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Could vitamin D in midlife protect your brain from early Alzheimer’s?

Higher serum vitamin D in midlife is associated with reduced tau burden in the brain, highlighting its potential role in early dementia risk assessment.

7 Apr 2026

Smoking shrinks key brain regions while cannabis shows weaker effects

The study highlights brain changes from tobacco use and calls for more research on cannabis, as its effects on brain structure remain inadequately understood.

7 Apr 2026

Challenging processed meat risks for dry-cured ham consumption

The effects of dry-cured ham on cardiometabolic health are nuanced, with evidence suggesting it may not adversely affect key health markers in moderation.

7 Apr 2026

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

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

Scientists create large library of mitochondrial DNA mutant models

Some of your most important life partners are the mitochondria that power all your cells. You and these little cellular powerhouses are in a 1.5-billion-year-old evolutionary relationship-but mitochondria brought some baggage.

6 Apr 2026

New guidelines aim to improve concussion care for first responders

Management of sports-related concussions has come a long way in the past 25 years: Once considered a minor problem involving minimal time out of the game, a severe knock to the head is now assessed as a potential traumatic brain injury and, if confirmed, requires a structured recovery and an average wait of 13 days before play resumes.

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

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

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

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