Pregnant women are exposed to lower levels of toxic chemicals if they vape during pregnancy compared with if they smoke cigarettes, according to new research led by scientists at City St George’s, University of London and published today in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Scientists at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology have discovered a key connection between high levels of iron in the brain and increased cell damage in people who have both Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. In the study, researchers found that the brains of people diagnosed with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease (DSAD) had twice as much iron and more signs of oxidative damage in cell membranes compared to the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease alone or those with neither diagnosis. The results point to a specific cellular death process that is mediated by iron, and the findings may help explain why Alzheimer’s symptoms often appear earlier and more severely in individuals with Down syndrome.

June 19, 2025 – Shannon, Ireland; Hengyang & Shanghai, China — Compuscript is pleased to announce that the open access journal Bio Integration (https://bio-integration.org/) will now be jointly supported by two leading academic institutions. The Institute of Medical Imaging, University of South China, Hengyang, China, the journal’s current institutional owner, is being joined by the Institute of Sports Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China as a new co-owner and academic partner.