Wet cough over a period lasting longer than four weeks? We are supposed to believe that this is not unusual for children, nor anything to be worried about. But Dr. Anne Schlegtendal, senior physician at the Universitätskinderklinik Bochum, Germany, says otherwise. Young children suffering from protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) have to be treated accordingly, she says. “If they do not receive antibiotics for at least two weeks, there could be long-term pulmonary sequelae. In the worst case, they could develop irreversible, chronic lung damage.” The team in Bochum behind the study reached this conclusion by examining children who had undergone inpatient treatment for protracted bacterial bronchitis in early childhood. The study was published in the journal Pediatric Pulmonology on April 21, 2025.

Electrospinning has been used to produce polymer fibres containing the well-known antibacterial drug metronidazole. The mats formed from them at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences could potentially be used as wound dressings, thanks to an appropriately selected polymeric structure capable of releasing the drug into the body in a controlled manner.

Using an algorithm they call the Krakencoder, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine are a step closer to unraveling how the brain’s wiring supports the way we think and act. The study, published June 5 in Nature Methods, used imaging data from the Human Connectome Project to align neural activity with its underlying circuitry.

Reducing the length of immunotherapy treatment for an advanced skin cancer did not significantly diminish disease control when compared to giving treatments over a longer period, according to breakthrough research led by the Universities of Sheffield and Leeds and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a chronic age-related neurodegenerative disease, currently affects 10% of adults aged 65 and older. While the amyloid precursor protein (APP), especially Swedish mutant APP (APPswe), is recognized as a significant pathogenic protein in AD, its effect on the skeletal system and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Werner syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder that causes premature aging and serious complications. In the first clinical trial of its kind, researchers from Japan with the company Niagen Bioscience, investigated the effects of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a vitamin B3 derivative, in patients with WS. NR supplementation significantly improved cardiovascular health, reduced skin ulcer area, and slowed kidney function decline—offering promising therapeutic potential for a disease that currently lacks effective treatment.