A major reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—including massive cuts to the federal workforce—threatens scientific progress that drives our economy and improves the public’s health.

 Critical Path Institute^® and Boston Medical Center published results for six biomarkers that could improve the early and accurate detection of kidney injury, leading to both the development of safer medications and better health outcomes for all patients. The results leverage the collaborative expertise and investment of C-Path’s Predictive Safety Testing Consortium’s Nephrotoxicity Working Group, and the Clinical Evaluation and Qualification of Translational Kidney Safety Biomarkers Project, a public-private partnership managed collaboratively by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Biomarkers Consortium Kidney Safety Biomarker Project Team.

A new study in JAMA Network Open found that over half of US adults experienced some form of discrimination, and individuals with high exposure to discrimination have more than five times the chances of screening positive for depression, and five times the chances of screening positive for  anxiety. Compared to adults who do not experience discrimination, adults who do experience this mistreatment have nearly nine times the odds of screening positive for both depression and anxiety. 

A new study published in the journal Immunity reveals a mechanism that allows triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) to develop resistance to therapy. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine showed that lipid accumulation in tumor cells and nearby immune cells promotes immune suppression, but disrupting lipid formulation reverses treatment resistance and the immunosuppressive microenvironment.

Long-term fasting in 24-hour cycles increases the sex drive of male mice by lowering the concentration of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. This effect is linked to a diet-induced deficiency of the precursor substance tryptophan – an amino acid that must be obtained through food. DZNE researchers report on this in the journal Cell Metabolism, together with a Chinese team from Qingdao University and the University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Early diagnosis of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, increases the quality of life of the patient and the efficacy of available treatments. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now shown that material from nasal lavage provides a basis for assessing COPD. The study, which has been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, could lead to a simple diagnostic method for early assessment of COPD.