Blood tests show potential for colorectal cancer detection, but follow-up still falls short

A new study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion finds that inadequate leisure-time aerobic physical activity accounts for $192 billion in annual health care costs among U.S. adults—12.6% of total national health care spending.

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have discovered that PD-1—a molecule best known for putting the brakes on immune cells—also plays a critical role in helping T cells become long-term immune defenders in the skin. Early during infection, PD-1 acts like a steering wheel, guiding T cells to become protective resident memory T cells (TRM) that stay in place. These cells remember invading germs or cancer and quickly mount a response if that enemy reappears.

A Stanford University-led investigation into the COVID-19 vaccination effort reports that it averted an estimated 2.533 million deaths and 14.8 million life-years worldwide between 2020 and 2024.

Patients with bronchial asthma suffer from attacks of shortness of breath caused by constricted airways. "Anti-inflammatory medications are usually given to treat this, although it isn't quite clear how inflammation and constriction correlate," says Professor Daniela Wenzel, head of the Department of Systems Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at Ruhr University Bochum.

A recent study has revealed a critical gap in the use of accessibility features among people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and their caregivers. Though over 90% of ALS patients surveyed reported daily use of smartphones, tablets, or computers, many are unaware of the accessibility tools embedded in these devices—tools that could greatly enhance their quality of life as the disease progresses.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the fundamental building blocks of our circulatory system, giving rise to all blood cell types, including white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. HSCs play a key role in our understanding of complex biological processes and are involved in life-saving treatments such as bone marrow transplants and emerging gene therapies. As a cornerstone of regenerative medicine, HSCs hold immense promise for treating blood disorders, cancers, and immune system diseases.

A clinical trial led by London Health Sciences Center Research Institute (LHSCRI) and Western University has found that a knee surgery called high tibial osteotomy (HTO) can slow the progression of osteoarthritis. The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that HTO reduced knee joint damage and improved pain and function among patients with knee osteoarthritis and bowed legs.

Most Americans know that it's important for someone to take care of their health before getting pregnant and during pregnancy to increase their chance of having a healthy baby. Many people know, for instance, that smoking or drinking alcohol can have detrimental effects during pregnancy, increasing the likelihood that a baby is delivered early, is underweight, or has birth defects.

Imagine you're a molecular biologist wanting to launch a project seeking treatments for a newly emerging disease. You know you need the expertise of a virologist and an immunologist, plus a bioinformatics specialist to help analyze and generate insights from your data. But you lack the resources or connections to build a big multidisciplinary team.

Of the 3.6 million babies born in the United States each year, about 80% begin breastfeeding in their first month of life. Breastfeeding has known benefits for both mother and child, reducing maternal risk of breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, while simultaneously supporting the baby's nutrition and immune system. But because pregnancy and lactation have been historically understudied, we still don't understand the science behind many of these benefits.

A team of Canadian scientists has discovered a surprising new way to improve blood sugar levels and reduce liver damage: by trapping a little-known fuel made by gut bacteria before they wreak havoc on the body.

A Loughborough University student has designed a digital instrument to empower older adults through music.

The Alzheimer's Association U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER) found that certain lifestyle interventions improved cognition in older adults at risk of cognitive decline. U.S. POINTER is a two-year, multi-site clinical trial, one of which is the Baylor College of Medicine's Alzheimer's Disease and Movement Disorder Center, testing two different lifestyle interventions in a representative population of older adults at risk for cognitive decline and dementia.

A new swallowable device called PRIM (Pill for ROS-responsive Inflammation Monitoring) could someday make tracking inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—a chronic condition that causes inflammation in the digestive tract—as simple as checking the color of your stool. Researchers from Mass General Brigham and the University of Toronto designed and tested the device in preclinical models.

An AI algorithm for breast cancer screening has the potential to enhance the performance of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), reducing interval cancers by up to one-third, according to a study published today in Radiology.

Renowned physician-scientist Eric J. Topol, M.D., and Harvard artificial intelligence (AI) expert Pranav Rajpurkar, Ph.D., advocate for a clear separation of the roles between AI systems and radiologists in an editorial published in Radiology.

Children who develop deep wrinkles, stunted growth, and rapidly aging bones and blood vessels as early as 1 to 2 years of age may be suffering from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), a rare and incurable genetic disorder that affects approximately one in eight million people. The average life expectancy for patients is just 14.5 years, and to date, no curative treatment exists.

As school returns, parents and teachers might each be faced with the familiar chorus of "I can't find my school jumper" and "I left my hat at home." For parents of older kids, the stakes may be even higher: lost mobile phones or laptops left on the bus.