real-world exposure, highlighting critical gaps in toxicological research methodologies.

14 Apr 2026

Study finds top AI models still struggle with clinical reasoning

Researchers tested 21 frontier large language models on 29 stepwise MSD Manual clinical vignettes and found that, although many models performed well on final diagnosis, they remained much weaker at differential diagnosis and diagnostic testing. They also introduced the PrIME-LLM score, a multidimensional benchmark designed to better capture balanced clinical reasoning across the full workflow rather than raw accuracy alone.

14 Apr 2026

Categorization is fundamental and predictive across all brain processing

Challenging the classic view, two cognitive scientists argue in a new review that categorization is not a late, specialized stage of sensory processing.

13 Apr 2026

Alzheimer's risk gene APOE4 impacts bone health in females

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, along with collaborators at UC San Francisco, have discovered that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, causes bone quality deficits specifically in female mice, through a mechanism that is invisible to standard imaging and can emerge as early as midlife.

13 Apr 2026

Vaping may raise cognitive impairment risk in young adults, study finds

A cross-sectional study of 232 young adults in Bangkok found that e-cigarette users were more likely than non-smokers to screen as at risk for cognitive impairment on the MoCA, while no significant differences were seen for ADHD symptom tendency or emotional intelligence. The authors say the findings raise neurocognitive concerns but do not prove causation, and they call for longitudinal research to clarify whether vaping contributes to later cognitive decline.

13 Apr 2026

Beetroot supplement raises nitric oxide markers in triathletes after one week

A randomized cross-over pilot study in 10 amateur male triathletes found that a beetroot-based multi-ingredient nitrate supplement increased nitric oxide-related and redox biomarkers over 7 days without evidence of lipid oxidative damage. The supplement was generally well tolerated, but the study did not measure whether these biochemical changes improved performance or recovery.

13 Apr 2026

Study shows why an apple a day may work differently for different people

A 12-week single-blind trial in 38 Japanese adults found that daily Fuji apple intake did not significantly change overall host metabolic markers, but responses differed by baseline gut enterotype. Participants in the Bacteroidaceae-dominant enterotype showed significant increases in fecal short-chain fatty acids after apple consumption, suggesting that gut microbiota structure may shape functional dietary responses.

13 Apr 2026

Parents’ intake of sugar substitutes may influence offspring gut biology, study finds

A mouse study in Frontiers in Nutrition found that parental sucralose and stevia intake altered gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, and gene expression across generations, with sucralose showing the stronger and more persistent effects. The changes were transmitted to offspring not directly exposed to the sweeteners, although several effects were attenuated by the F2 generation.

13 Apr 2026

Targeted therapy treats mixed histiocytosis following multiple skull relapses

Mixed histiocytosis (Langerhans cell histiocytosis [LCH] / Erdheim-Chester disease [ECD]) developing after treatment for initial skull LCH is not well recognized.

13 Apr 2026

Targeting super-enhancer mechanisms offers new strategies for cancer therapy

Super-enhancers (SEs) are large clusters of transcriptional regulatory elements that drive oncogene expression, maintain malignancy, and create "transcriptional addiction" in cancer.

13 Apr 2026

Competition between brain circuits is key to intelligent behavior

The brain does not only cooperate; it also competes. So determines an international study by the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Pompeu Fabra University and the Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada, published in Nature Neuroscience.

13 Apr 2026

Environmental enrichment found to weaken stress-triggered fentanyl relapse

Combating the opioid crisis relies on identifying new prevention strategies for problematic fentanyl use. In a collaboration between Washington State University and Washington University in St. Louis, researchers led by Jose Moron tested whether enriching a rat's environment can reduce fentanyl use and relapse.

13 Apr 2026

Threat-response in the brain's amygdala linked to sex-specific patterns of alcohol use

New research shows that the threat-response in the brain's amygdala (which processes emotions) is linked to different patterns of drinking by sex.

13 Apr 2026

Study explains why vaccines underperform in people living with obesity

New findings reveal that obesity significantly impaired the quality and longevity of antibody responses to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine in a mouse model.

13 Apr 2026

Targeting senescent fat cells provides new hope for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal malignancy of the female reproductive system. Due to its insidious early symptoms and the absence of specific screening modalities, approximately 70% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage.

13 Apr 2026

Microneedle nanoparticle platform improves lymphatic imaging with high resolution

The lymphatic system plays a critical role in pathological conditions such as lymphedema and chronic inflammation to tumor metastasis, venous insufficiency, and impaired wound healing, making accurate evaluation of its structure and function increasingly important.

13 Apr 2026