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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2026 15:15 ET (22-Jun-2026 19:15 GMT/UTC)

New transgenic zebrafish models decades of muscle atrophy in weeks

MDI Biological Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Published in PLOS Genetics, new research from MDI Biological Laboratory introduces a transgenic zebrafish that rapidly reproduces the molecular and cellular hallmarks of age-related muscle decline (sarcopenia). By conditionally activating a single atrophy-linked gene, the model—dubbed “atrofish”—compresses years of muscle aging into days or weeks. The platform reveals early protein loss in muscle fibers, uncovers a surprising link between muscle degeneration and nerve loss, and offers a fast, cost-effective way to test interventions aimed at preserving muscle and neuromuscular health during aging.

Journal: PLOS Genetics
Funder: Morris Discovery Fund, MDI Biological Laboratory, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Inspire Foundation

Yeast cells can be used for rapid testing of cancer immunotherapy

Technical University of Denmark
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Engineered yeast cells can mimic real cancer cells and be used to test new cancer immunotherapies much faster, benefiting patients.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation,, U.S. Department of Energy, DTU Skylab Discovery Grant, Independent Research Fund Denmark

What's the ROI on R&D in aging? New simulation tool, silverlingings.bio, explores geroscience's impact on US GDP growth and individual health

American Federation for Aging Research
Reports and Proceedings

The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the release of silverlinings.bio, an interactive report and simulation tool developed by AFAR Scholar-in-Residence Raiany Romanni-Klein, PhD. At silverlinings.bio, users can input their own timelines and assumptions for specific scientific breakthroughs in aging biology, then see the ROI in terms of US lives saved & GDP growth.

Funder: American Federation for Aging Research, Amaranth Foundation, Methuselah Foundation

Timing is everything. Why the US gets some drugs faster than other countries

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For years, drug companies and industry allies have argued that the U.S. gets faster and wider access because its government moves quicker than foreign regulators, but the new analysis suggests the U.S. advantage in drug access is driven less by faster government review and more by when companies apply for review and the type of drugs they submit.

Journal: Health Affairs
Funder: Commonwealth Fund

1 in 4 young people using psychotropic drugs are taking dangerous combinations

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The use of medicines to address mental health or behavioral conditions climbed from 2001 until 2020, analysis showed, but the increase has led to safety concerns

Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Study: Nearly two-thirds of US hospitals using epic have adopted ambient ai—but disparities exist

Emory University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Ambient artificial intelligence tools that capture clinician-patient conversations and generate draft clinical notes are now widely used in U.S. hospitals but unevenly adopted, according to a new nationwide study from researchers at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

Journal: The American Journal of Managed Care

BU researchers create reliable atlas of cell types found in breast cancers

Boston University School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. It is a highly variable disease, defined as a malignancy of the epithelial ducts in breast tissue. Characterizing the vast heterogeneity within BC cells and their surrounding tumor microenvironment is crucial because this diversity is the primary reason for treatment resistance, disease progression and poor patient prognosis.

In a new study from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, researchers assembled a comprehensive single-cell atlas of the human breast, combining data from 138 patients and more than 600,000 single cells. They then were able to identify cell populations and cell states that previously were unclear or missed and linked these cell types to tumor features (like subtype and grade) and patient outcomes.

Journal: NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics

Scientists ID potential treatment for deadliest brain cancer

University of Virginia Health System
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have identified a molecule that blocks the gene responsible for glioblastoma, raising hopes that the molecule could become a much-needed new treatment.

Funder: Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation

Calling for young editorial board members

Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd
Business Announcement