Combating brain diseases using polymer-based targeted drug delivery

Imagine you are about to confront a friend about a hurtful comment she made and are trying to predict her response. Depending on what you know about your friend, you might infer that she will understand where you're coming from and apologize, get defensive, or respond with criticism of you.

Scientists sometimes compare predicting the course of epidemics to forecasting the weather. But there's a major difference—the impact of human behavior—says Alessandro Vespignani, director of Northeastern University's Network Science Institute.

Kraft Heinz Foods is recalling some 370,000 pounds of fully cooked turkey bacon products that may be contaminated with listeria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

The estimated mean annual number of hypertension deaths from excessive alcohol use was higher in 2020–2021 than in 2016–2017, with a higher increase among women than men, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

For adults with overweight or obesity, time-restricted eating (TRE) does not lead to significant changes in sleep, mood, or quality of life, regardless of the timing of the eating window, according to a study published online June 25 in JAMA Network Open.

A group from Nagoya University in Japan has developed a simple, accurate, and sensitive method for measuring polysialic acid, a unique acidic glycan found in the brain. Polysialic acid fluctuates in the blood of patients with psychiatric disorders.

Cancer-fighting T-cells, the immune system's primary enforcers, are scarce in the rare kidney cancer called chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) and those that are present are indifferent to the tumor threat and traditional immune therapies, revealing the need for new targets and treatments.

A study in the journal Science presents compelling new evidence that neurons in the brain's memory center, the hippocampus, continue to form well into late adulthood. The research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden provides answers to a fundamental and long-debated question about the human brain's adaptability.

Lung macrophages play a pivotal role in diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Two types of macrophages—the white blood cells that defend the body by killing microbes, removing dead cells and stimulating immune responses—are found in the lung. They are tissue resident macrophages, which are present from birth, and monocyte-derived macrophages that enter the lungs for a short time in response to damage or infection.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that artificial intelligence (AI) combined with portable digital microscopy improves the detection of intestinal worm infections, so-called soil-transmitted helminth (STH) in resource-limited settings. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, compared traditional manual microscopy with two AI-based methods for diagnosing soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) in stool samples from schoolchildren in Kenya.

When the first reports of a new COVID-19 variant emerge, scientists worldwide scramble to answer a critical question: Will this new strain be more contagious or more severe than its predecessors? By the time answers arrive, it's frequently too late to inform immediate public policy decisions or adjust vaccine strategies, costing public health officials valuable time, effort, and resources.

Speedballing—the practice of combining a stimulant like cocaine or methamphetamine with an opioid such as heroin or fentanyl—has evolved from a niche subculture to a widespread public health crisis. The practice stems from the early 1900s when World War I soldiers were often treated with a combination of cocaine and morphine.

Traumatic brain injuries have long affected military service members, with the Department of Defense reporting nearly 516,000 cases worldwide from 2000 to 2024.

Poor prepregnancy cardiovascular health is associated with a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes and coronary artery calcium in midlife, according to a recent Northwestern Medicine study published in JAMA Cardiology.

An EHU study analyzing different genetic markers associated with facial features of the European population has shown a strong link between 10 of these markers and the facial morphology of people from the Iberian Peninsula. The researcher Belén Navarro, the author of the study, highlights the importance of carrying out research in specific populations to obtain prediction models that can be used to reconstruct a person's face using DNA samples. The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Stressful life events can negatively impact brain health. Specifically, grief over the loss of a partner has been linked to alterations in biological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease, while unemployment and financial loss have been associated with structural differences in the brain.

New research has shown how boys being overweight in early childhood or having chickenpox or another infectious disease in infancy may increase their risk of having chronic disease in later life.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Toronto reveals that boys and men who perceive anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use within their social circles are more likely to report intentions to use these substances themselves, even if they have never used them before. The research is published in the journal Performance Enhancement & Health.