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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

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

Blurred boundaries between home and work can create barriers to sustained breastfeeding

Working from home is often seen as a good solution for new mothers, but a new Washington State University study reveals that the blurred boundaries between home and work can introduce barriers to sustained breastfeeding.

4 Aug 2026

Restricting select amino acids may mimic protein restriction’s healthy aging benefits

A review finds that restricting protein, particularly methionine, isoleucine, and valine, may improve metabolism and influence key aging pathways, largely in experimental models. Short human studies suggest metabolic benefits, but effects on lifespan remain unknown and restriction may harm people with unmet or increased protein needs.

3 Aug 2026

Gestational diabetes cases surge across England, raising health concerns

One in eight mothers in England is now diagnosed with gestational diabetes, with diagnoses rising by 60 per cent in just five years, according to a major study.

3 Aug 2026

Current NICE criteria miss most younger women at breast cancer risk

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) criteria used to decide who should be referred by GPs for further breast cancer risk assessment and specialist care misses up to 95% of women under 50 who will go on to develop the disease in the next 10 years, new research by researchers at the University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, has found.

3 Aug 2026

Two British birth cohorts find no added health burden from a coastal childhood

Researchers analyzing two British birth cohorts found no association between coastal residence in adolescence and midlife multimorbidity, while an unadjusted association in the 1958 cohort weakened after accounting for neighborhood deprivation.

3 Aug 2026

First consensus guidelines outline GLP-1 medication use during pregnancy

As the use of GLP-1 and other incretin-based medications for obesity continues to grow worldwide, researchers at Marshall University have contributed to an international effort to address one of medicine's most pressing unanswered questions: How should these medications be used by women before, during and after pregnancy?

3 Aug 2026

Prediction model can estimate heart disease risk in women earlier in life

McGill University researchers have developed a new tool to identify heart disease risk in women earlier in life.

3 Aug 2026

Gut microbiome shifts may begin before Alzheimer’s symptoms appear

A narrative review links reduced SCFA-producing gut bacteria and altered microbial metabolism with Alzheimer’s disease, while early evidence suggests similar changes may appear before cognitive symptoms. Mediterranean, DASH, MIND, and prudent diets are associated with beneficial microbial profiles, but direct evidence connecting diet, the microbiome, and amyloid pathology remains limited.

3 Aug 2026

Daily tomatoes lowered a key marker of liver fat in MASLD trial

An exploratory randomized trial found that 200 g of raw tomatoes plus 50 g of tomato sauce daily for six weeks produced a greater reduction in CAP-defined hepatic steatosis than a tomato-free diet in adults with MASLD. The improvement occurred without major weight or metabolic changes, but larger and longer trials are needed to confirm its clinical significance.

2 Aug 2026

Daytime cortisol patterns track cognitive decline but not Alzheimer’s disease risk

In 3,895 older adults, moderate daytime cortisol variability was associated with better cognition and slower decline, while the highest daily cortisol exposure was linked to poorer cognition and faster decline. Cortisol patterns differed between Black and White participants, but their relationships with cognition were similar, and none predicted incident Alzheimer’s disease.

2 Aug 2026

Persistent financial hardship tracks with poorer memory and processing speed by midlife

Researchers linked persistent low income and financial hardship across early and mid-adulthood to poorer processing speed and verbal memory at age 53 in a British birth cohort. Neuroimaging suggested greater vulnerability to later brain atrophy among men, people from disadvantaged childhood backgrounds, and APOE-ε4 carriers, although these subgroup findings require replication.

2 Aug 2026

Ketamine boosts neuroplasticity through microglia in female brains

Doctors use ketamine on patients as general anesthesia before surgery. They also prescribe it in low doses for pain management, and more recently, it's been used for treatment-resistant depression where other drugs have failed.

31 Jul 2026

Brain immune cells drive recovery from ketamine anesthesia in females

During ketamine anesthesia, the brain's nerve cells fall silent-as consciousness returns, they begin to reconnect.

31 Jul 2026

Midpregnancy herbicide exposure linked to increased preterm birth risk

Exposure to a widely used herbicide during the middle months of pregnancy may increase the chance of giving birth too early, before 37 weeks, a new study shows.

31 Jul 2026

Digital marketing threatens breastfeeding rates in the Americas

Ahead of World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is calling on countries across the Americas to strengthen protections for families against the growing digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes and other products that may undermine breastfeeding.

31 Jul 2026

Scientists map protective cell networks hiding dormant breast tumor cells

Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London and UCL Genetics Institute have created a detailed map of cells within breast tumors and identified distinct neighborhoods of proliferating and dormant cells.

31 Jul 2026

Exposure to fungicides and insecticides alters onset of puberty in girls

The study, which tracked more than 500 Spanish girls between the ages of 7 and 10, links the presence of certain fungicides in urine to early menarche and that of the insecticide chlorpyrifos to delayed menarche, highlighting the impact of pesticides on pubertal development.

31 Jul 2026

Tea, tap water and child IQ: What a Canadian pregnancy study found

Researchers analyzed 485 mother-child pairs in Canada to examine whether estimated fluoride intake from tea during pregnancy was associated with IQ at ages 3 to 4. Each 0.5 mg/day increase was associated with a 2.24-point lower full-scale IQ score, although the observational design and estimated exposure prevent causal conclusions.

31 Jul 2026