A serotonin shield rather than a source: Revisiting the placenta's critical role in the health of babies

A woman in her 70s has been infected with West Nile virus in Middlesex County, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported on September 2nd, marking the state's first human case of the mosquito-borne disease this year.

Liver specialist Maurizio Bonacini is in the race for a cure for hepatitis B, one of the world's most widespread diseases and a top cause of liver cancer around the globe.

New research presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15–19 September) and published in the journal Diagnostics shows that people with hepatitis B immunity induced by vaccination have a lower risk of developing diabetes of any kind.

Methotrexate, a common medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, has a newly recognized useful secondary effect of lowering blood pressure and potentially reduces the risk of heart disease in people with this condition.

Cancer fighters know that losing their hair is often part of the battle, but Michigan State University researchers have developed a shampoo-like gel that has been tested in animal models and could protect hair from falling out during chemotherapy treatment.

New research shows that dedicated vape retail stores in Western Australia (WA) have become extinct since new national federal vaping legislation was introduced last year. But with researchers identifying that many convenience stores continue to break the rules, experts say ongoing monitoring and stricter enforcement is needed.

Pregnant women who consume five or more drinks of artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) a week increase their risk of developing gestational diabetes by 6%, new research from the University of Adelaide has found.

Obtaining prefrontal cortex biopsies during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery in living patients does not increase the risk of adverse events or cognitive decline compared to standard DBS procedures that don't involve biopsies, a team of clinical research scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has demonstrated.

Providing an online program to help those living with persistent pain could remove barriers to accessing help, a University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study has found.

3 September 2025, Cairo, Egypt – In response to the urgent – and  growing ­– threat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses to global health, development and security, the World Health Organization (WHO) is developing a new Global Action Plan on AMR (AMR GAP 2.0) in line with Resolution WHA77.6 and the 2024 UN Political Declaration on AMR. As part of the process of framing the future of global AMR policy, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean convened a consultation with Member States this week to review and provide feedback on the zero draft of the new plan. The consultation seeks to ensure that regional perspectives, priorities and challenges are reflected in the global strategy. In her opening remarks to health leaders from across the Region who gathered in Cairo for the event, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy called for a technically robust, operationally practical and socially equitable plan that addresses the social determinants and gender dimensions of AMR and ensures that the Region’s needs are fully reflected in Read more...

Scientists at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues at Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow, have developed a new type of immunotherapy that could improve outcomes for infants and children with high-risk leukemia.

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by alternating episodes of depression (i.e., low mood and a loss of interest in everyday activities) and mania (i.e., a state in which arousal and energy levels are abnormally high). On average, an estimated 1–2% of people worldwide are diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point during their lives.

People who have autistic-like traits, but who fall short of a clinical diagnosis, are at risk of problematic gaming, according to a new Charles Darwin University (CDU) study exploring what factors can lead to gaming disorders.

Patients are increasingly turning to AI for medical information and even advice, but how should they approach using AI-powered services? A new study published Sept. 3 in the journal Future Science OA, provides insight into this question for the fast-moving field of blood cancer, evaluating the quality of responses by ChatGPT to a set of 10 medical questions.

Given the seriousness and increased frequency of strokes, many studies have been conducted to assess the relationship between hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy and the risk of stroke, with varying results.

A team of scientists at Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) has created a protein-based therapeutic tool that could change the way we treat diseases caused by harmful or unnecessary cells.

Researchers from Texas A&M University, the University of Florida and the Texas Department of State Health Services say the time is now to recognize Chagas disease as endemic in the U.S. The multi-institutional team's perspective article, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, underscores growing evidence that points to endemic transmission.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and four other institutions have devised a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine. This approach could significantly reduce the need for invasive, often painful biopsies, they say.