EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Aug-2025 05:10 ET (15-Aug-2025 09:10 GMT/UTC)

New study shows how biomass changed over 500 million years

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have long known that biodiversity has increased over geological time, but corresponding trends for the sheer abundance of living things have never been calculated, until now. The findings add to data suggesting that conserving biodiversity is essential for the health of humans and our planet.

Journal: Current Biology

City of Hope’s Dr. Yuman Fong delivers Lister Legacy Lecture, spotlighting surgical cancer innovations

City of Hope
Business Announcement

Yuman Fong, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery at City of Hope, this month delivered the Lister Legacy Lecture at the triennial conference of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. This presentation honors the long-term impact of Baron Joseph Lister, M.D., who brought antiseptic techniques and many other innovations to surgery, saving more lives and making a real difference in how patients live. Dr. Fong has surgically cured cancers once thought to be incurable, developed and tested the safety and efficacy of cancer-killing viruses in humans, and is advancing AI and robotic surgery infrastructure for the next generation of remote surgeons.

COVID vaccine reduces severity of illness, death for adults, especially among at-risk populations

Regenstrief Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study from the CDC's VISION Network, published in JAMA Network Open, has found that updated COVID-19 vaccines reduced the risk of ED and urgent care visits related to COVID-19 by 24 percent, hospitalizations by 29 percent and critical illness (intensive care unit admission or in-hospital death) by 48 percent during the first seven to 299 days after vaccination.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Can targeted payment adjustments help solve the infectious disease physician shortage?

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new analysis by researchers from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute examines the first Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) add-on code targeting a single physician specialty: infectious disease (ID). The measure is a significant departure from the agency’s past strategies, with the potential to combat the growing shortage of ID physicians and broader implications for physician reimbursement and healthcare delivery, according to the authors.

Journal: JAMA

Gerontological Society of America selects 2025 Fellows

The Gerontological Society of America
Grant and Award Announcement

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging — has named 47 exemplary professionals as its newest fellows.

Gerontological Society of America congratulates 2025 awardees

The Gerontological Society of America
Grant and Award Announcement

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging — is proud to acknowledge the work of 24 outstanding individuals through its prestigious awards program.

Global Virus Network expands global capacity with new Centers of Excellence in Brazil and Florida

Global Virus Network
Business Announcement

The Center for Advanced and Innovative Therapies at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil and the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine’s Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine have been named GVN Centers of Excellence.