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Pregnancy night shifts associated with higher risk of developmental abnormalities in children

Working night shifts during pregnancy is linked to a heightened risk of neurodevelopmental abnormalities detected by screening in the child by the age of 4, finds research published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

27 Oct 2026

Lab-on-a-chip technology helps predict childhood leukemia treatment responses

More than 120,000 people in the U.S. are living with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and 6,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Of those, more than 3,500 will be in children.

27 Oct 2026

Autistic people report worse menopause symptoms and lower quality of life

A new study by researchers at Bournemouth University has shown that autistic people consistently experience more severe menopausal symptoms than non-autistic people, leading to poorer wellbeing and quality of life.

27 Oct 2026

Early neurological deterioration affects 30% of awake craniotomy patients

A retrospective study of 30 patients undergoing awake craniotomy found that 30% experienced new or worsened neurological dysfunction within 48-72 hours after surgery. Early functional and cognitive score reductions were common, while new-onset aphasia occurred in 10% of patients.

27 Oct 2026

New research center aims to accelerate hepatitis C vaccine development

The shifty hepatitis C virus (HCV) has a knack for outmaneuvering the immune system. Its secret is an especially high mutation rate, which has generated an abundance of viral variants with extreme genetic diversity.

27 Oct 2026

A loneliness trial puts personalized nature-based support on the research agenda

In a randomized trial involving 320 adults experiencing loneliness, researchers found that loneliness scores declined in both a facilitated nature-based group program and an active signposting group, with no significant difference between them at three months. Neither approach significantly improved health-related quality of life, while exploratory analyses suggested that people with lower emotional wellbeing might benefit more from facilitated group activities.

27 Oct 2026

Low vitamin B12 is linked to heart disease. Supplements tell a different story

A narrative review published in Nutrition Journal examines how vitamin B12 deficiency may contribute to cardiovascular disease through elevated homocysteine, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress and altered methylation. The authors found that B12 supplementation has not consistently prevented heart attacks or cardiovascular deaths in clinical trials, although combined B-vitamin therapy may modestly reduce stroke risk, particularly in populations without folic acid fortification.

27 Oct 2026

CT scans linked vitamin D levels to fat within muscles after bariatric surgery

Researchers followed 113 adults for one year after bariatric surgery and found that those with higher postoperative vitamin D concentrations had less fat infiltration within certain muscles and lower visceral adiposity. They found no significant association between increases in vitamin D and changes in body composition after correction for multiple comparisons, while preoperative vitamin D levels did not independently predict postoperative body composition.

27 Oct 2026

Most adults with obesity did not meet food noise criteria in US survey

Researchers analyzed responses from 3,646 US adults not currently taking GLP-1 medications to assess persistent, unwanted food-related thoughts using a five-item questionnaire. They found that approximately 4% to 9.5% met questionnaire-based criteria for food noise, with higher scores among younger adults, women, and people in higher BMI categories, while cautioning that no clinically validated threshold exists.

27 Oct 2026

Men with lower testosterone at 31 reported good health 15 years later

Researchers analyzed testosterone concentrations measured at age 31 in 2,691 Finnish men and assessed self-reported health, medical conditions, and quality of life at age 46. Men across testosterone quartiles generally reported good health and excellent quality of life, while differences in metabolic and gastrointestinal conditions lost statistical significance after adjustment for waist circumference.

27 Oct 2026

A village beyond Sardinia's blue zone shows striking survival among older women

Researchers studying Bolotana, Sardinia, found that women had exceptionally high estimated late-life survival during 2021–2025, with their probability of surviving from age 70 to 100 exceeding regional and national averages by more than threefold. Earlier demographic estimates showed a much smaller survival advantage, prompting the authors to classify Bolotana as a candidate longevity blue zone that requires further investigation.

27 Oct 2026

Amyloid fibers help sperm deliver RNA to mouse embryos

Researchers identified RNA-associated amyloid fibrils in human seminal fluid and demonstrated that synthetic PAP fibrils could enter mammalian sperm. In mouse IVF experiments, these fibrils helped sperm deliver RNA to embryos, where the detected reporter-protein signal was at least tenfold higher than without fibril exposure.

27 Oct 2026

Wildfire prevention power shutoffs linked to increased risk of acute respiratory illness

The prevalence of wildfires and co-occurring power outages is increasing in the United States. A study published October 27th in PLOS Medicine by Lauren Blair Wilner, University of Washington, USA, and colleagues suggests public safety power shutoffs aimed at preventing wildfires are associated with an increased risk of acute respiratory illness.

27 Oct 2026

Non-drug and non-surgical low back pain treatments are highly cost-effective options

Non-drug and non-surgical treatments for low back pain, including psychological support, exercise and self-management strategies are cost-effective interventions, according to a study published October 27th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Manuela Loureiro Ferreira from the George Institute for Global Health, Australia, and colleagues.

27 Oct 2026

Plasma proteins offer clues to biological aging and mortality risk

A new study published in Geromedicine has identified 17 plasma proteins associated with all-cause mortality in older adults and found that several of these proteins also track with measures of biological aging across multiple organ systems.

27 Oct 2026

Mutant protein variant explains dominant inheritance of genetic immunodeficiency

New research shows how a mutant form of a protein named STAT3 causes a genetically dominant immunodeficiency.

27 Oct 2026

UC San Diego receives major grant to secure healthcare cybersecurity

The University of California San Diego Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity has received an award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to lead the Preventative Assessment and Network Analysis of Cyber Essential Abilities for Health (PANACEA-H) project in collaboration with the American Hospital Association (AHA), the University of Maryland and the University of Minnesota.

27 Oct 2026

New satellite technology detects neurological risks from toxic red tides

Red tide, a harmful algal bloom that produces toxins, is known for causing respiratory irritation in humans and killing fish in coastal waters. Recent research shows that the conversation is also shifting to include a more subtle neurological threat.

27 Oct 2026

High-scoring endocrinologists are more likely to prescribe key diabetes drugs

Endocrinologists who scored highest on the American Board of Internal Medicine's Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) were more likely to prescribe a key diabetes drug class following a treatment guidelines update compared to doctors with lower scores.

27 Oct 2026

BioScience issue details challenges and future goals for One Health framework

The health of humans, wildlife, and the environment are inextricably linked, and a new article in the journal BioScience outlines what it will take to address that reality.

27 Oct 2026