Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have discovered that human cells operate a sophisticated, synchronized traffic control system that actively monitors nutrient availability and precisely controls cellular energy balance and blood sugar levels. This finding challenges long-held assumptions about how cells sense and respond to changing nutrient levels—and offers a promising new target for treating diabetes and cancer.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) appears to develop as a result of changes in the biology of a person’s internal fat tissue, according to the Adipokine Hypothesis, a new way of understanding how fat may impact the heart. The hypothesis paper was published today in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, and is being presented at ESC Congress 2025. The author of the paper is Milton Packer, MD, FACC, Distinguished Scholar in Cardiovascular Science at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and Visiting Professor at Imperial College in London.

Millions of women use hormonal contraceptives, most often for pregnancy prevention but also to manage health conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. A new study from Rice University suggests these medications may affect more than reproductive health.

Published in Hormones and Behavior, the study, “Emotion regulation strategies differentially impact memory in hormonal contraceptive users,” found that hormonal contraceptives appear to shape how women experience emotions in the moment and how they remember emotional events later.

Lead author Beatriz M. Brandao, a graduate student in Rice’s Department of Psychological Sciences, and her collaborators compared women on hormonal contraceptives with naturally cycling women as they viewed emotional images and used strategies to regulate their feelings. Women using hormonal contraceptives showed stronger emotional reactions overall, but remembered fewer details of negative experiences — a pattern researchers say could help women move on from unpleasant events rather than replay them.

The findings add nuance to ongoing questions about how birth control affects not only the body but also the mind, with implications for mental health and women’s health research.