Category: 4. Health

Our body is made up of millions of cells that coordinate daily function. They are constantly working to maintain activity and keep us healthy. Cells activate, proliferate, and conduct specialized responsibilities dependent on their differentiated state. As a result, they need energy to carry out these functions. Cells get their energy through a process known as metabolism. It breaks down macromolecules to fuel activity. Glucose or sugar is a primary…

As a grad student in biological engineering at MIT, Jake Becraft had an idea that could change the way we treat cancer: What if genes could be turned on and off like light switches? Thinking it through a bit further, he envisioned “circuits” in which messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries the instructions for making proteins to cells, could be programmed to cause cancerous tumors to reveal themselves to the…

Professor Bryan Fry from UQ’s School of the Environment said revealing exactly how skinks dodge death could inform biomedical approaches to treating snakebite in people.

“What we saw in skinks was evolution at its most ingenious,” Professor Fry said.

“Australian skinks have evolved tiny changes in a critical muscle receptor, called the nicotinic…

This is what can happen when bad stuff in mist gets, well, missed. A Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City has already left at least 70 people sick and three dead. All of these cases have been occurring in…

What role does cannabis play in longevity and aging? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research hopes to address as a team of industry researchers from the United Kingdom investigated the impact of cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on longevity and aging. This study has the potential to help researchers, medical professionals, and the public better understand the benefits of cannabis on healthy…

A Lancet paper published in July evaluates data to illustrate the importance of roughly two decades of American humanitarian aid offered through the United States Agency for International Development and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The piece subsequently projects what the future…

The human body has to protect itself from pathogens and infectious agents, and there are a variety of ways for the immune system to sense foreign invaders, and react to the threats they may pose. But the body also has to disregard the tissues, cells, and molecules of the self, so they do not trigger aberrant immune responses. Scientists have now identified a chemical modification that happens on RNA molecules, which prevents the immune system from…

In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at the Administration’s latest demands on drug pricing, a biotech entrepreneur treating a rare genetic disease, new technology aimed at ending drug testing on animals and more. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.

Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced yesterday that the federal government’s emergency preparedness agency, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, will no longer fund work on messenger RNA vaccines.

BARDA is…

On July 28, 2025, a 27-year-old gunman entered a New York City office building that is home to the National Football League’s headquarters. He shot and killed four people and injured one other before killing himself.

In a note found in his wallet, he claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain condition believed to develop from repeated traumatic brain injuries. He asked experts to study his brain.

CTE has received much attention over the past two…