Why getting a COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be more complicated this year

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and deadly forms of cancer worldwide. A key reason for its high death toll is that it often goes undetected until it reaches an advanced stage.

The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday it had fired the head of the top US public health agency after she refused to step down during a standoff with vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

It's well known that alcohol misuse can harm not only drinkers themselves but also those around them. Now, a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs shows that, among college students, harms such as lower grades, mental distress and even suicidal thoughts are linked to being exposed to a drinker's poor behavior.

Inspired by an urgent need to improve timely defibrillation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in dense urban settings, a team of investigators developed a simulation that explored the potential of leveraging an existing food delivery network in Taipei City, Taiwan, to help address this challenge.

For women diagnosed with early breast cancer, the long-term risk of developing a second primary cancer is low (around 2–3% greater than women in the general population), finds a study published in The BMJ.

Children in sub-Saharan Africa have the world's highest rates of under-5 mortality at 74 deaths per 1,000 live births, which is 14 times higher than the risk for children in North America and Europe. In 2021, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for more than 80% of under-5 mortality worldwide. Sadly, the causes of death, such as diarrhea, malaria and preterm birth, are mostly preventable or treatable.

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting over 10 million people worldwide. Some forms of Parkinson's disease are characterized by an inability of cells to clean up dysfunctional mitochondria, particularly in neural cells of the brain. Like batteries, the mitochondria provide energy for a cell to function, but also like batteries, they can leak toxins as they age. Mitophagy is the process by which cells conduct quality control, throwing away old and defective mitochondria like taking out the trash.

The type of estradiol-based hormone therapy taken during and after menopause, such as patches or pills, may be associated with differences in memory performance, according to a study published on August 27, 2025, in Neurology.

A new study found that Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander people had the highest rate of stroke among people from other race and ethnic groups, with a rate more than three times higher than that of white people. The study is published on August 27, 2025, in Neurology.

A novel intervention aimed at helping adolescents with sickle cell disease maintain hydroxyurea treatment plans shows promising results at improving their quality of life, a new Columbia University School of Nursing study finds. These findings offer insight into methods that mitigate the effects of sickle cell disease. The study, "HABIT Efficacy Trial Intervention Improves Elements of General and Disease-Specific Quality of Life in Youth with Sickle Cell Disease," is published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

Cancer cells are notoriously flexible, taking on new features as they move around the body. Many of these changes are due to epigenetic modifications, which influence how DNA is packaged, and not due to mutations in the DNA itself. Such modifications are difficult to target for cancer therapy because they are reversible and can flip on and off.

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is one of the most challenging conditions in gastroenterology, affecting patients who have lost significant portions of their small intestine due to surgery, disease or congenital abnormalities. Patients with SBS often struggle with chronic malnutrition and depend heavily on parenteral (intravenous) nutrition, which can severely impact their quality of life and impose a substantial burden on health care systems.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common type of sarcoma, often driven by mutations in the KIT or PDGFRA genes. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like imatinib have been the cornerstone of treatment, but most patients eventually develop resistance due to secondary mutations, leading to disease progression and limited survival.

Peptidyl-arginine deiminase 2 (PAD2) enzyme converts arginine amino acid residues in histone proteins into citrulline groups and promotes tumor cell proliferation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. Administration of PAD inhibitors reduced PRUNE1 expression and suppressed tumor cell proliferation in both pancreatic cancer cell lines and mouse models. The study thus lays the foundation for future anticancer therapies targeting PAD2 enzymatic activity.

As much as 80% of young people from the lowest social levels drop out of sports during adolescence. "Two-thirds from the highest socio-economic class drop out, three-quarters from the middle class, while from the lowest class, 4 out of 5 drop out during adolescence," says Erik Grasaas at UiA.

U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 shots Wednesday but limited their use for many Americans—and removed one of the two vaccines available for young children.

U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 shots Wednesday but limited their use for many Americans—and removed one of the two vaccines available for young children.

A pioneering study by researchers from Finland and the UK has demonstrated for the first time that myocardial infarction may be an infectious disease. This discovery challenges the conventional understanding of the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction and opens new avenues for treatment, diagnostics, and even vaccine development.