Using nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2017–2023, researchers examined obesity prevalence among children and adolescents ages 5-18 years using the recently proposed Lancet Commission framework. The new framework distinguishes between preclinical obesity, in which excess adiposity is present without current signs of organ dysfunction or disease, and clinical obesity, where measurable health complications associated with obesity are already evident.

A new PET imaging approach that measures synaptic density in the spinal cord provides a quantitative way to assess the brain's functional wiring in patients with multiple sclerosis. With this personalized information, physicians can monitor disease progression and evaluate whether new treatments are working to protect or restore these critical connections. This research was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2026 Annual Meeting.

A new end-to-end PET imaging approach for osteosarcoma can rapidly and reliably distinguish tumor tissue from normal tissue and accurately assess surgical margins in real time. The novel platform, presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2026 Annual Meeting, has the potential to fundamentally reshape surgical practice for osteosarcoma by enabling precise tumor resection, significantly reducing the risk of local recurrence, and preserving maximum limb function.

An AI-assisted model based on 71 different blood proteins could help doctors better predict retinal degeneration in diabetic patients before symptoms occur, according to a study published June 2^nd in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Huangdong Li from the Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues.

A novel theranostic approach that targets RET -- a newly identified biomarker for neuroendocrine prostate cancer enables high-contrast PET imaging and effective, safe treatment for this highly aggressive malignancy. Because this disease is often poorly visualized with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based imaging, the RET approach offers an important alternative when conventional molecular imaging and PSMA-directed therapies are unsuitable. This research was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2026 Annual Meeting.

Since its founding more than a century ago, the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) has been a place where bold scientific ideas take root. From advancing plant science and training future researchers, to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, BTI has long served as a launchpad for scientific discovery. That legacy continues today with innovation extending far beyond the walls of the Institute — and across the globe.

One of the latest examples is PrecizionIQ, an India-based health technology startup co-founded by BTI alumnus Pedro Rodrigues, a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Frank Schroeder at BTI. The company is developing novel, non-invasive diagnostics for fetal chromosomal abnormalities, with a mission to make early prenatal testing more accurate, affordable and accessible.