Scientists have found that sugar molecules coating your cells could change medicine forever

A new analysis has found that after Utah lowered the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 g/dL, alcohol-related crash fatalities declined significantly more in Utah compared to its six contiguous states. The findings from the study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, provide timely evidence that lowering the BAC limit may save lives and point to broad public safety benefits.

Can pets ‘shield’ their owners from the negative impacts of stress? A new study found the mechanism underlying pet-owner interactions may have nothing to do with how well pets help people handle stress at the time it occurs. At the same time, more interaction with pets did not equal more stress-relief – and in interactions between cats and their owners more interaction may even cause people to experience negative feelings more intensely. The researchers said these findings support the idea of multiple mechanisms underlying different effects of human-animal interaction in different contexts.

This month’s tip sheet from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, features a variety of cancer-related story ideas, including a new immunotherapy drug that significantly extends remission and survival in relapsed multiple myeloma, paradoxical mesothelioma findings, new research illuminating how gliomas evolve after treatment, and a profile of cancer survivorship researcher.

The cost of screening people with the rare, inherited cancer-causing condition Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is roughly nine times lower than that of treatment, researchers have found. This evidence is sufficient to make the case for investing in early genetic testing in tumour risk syndromes, they say, with benefits not just for patients, but also for healthcare systems.