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More coffee, higher testosterone? This study found a more complicated picture

Higher habitual coffee intake was associated with a leaner body composition, lower circulating branched-chain amino acids, and distinct cardiometabolic patterns in 2,264 middle-aged Finnish adults. Hormonal associations differed by sex, with broader testosterone- and SHBG-related patterns in men and more limited SHBG-related changes in women.

20 Aug 2026

Two distinct types of brain tissue work together to support cognition in older adults

Researchers from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have found that two distinct types of brain tissue work together to support cognition in older adults, and that the health of the brain's short-range wiring may help soften the cognitive effects of gray matter loss.

20 Aug 2026

First 24 hours shape the body's antiviral defense response

Age, genetics and lifestyle are known to influence how people respond to viral infections. Scientists also know that differences in immune response play an important role, but exactly how these factors shape the course of an infection has remained unclear.

19 Aug 2026

Parental loss doubles children's risk of mental health disorders

A new, large-scale Curtin University study has found children who experience parental loss are twice as likely to develop a mental health disorder, compared to those living with both parents.

19 Aug 2026

New studies reveal hidden control hub for MYC-driven cancers

In a rare pair of papers published back-to-back in the journal Genes & Development, research teams led by senior author Anindya Bagchi, PhD, associate professor in the Cancer Genome and Epigenetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, establish a unified framework that governs one of cancer's most powerful master regulators.

19 Aug 2026

New model measures social drivers behind infectious disease outbreaks

Influenza spreads in a crowded barracks or prison. Ebola proliferates when per-capita hospital beds plummet below the typical levels in developed countries.

19 Aug 2026

BMJ investigation exposes unhealthy food products at major UK school catering exhibition

As the government prepares to introduce updated school food standards, an investigation by The BMJ finds that more than a third of the firms exhibiting at the UK's biggest school food show sell products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS).

19 Aug 2026

Intravenous iron before heart surgery cuts transfusion needs

Giving intravenous iron to patients with anemia before heart surgery reduces the need for a red blood transfusion and results in an extra day at home in the first 90 days after surgery, finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today.

19 Aug 2026

A single blood test could offer a glimpse of disease risk years in advance

Machine learning-derived cellular aging clocks mapped more than 7,000 plasma proteins to over 40 cell types, revealing marked differences in how individual cell populations age. These blood-based signatures were associated with future risks of Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, and mortality across follow-up extending to 15 years.

19 Aug 2026

Review reveals how nicotine damages blood vessels and heart health

A review published today in Nature Reviews Cardiology provides the most detailed picture yet of how nicotine damages the cardiovascular system – tracing the biological chain of events from the moment nicotine binds to receptors in blood vessel walls through to the atherosclerotic plaque rupture that triggers heart attacks and strokes.

19 Aug 2026

New genetic risk score uncovers hidden type 1 diabetes cases

Incorporating a genetic risk score into standard testing for a genetic form of diabetes which affects young people could identify hidden type 1 diabetes in around one in five patients with a negative genetic test.

19 Aug 2026

Semaglutide trial targets people with liver disease, obesity and alcohol addiction

A new study -- co-led by the University of Plymouth, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Nottingham -- is being launched into a treatment for people impacted by liver disease, obesity and alcohol addiction.

19 Aug 2026

New AI tool helps personalize care after heart attacks

The health of heart attack survivors follows three distinct paths in the five years after their health event, say researchers from the University of Surrey.

19 Aug 2026

NSF grant supports UH researchers to investigate how mutation rates evolve across species

A nearly $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will allow University of Houston researchers to investigate how mutation rates evolve across species - work that could offer critical insights into cancer progression and antibiotic resistance.

19 Aug 2026

Scripps scientist receives NIAID award for immunotherapy research

Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance basic understanding of immune processes that could aid the design of next-generation immunotherapies.

19 Aug 2026

Dry cleaner proximity associated with increased Parkinson's disease risk

People living near dry cleaners may have a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease according to a new nationwide study led by researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

19 Aug 2026

New AI spots hypertrophic cardiomyopathy obstruction from standard ultrasounds

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed and externally validated an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can identify a potentially significant heart obstruction from routine ultrasound videos without relying on specialized Doppler imaging.

19 Aug 2026

Paternal valproate use not linked to offspring neurodevelopmental risks

Use of the antiseizure drug valproate by fathers before conception is not associated with neurodevelopmental disorders like autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children, according to a new study published August 19, 2026, in Neurology®, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Aug 2026

Colorectal tumors may damage nerves before chemotherapy

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that, in preclinical models of colorectal cancer, tumors can start damaging peripheral nerves before chemotherapy begins.

19 Aug 2026