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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Dec-2025 17:11 ET (27-Dec-2025 22:11 GMT/UTC)

Ancient lead exposure shaped evolution of human brain

Southern Cross University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Hominids experienced lead exposure as far back as 2-million years ago, new research finds, challenging the theory that the neurotoxicant is an exclusively modern health hazard. The work also suggests that Homo sapiens, both ancient and modern, possess a gene variant that protects them against neurological damage from lead.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, NIH/National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Australian Research Council, Australian Research Council, Australian Research Council, Australian Research Council, Australian Research Council, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Baylor biologist links stable gut bacteria to healthy childhood growth

Baylor University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Jake Minich, Ph.D., shows how early-life microbiomes can predict undernutrition risk in Malawian children

Journal: Cell

American Society of Anesthesiologists names Patrick Giam, M.D., FASA, new president

American Society of Anesthesiologists
Reports and Proceedings

Patrick Giam, M.D., FASA, physician partner at U.S. Anesthesia Partners in Houston, assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College and adjunct clinical assistant professor of the Texas A&M School of Medicine was today named president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the nation’s largest organization of anesthesiologists. Dr. Giam assumed office at the ANESTHESIOLOGY^® 2025 annual meeting and will serve for one year.

Registration and abstract submission are open for ISSCR 2026 in Montréal 8-11 July

International Society for Stem Cell Research
Meeting Announcement

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has opened registration and abstract submission for the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting, taking place 8-11 July 2026 in Montréal, Canada. The Global Stem Cell Event will bring together academic and industry leaders driving progress in stem cell science and regenerative medicine.

STEMCELL Technologies will co-sponsor the hallmark event, continuing a valued collaboration that underscores the importance of partnership between science and industry in advancing the field.

Sleep trap: Many young adults use cannabis to fall asleep

University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

More than 1 in 5 young adults reported using cannabis or alcohol to help them fall asleep.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics
Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Vegan diet helps people with type 1 diabetes cut insulin costs by 27%

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A low-fat vegan diet that doesn’t limit calories or carbohydrates could help people with type 1 diabetes reduce insulin use and insulin costs, according to new research by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in BMC Nutrition.

Journal: BMC Nutrition

Nemours Children’s Health neurologist receives prestigious NIH grant to study brain patterns underlying autism, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease

Nemours
Grant and Award Announcement

Rodney Scott, MBChB, MRCP, DipStat, PhD, Division Chief of Neurology, Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley, has received a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Transformative Research Award. Dr. Scott will use the $2.6 million, five-year grant to investigate malfunctions in the brain’s hippocampal region, aiming to identify patterns that could lead to shared therapies for patients with autism, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.