Researchers have discovered that analyzing specific patterns of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentation in a simple urine sample can effectively diagnose and stage bladder cancer, offering a much-needed alternative to invasive procedures like cystoscopies. This novel approach, detailed in a new study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, could reduce the need for frequent cystoscopies, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient comfort and outcomes.

Clues contained in tree rings have identified mid-14^th-century volcanic activity as the first domino to fall in a sequence that led to the devastation of the Black Death in Europe.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Heersink School of Medicine have identified a bacterial enzyme that may be the reason some people get heart complications with pneumonia, while others do not. Since enzymes create chemical reactions to help bacteria survive, grow, and sometimes attack tissues, the researchers understood this particular enzyme, named zmpB, could become a target for future vaccines or drug therapies.