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COVID-19 severity is linked to changes in mitochondrial DNA methylation

This study examined mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded mitochondrial DNA methylation in Indian patients with severe COVID-19 and found region-specific differential methylation linked to disease severity. Pathway analyses and protein assays implicated disrupted mitochondrial metabolism and dynamics, suggesting a role for mitochondrial epigenetic regulation in COVID-19 pathophysiology.

20 Jan 2026

Algae may help meet future protein demand without straining the planet

This narrative review evaluates clinical evidence on algae and algal proteins as sustainable, nutrient-dense food sources with high protein quality and bioactive compounds. Findings suggest potential benefits for muscle protein synthesis, cardiometabolic markers, immune modulation, and antioxidant status, while emphasizing heterogeneity, short-term data, and the need for longer clinical trials.

20 Jan 2026

Early pregnancy sulfur dioxide exposure raises odds of congenital limb defects

Maternal exposure to sulfur dioxide during the first trimester was associated with higher odds of congenital limb defects in offspring in a large population-based cohort from Wuhan. Associations were strongest for polydactyly and limb shortening, while other major air pollutants showed no consistent links with overall risk.

20 Jan 2026

Blood lipid–hormone ratios predict future asthma attacks years in advance

This study shows that specific ratios of circulating sphingolipids to steroids can predict the risk of future asthma exacerbations over five years with high discriminatory performance. By integrating metabolomics with longitudinal medical records, the research highlights lipid–hormone pathway imbalance as a key driver of asthma instability.

20 Jan 2026

HonorHealth patient first in Arizona to receive new investigational treatment for ischemic stroke

A stroke patient at HonorHealth Research Institute is the first in Arizona to receive a new investigational treatment that targets platelets - rather than traditional clotting proteins - to help reopen blocked blood vessels in the brain.

20 Jan 2026

Customizable protein platforms offer new hope for cancer treatment

Precise methods for shredding or repairing and replacing specific cancer-causing proteins in a malignant cell, developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, could have applications beyond cancer to a wide range of immunological diseases, members of the interdisciplinary research team say.

20 Jan 2026

Blocking microglia can prevent infantile amnesia

Scientists have found that blocking microglia (specialist immune cells in the brain) prevents infant forgetting ("infantile amnesia") and improves memory in mice, suggesting that microglia may actively manage memory formation and dictate what, and when, we forget.

20 Jan 2026

Bio-detection dogs can sniff out hemangiosarcoma

Cancer is a leading cause of death in both humans and pets; studies suggest that between one-third and one-half of all dogs will develop cancer during their lifetime.

20 Jan 2026

Measles resurgence: Global Virus Network calls for urgent action

The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries dedicated to advancing research, collaboration, and pandemic preparedness, expresses deep concern regarding the ongoing resurgence of measles in the United States and around the globe.

20 Jan 2026

Community water fluoridation not associated with changes in birth weight

A new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health finds that community water fluoridation (CWF) is not associated with significant changes in birth weight-a widely accepted indicator of infant health and a predictor of later-life outcomes.

20 Jan 2026

Prolonged exposure to air pollution linked to elevated risk for ALS

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can be linked to an elevated risk for serious neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and seems to speed up the pathological process, report researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

20 Jan 2026

Atypical mutation offers clues to personalized pancreatic cancer treatment

A new study led by Aaron Hobbs, Ph.D., and Rachel Burge, Ph.D., at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, reveals why a specific gene mutation behaves differently from other variants.

20 Jan 2026

Using AI to understand the age of disease onset in Huntington's patients

A team from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Institute of Neurosciences at the University of Barcelona (UBneuro) has applied advanced artificial intelligence techniques to better understand why Huntington's disease can begin at very different ages in patients.

20 Jan 2026

Study examines the benefits of digital disconnection in daily life

What effect does it have on our well-being when we put our smartphones aside for a while or otherwise disconnect from digital media? Alicia Gilbert, a research associate at the Department of Communication at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), together with two colleagues from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), examined this question.

20 Jan 2026

Scientists discover why patients with chronic kidney disease die of heart problems

Scientists have discovered an answer to the longstanding mystery of why more than half of patients with chronic kidney disease ultimately die of cardiovascular problems: Their kidneys produce a substance that poisons the heart.

20 Jan 2026

New genetic insights reveal vitamin B1's role in gut health and motility

Bowel habits aren't exactly dinner-table talk. But they reflect how quickly the gut moves things along, and when that goes wrong people can experience constipation, diarrhoea, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

20 Jan 2026

Researchers discover a biochemical route that plays role in Parkinson's disease

About 1 million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease, with around 90,000 new cases diagnosed each year, according to the Parkinson's Foundation.

20 Jan 2026

Leading cardiovascular societies call for urgent action to address environmental stressors

The world's leading cardiovascular societies, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association and the World Heart Federation (WHF) have today issued the first ever joint statement calling for urgent action to address environmental stressors as major, yet preventable, causes of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

20 Jan 2026

GOP promotes MAHA agenda in bid to avert midterm losses. Dems point to contradictions.

When a "Make America Healthy Again" summit was held at the posh Waldorf Astoria in Washington, the line of attendees stretched down the block.

20 Jan 2026

ELRIG announces Drs Stephen Ward and Annarita Miccio as keynote speakers for Cell and Gene Therapy 2026

ELRIG, a not-for-profit, volunteer-led organization dedicated to the global drug discovery community, today announced the keynote speakers for Cell and Gene Therapy 2026. Drs Stephen Ward (Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult) and Annarita Miccio (Imagine Institute) will lead the inaugural two-day event taking place at Hinxton Hall in Cambridge, UK from 9-10 March.

20 Jan 2026