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Plague emerged earlier than thought and hit hunter-gatherers hard

Ancient DNA from 46 Lake Baikal hunter-gatherers revealed two early plague outbreak phases about 5,500 years ago, with Yersinia pestis detected in 18 individuals. The findings suggest these basal plague strains caused lethal, child-heavy outbreaks long before dense farming societies, cities, or classical flea-borne bubonic plague emerged.

21 Jun 2026

Autonomous medical AI outperforms doctors in simulated EHR cases

MIRA, an autonomous AI agent tested in a sandboxed electronic health record, diagnosed 574 real emergency department cases with 88.9% accuracy and outperformed physicians in a matched 311-case comparison. The system ordered tests, generated medication plans, and made admission decisions in simulation, but the authors stress that prospective validation, governance, and physician oversight are still essential.

21 Jun 2026

GLP-1 medications may lower risk of multiple substance use disorders

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso found that use of weight loss drugs like Ozempic and other GLP-1s is associated with a lower risk of developing alcohol, opioid, nicotine and cocaine use disorders.

21 Jun 2026

New human protein atlas maps how cancer rewires the body’s tissues

Researchers created a DIA-MS atlas of 13,609 proteins across 2,856 samples from fetal, healthy adult, paired non-tumor, and tumor tissues. The resource maps tissue-specific protein patterns, cancer-associated changes, organ-specific drug-toxicity signals, and candidate therapeutic targets.

21 Jun 2026

Study urges whole-system approach to strengthen global healthcare delivery

Global health policymakers should focus on the way entire healthcare systems work together - improving one element does not always create better outcomes if the wider system is not ready.

21 Jun 2026

Creatine may improve cancer immunotherapy by energizing immune cells

Creatine, the organic acid that is popularly taken as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders, supercharges a critical class of immune cells that activate and prepare the body’s key cancer-fighters, according to new UCLA research.

21 Jun 2026

International survey highlights major gaps in cardio-oncology education

An international survey has highlighted major gaps in cardio-oncology training, despite its increasing clinical importance. These results were presented at ESC Cardio-Oncology 2026, the second annual conference of the European Society of Cardiology's Council of Cardio-Oncology.

21 Jun 2026

Many kidney transplant candidates fail to reach the national waitlist

Nearly half of Americans with kidney failure who are referred for transplantation never begin the process required to be considered for a new organ, a new study shows, while less than a fifth actually complete the assessment and get on the waitlist.

21 Jun 2026

Bogotá’s strictest COVID restrictions delivered the clearest air-quality gains

A natural quasi-experiment in Suba, Bogotá, found that more stringent COVID-19 mobility restrictions were associated with larger reductions in PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ air pollution. The findings suggest targeted traffic and emissions controls could improve urban air quality, although ozone responses were more complex, and the results may not generalize beyond this high-traffic district.

21 Jun 2026

Google’s AMIE beats doctors on key simulated disease-management tasks

Google’s AMIE research AI matched primary care physicians overall in simulated, multi-visit disease-management reasoning and scored higher on several measures of plan appropriateness, treatment precision, investigation precision, and guideline alignment. The study highlights the promise of conversational AI for longitudinal care, while emphasizing that AMIE is not ready for clinical use and still needs prospective real-world testing.

21 Jun 2026

Estradiol changes may shape how much women move during the menstrual cycle

A 28-day wearable-sensor study of 26 healthy naturally menstruating women found that active energy expenditure varied across the menstrual cycle and was higher in the early follicular phase than the late follicular phase.

21 Jun 2026

Synthetic gut communities reveal how diet rewires the microbiome

Synthetic microbial communities give researchers controlled models for testing how diet reshapes gut microbial ecology, metabolism, and host-relevant responses. The review highlights how SynComs can strengthen causal inference, improve intervention testing, and support future precision nutrition, while noting major challenges in stability, standardization, and ecological realism.

21 Jun 2026

Aging immune cells may explain why autoimmunity rises later in life

A new Review reveals how aging can push the immune system into a paradoxical state, weaker against threats yet more prone to attacking the body’s own tissues.

21 Jun 2026

Scientists develop wearable robotic system to restore hand function

Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, in collaboration with ETH Zurich, the Technical University of Munich and Medical Faculty Belgrade, have developed a wearable neurorobotic system that combines electrical neurostimulation with hand exoskeletons.

19 Jun 2026