News archive

Northwestern University / JAMA Health Forum · 6 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 405 pregnant patients in Chicago, a navigator raised postpartum visits and primary care a year later

Study (care-navigation trial, not a drug or diet trial). ScienceDaily carried the Northwestern University account on 6 October 2026. Lynn Yee and colleagues report in JAMA Health Forum (2026; 7(10):e263338; doi 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.3338). The study enrolled 405 pregnant people at Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago from 2020 to 2024. Those paired with a bilingual navigator, from late pregnancy through the first year after birth, were more likely than usual care to attend a postpartum visit (96 percent versus 80 percent), receive counseling on needed topics (65 versus 51), have depression screening and care (86 versus 72), attend primary care at one year (57 versus 30), be using their chosen family-planning method at one year (65 versus 43), and have preventive checks recorded for blood pressure (85 versus 62), lipids (28 versus 13), and glucose (31 versus 16). Navigators helped with transport, childcare, scheduling, and health information. The release does not give a mean age. The comparisons are process-of-care results, not a test of a supplement. Educational notes. This is not medical advice.

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• Women
• Under 40
• 40–59
• Cardiovascular / lipids
• Metabolic / glucose

• study
• nutrition

American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference · 6 Oct 2026 · Research

In 84 patients age 21 or younger, colorectal cancer was usually already stage III or IV at diagnosis

Study (chart review presented at a meeting; not a journal paper with a DOI in this release). ScienceDaily carried the American Academy of Pediatrics account on 6 October 2026. Erica Arnold and colleagues reviewed records of 84 patients age 21 or younger diagnosed with colorectal cancer from 2012 to 2023, presented at the AAP 2026 National Conference in San Diego, 2–6 October 2026. Only 20 percent had a first- or second-degree family history. Most already had stage III or IV disease. More than one third later had recurrent disease, and nearly half died of the cancer. The authors list lower back pain, abdominal pain, bowel changes, weight loss, and rectal bleeding as signs that can be missed because the disease is still uncommon at these ages. Sex is not split in the release. This is a description of a small clinical series, not a screening rule. Educational notes. This is not medical advice.

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• Under 40

• study

Kyushu University / Journal of Wood Science · 6 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 12 women ages 35 to 60, two weeks of hinoki-root scent at home lined up with fewer night awakenings

Study (small home crossover; 12 Japanese women ages 35 to 60). ScienceDaily carried the Kyushu University account on 6 October 2026. Fadilla Zennifa, Kuniyoshi Shimizu, and colleagues report in the Journal of Wood Science (2026; doi 10.1186/s10086-026-02296-3). The oil came from roots of hinoki, Chamaecyparis obtusa, a timber tree whose roots are often discarded. Each woman used the oil for two weeks and an unscented control for two weeks, in random order, single-blind. Three drops went into a paper cup; she inhaled for 10 seconds, then left the cup about 30 centimeters from her nose overnight. A headband recorded brain waves and a watch tracked sleep. By day 13, the oil period was linked with feeling less sleepy and more recovered on waking, and the watches showed fewer awakenings. After seven days, delta-wave activity rose around sleep onset. The scent was rated more relaxing than the control. The sample is 12 people. This is not a sleep medicine, and the release does not compare it with treatment for a sleep disorder. Educational notes. This is not medical advice.

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• Women
• Under 40
• 40–59

• study
• sleep
• cognition

Queen Mary University of London / Nature Metabolism · 5 Oct 2026 · Nutrition

In 12 healthy volunteers, a seven-day water fast shifted thousands of blood proteins after about day three

Study (12 healthy volunteers; water only for seven days). ScienceDaily carried the Queen Mary University of London account on 5 October 2026. The journal paper is older than that news date: Maik Pietzner, Claudia Langenberg, and colleagues, Nature Metabolism (2024; 6(4):764; doi 10.1038/s42255-024-01008-9), with the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences. About 3,000 blood proteins were measured before, during, and after the fast. The body shifted from glucose toward stored fat over the first two or three days. Participants lost an average of 5.7 kilograms from fat and lean tissue. Three days after eating resumed, weight was still down, most of the lost lean mass had returned, and the fat loss remained. About one third of measured proteins changed, with a coordinated shift after about three days that the authors say was not explained by weight loss alone, including proteins tied to support around neurons. The release does not give sex or age. Langenberg said the wider changes were visible only after three days of total calorie restriction, so shorter intermittent fasts are not shown to do the same thing. This is not a plan to stop eating. Educational notes. This is not medical advice.

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• Metabolic / glucose

• study

Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Nature · 5 Oct 2026 · Nutrition

A ketogenic diet increased small-intestinal tumors in cancer-prone mice and reduced tumors in the colon

Study (mice genetically predisposed to intestinal cancer). ScienceDaily carried the MIT account on 5 October 2026. Jessica Shay, Fangtao Chi, Omer Yilmaz, and colleagues report in Nature (2026; 656(8127):474; doi 10.1038/s41586-026-10779-y). Mice on a ketogenic diet developed small-intestinal tumors more often than mice on a control diet, at rates similar to or higher than mice on a high-fat, high-calorie diet, without the keto group becoming obese. The increase was traced to intestinal stem cells burning dietary fat, which switched on PPAR proteins and made the stem cells divide faster, not to ketone bodies such as beta-hydroxybutyrate. In the colon, the same diet suppressed tumors, and again ketones were not the driver. The authors say ketone drinks would not be expected to reproduce either effect. The release does not give animal counts. These are mouse findings in a cancer-prone strain, not a human diet trial. Educational notes. This is not a reason to start or stop a ketogenic diet.

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• study

Tohoku University / iScience · 5 Oct 2026 · Research

Stimulating the vagus nerve after practice strengthened later motor learning in mice

Study (mice). ScienceDaily carried the Tohoku University account on 5 October 2026. Junyu Chen, Yoko Ikoma, and Ko Matsui report in iScience (2026; 29(9):117413; doi 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117413), published 25 August 2026. A cuff electrode on the left cervical vagus nerve delivered stimulation after, not during, a cerebellum-dependent eye-movement task (horizontal optokinetic response). Performance did not jump during the session. On later days, stimulated mice showed stronger long-term learning. Near the cerebellar flocculus, one round of stimulation briefly lowered then raised local blood volume; repeated stimulation made that blood-volume rhythm oscillate, and larger oscillations generally lined up with better learning by day 5. The release does not give the number of mice. Vagus nerve stimulation is already used clinically for some disorders, but this protocol was an animal learning experiment, not a human skill program. Educational notes.

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• study

Oregon State University / Journal of Controlled Release · 5 Oct 2026 · Exercise

Lipid nanoparticles carrying follistatin mRNA shrank mouse lung tumors and eased cancer muscle wasting

Study (mice). ScienceDaily carried the Oregon State University account on 5 October 2026. Yoon Tae Goo, Oleh Taratula, and colleagues report in the Journal of Controlled Release (2026; 394:114870; doi 10.1016/j.jconrel.2026.114870). Intravenous lipid nanoparticles bound vitronectin in blood and collected in lung tumors, which overexpress integrin receptors that vitronectin engages. Follistatin messenger RNA delivered there told cells to make follistatin. Compared with conventional liver-seeking particles that produced follistatin in the body at large, tumor-directed delivery cut tumor burden about 2.5-fold more. The same treatment improved food intake, held body weight, and preserved muscle and fat in the mouse model of cancer cachexia, which the release says can kill as many as 30 percent of the cancer patients it affects. The American Cancer Society figures in the release are about 230,000 new U.S. lung-cancer cases and about 125,000 deaths this year. The release does not give mouse counts. The authors say more preclinical work is required before any human test. This is not a treatment available to patients. Educational notes. This is not medical advice.

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• study

WHO · 4 Sept 2024 · Research

The Republic of Korea and WHO discuss joint priorities, challenges and trends around global health

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Republic of Korea have a long-standing partnership spanning over 75 years. As a result of their fruitful collaboration, there has been significant progress in health and development all around the world. The Republic of Korea has gone from being a donor-recipient country to a donor-country and is now a leader in global health and playing a critical role on the world stage.

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• news

UCLA Health / eBioMedicine · 4 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In nearly 1,500 younger and midlife adults, an older-looking brain lined up with gut bacteria and weaker memory

Study (cross-sectional brain scans, plus stool in one group). ScienceDaily carried the UCLA Health account on 4 October 2026. Kanhao Zhao, Arpana Church, and colleagues report in eBioMedicine (2026; 132:106468; doi 10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106468). The paper title describes young and mid-life adults. Resting scans from nearly 1,500 people in three groups were used to estimate brain age from how regions communicate. The gap versus chronological age was called the Brain Aging Index. Across the groups, a higher index lined up with worse working memory and executive function and with more depression symptoms. In one group, stool samples linked a higher index to particular gut bacteria and metabolites, including some fat molecules, a cholesterol-related compound, and lower estetrol. The release does not split results by sex and does not give a hazard ratio or a treatment. Church said the signals may be detectable decades before obvious symptoms, and that targeting the gut is a hypothesis, not a program tested here. Educational notes. This is not a dementia test or a diet prescription.

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• Under 40
• 40–59
• Cognitive / dementia research

• study
• cognition
• aging
• gut
• nutrition
• off-label-context

Fujita Health University / Scientific Reports · 4 Oct 2026 · Research

In 21 healthy young adults, bowel sounds rose within two minutes after a 20-minute easy walk

Study (21 healthy young adults; bowel sounds, not a constipation treatment trial). ScienceDaily carried the Fujita Health University account on 4 October 2026. The journal paper is Kento Katagiri, Yohei Otaka, Shigeo Tanabe, and colleagues, Scientific Reports (2025; 15(1); doi 10.1038/s41598-025-18860-8). Each person lay still for a one-minute baseline recording, walked 20 minutes on a treadmill at a comfortable self-chosen pace, then lay down again. Within one to two minutes, sound amplitude, the share of time sounds were present, and the number of sound events were all higher. Amplitude nearly doubled. The rise faded within two to three minutes. Sex is not given. The authors say the brief change may help explain why walking is suggested for constipation, and they point to autonomic activity or motion reflexes as possible reasons. This did not measure stool frequency or treat people who were constipated. Educational notes. This is not a treatment plan.

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• Under 40

• study

University of Calgary / Journal of Neuro-Oncology · 4 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 24 people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, high-dose niacin plus standard care had an early progression-free signal

Study (interim phase 1–2 cancer trial; controlled-release niacin with chemotherapy and radiotherapy). ScienceDaily carried the University of Calgary account on 4 October 2026. Gloria Roldan Urgoiti, Wee Yong, and colleagues report in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology (2025; 176(1); doi 10.1007/s11060-025-05351-z). The idea came from mouse work in which niacin lengthened survival. In people, the team set a stop rule if six-month progression-free survival did not beat older studies by at least 20 percent. In the first 24 patients, 82 percent were progression-free at six months, which the researchers describe as a 28 percent increase versus those earlier studies. They plan to enroll 48 and to finish analysis in late 2026 or early 2027. Ages for the 24 are not given. The release says high-dose niacin can be toxic and is being given only under medical monitoring. Store-shelf vitamin B3 is not this protocol, and the result is preliminary. Educational notes. This is not medical advice and not a substitute for prescribed cancer treatment.

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• study

University of Cologne / Nature Cell Biology · 3 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

Leucine stabilized mitochondrial proteins in cells and worms; this is not a human diet trial

Study (cells and Caenorhabditis elegans). Qiaochu Li, Thorsten Hoppe, and colleagues at the University of Cologne’s CECAD aging center report that the essential amino acid leucine slows breakdown of proteins on the outer mitochondrial membrane by reducing activity of the quality-control protein SEL1L, so mitochondria can raise energy output when nutrients are plentiful. ScienceDaily carried the university account on 3 October 2026. The page’s journal line reads Nature Cell Biology 2025; 27(11):1889; doi 10.1038/s41556-025-01799-3. In the worms, problems breaking leucine down disrupted mitochondria and were linked to fertility problems. In human lung cancer cells, some mutations in leucine metabolism helped the cancer cells survive. Li cautioned that SEL1L also clears damaged proteins, so changing that balance could have costs. Leucine is abundant in dairy, meat, beans, and lentils. This is laboratory and animal work, not a test of a high-leucine diet or a supplement in people. Educational notes. This is not a reason to load leucine.

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• study
• aging
• nutrition