US bans vaccine ingredient targeted by anti-vaxxers

New research reveals that tiny amounts of PFAS—widely known as "forever chemicals"—cross the placenta and breast milk to alter infants' developing immune systems, potentially leaving lasting imprints on their ability to fight disease.

No one can live without a heart pumping blood to the rest of the body. New research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine reveals more information about this vital function and how it's related to certain heart diseases and conditions.

Adolescents who use either e-cigarettes or conventional tobacco products (CTP)—like cigarettes, cigars, hookah and pipes—are significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety than teens who don't use tobacco products at all, according to a study published in PLOS Mental Health by Noor Abdulhay of West Virginia University, U.S., and colleagues.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a fraction of blood plasma; its concentration of platelets is of great value in regenerative medicine as they are essential in accelerating healing and repairing tissue. Until now, obtaining them has been based on centrifugation techniques, which—in addition to being expensive—could activate the platelets prematurely and reduce their effectiveness.

The fatality rate for H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in humans has historically been high, with more than half of people dying. Why, then, is the current H5N1 bird flu outbreak—which has caused massive die-offs in wild birds, farmed poultry and even wild mammals—causing mostly mild symptoms in the people it has infected?

Why do so many people relapse after quitting cocaine? A new study from The Hebrew University reveals that a specific "anti-reward" brain circuit becomes hyperactive during withdrawal—driving discomfort and pushing users back toward the drug. Surprisingly, this circuit may also serve as a built-in protective mechanism, offering new hope for addiction treatment.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a tool routinely used to diagnose and plan treatment for eye diseases, has now been modified to collect images of the inner ear.

A new Penn Nursing initiative explores the impact of federally funded international bioethics training programs. The collaborative initiative, published in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, highlights both the significant achievements and ongoing challenges in building bioethics research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Women from ethnic minority backgrounds or areas of high social deprivation are at higher risk of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), according to a new study led by Keele University.

Flossing your teeth at least once a day is an essential part of any oral health routine. But it might also one day protect other parts of the body as scientists have created a novel, needle-free vaccine approach using a specialized type of floss.

A newly published study in the European Journal of Oncology Nursing, led by Dr. Thinh Toan Vu at the Center for Innovation in Mental Health with Associate Professors Sasha Fleary, Glen Johnson, and Victoria Ngo, reveals that over half of family caregivers for lung cancer patients in Vietnam report low resilience. This raises urgent concerns about caregiver mental health and the sustainability of informal care within an already overstretched health system.

For her doctoral dissertation, Senior Planning Officer Idil Hussein studied the intentions of Finnish parents in terms of allowing their children to have human papillomavirus (HPV) and influenza vaccines.

While more than 1 in 3 American Indian and Alaska Native adults in California experienced moderate or serious psychological distress in the past year, 61% of the individuals in that group had not seen a medical provider, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne died this week at 76, just weeks after his farewell show and about five years after announcing he had Parkinson's disease.

A new study shows that the human gut microbiota can pinpoint whether an adult lives in Wuhan or Shiyan, two cities 500 km apart in China's Hubei Province, with 94% accuracy. This microbial signature is strongly linked to each city's characteristic diet.

Low doses of the injectable weight-loss medication semaglutide may improve symptoms of a hard-to-treat type of heart failure. This effect happened through direct action on the heart muscle and blood vessels, despite resulting in no significant weight loss, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions (BCVS 2025). The meeting, held in Baltimore, July 23–26, 2025, offers the latest research on innovations and discovery in cardiovascular science.

It is impossible to imagine life without the smartwatch for a huge group of people. About 455 million consumers worldwide used a smartwatch in 2024. They are especially popular among young adults (18–34 years old); in this age group, about 40% use a smartwatch.

A team of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) researchers have made an important finding about why genetically engineered immune cells sometimes fail to finish the job when given as a cancer treatment. The new discovery sheds light on the tendency of these modified cells to lose power or even self-destruct before fully destroying a tumor. This is a major problem, for example, in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.