Health & Medicine News

October 19, 2025

Top Headlines

This Powerful Drug Combo Cuts Prostate Cancer Deaths by 40%

Oct. 19, 2025 — A new drug combo of enzalutamide and hormone therapy has been shown to extend survival for men with recurring prostate cancer, reducing death risk by over 40%. The study followed more than 1,000 patients worldwide and was led by Cedars-Sinai ...

Cancer Patients Who Got a COVID Vaccine Lived Much Longer

Oct. 19, 2025 — A groundbreaking study reveals that cancer patients who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived dramatically longer than those who didn’t. Researchers from the University of Florida and MD Anderson Cancer ...

This Tiny Laser Could Transform How We See and Sense the World

Oct. 19, 2025 — Researchers from NTNU and EPFL have unveiled a compact, low-cost laser that outperforms current models in speed, control, and precision. Built using microchip technology, it can be mass-produced for use in everything from Lidar navigation to gas ...

These 80-year-olds Have the Memory of 50-year-olds. Scientists Finally Know Why

Oct. 19, 2025 — SuperAgers defy normal aging by keeping sharp memories and healthy brains well into their 80s. Northwestern scientists discovered that these individuals either resist the buildup of harmful brain ...

Breakthrough Cancer Therapy Stops Tumor Growth Without Harming Healthy Cells

Oct. 19, 2025 — Scientists have found a new way to stop cancer growth without damaging healthy cells. Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute and Vividion Therapeutics discovered a compound that blocks the ...

How Cutting Lipids Could Starve Breast Cancer

Oct. 19, 2025 — Researchers found that triple-negative breast cancer cells are “addicted” to lipids, a feature tied to obesity. By studying mice, they discovered that high lipid levels alone accelerate tumor growth. Lowering these fats slowed cancer ...

Even “Diet” Soda May Be Quietly Damaging Your Liver, Scientists Warn

Oct. 19, 2025 — Both regular and “diet” soft drinks may be far worse for liver health than believed. A massive study of over 120,000 participants found that consuming more than one can a day of either sugar-sweetened or low/no-sugar beverages sharply increased ...

Surgery Beats Ozempic for Long-term Health, Cleveland Clinic Finds

Oct. 18, 2025 — Weight-loss surgery dramatically outperformed GLP-1 medications in improving longevity and reducing heart, kidney, and eye complications for people with obesity and diabetes. Over 10 years, patients lost far more weight and required fewer ...

Scientists Just Debunked the Calcium and Dementia Myth

Oct. 18, 2025 — A long-term Australian study found that calcium supplements do not raise dementia risk in older women, countering previous fears. The research followed more than 1,400 participants for nearly 15 years and revealed no harmful cognitive effects. ...

Scientists Finally Read the Hidden DNA Code That Shapes Disease

Oct. 18, 2025 — EMBL researchers created SDR-seq, a next-generation tool that decodes both DNA and RNA from the same cell. It finally opens access to non-coding regions, where most disease-associated genetic variants lie. By revealing how these variants affect gene ...

Can Ozempic Help You Cut Back on Alcohol? Researchers Think So

Oct. 18, 2025 — Semaglutide, tirzepatide, and other GLP-1 drugs appear to slow alcohol absorption and blunt its intoxicating effects, according to new research. The study found participants on these medications felt less drunk despite consuming the same amount of ...

This Common Liver Supplement Could Boost Cancer Treatment Success

Oct. 17, 2025 — Salk Institute scientists discovered that bile acids in the liver can weaken immune cell function, making immunotherapy less effective against liver cancer. They pinpointed specific bile acids that suppress T cells and found that supplementing with ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:02pm EDT

Stanford Scientists Grow Thousands of Mini Human Brains Using Common Food Additive

Oct. 18, 2025 — Stanford scientists have solved a long-standing challenge in growing brain organoids by using a simple food additive to keep them from sticking ...

They Found the Switch That Makes the Body Attack Cancer

Oct. 16, 2025 — Scientists have found a way to transform hard-to-treat tumors into targets for the immune system. Using two protein stimulators, they activated strong T-cell and B-cell responses and built immune ...

From Poison to Power: How Lead Exposure Helped Shape Human Intelligence

Oct. 16, 2025 — Long before humans built cities or wrote words, our ancestors may have faced a hidden threat that shaped who we became. Scientists studying ancient teeth found that early humans, great apes, and even ...

A Giant Asteroid Hit Earth, but Its Crater Is Missing

Oct. 16, 2025 — Researchers discovered a new field of ancient tektites in South Australia, revealing a long-forgotten asteroid impact. These 11-million-year-old glass fragments differ chemically and geographically ...

Tiny Brain Nanotubes Found by Johns Hopkins May Spread Alzheimer’s

Oct. 16, 2025 — Johns Hopkins scientists uncovered microscopic “nanotube” channels that neurons use to transfer toxic molecules. While this process clears waste, it can also spread harmful proteins like ...

This Type of Meat Supercharges Muscle Growth After Workouts

Oct. 15, 2025 — Scientists discovered that lean pork builds muscle more effectively post-workout than high-fat pork, even with identical protein levels. Using advanced tracking techniques, they found that fat ...

This European Treatment for Joint Pain Just Passed a Major Scientific Test

Oct. 15, 2025 — Korean researchers found that low-dose radiation therapy eased knee pain and improved movement in people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. The treatment, far weaker than cancer radiation, showed ...

A Little Stress Could Be the Secret to Healthy Aging

Oct. 15, 2025 — Scientists discovered that specific nutrients in nematodes' diets activate stress defenses that keep their cells healthier over time. These RNAs prevent toxic protein buildup, promoting longevity and ...

Scientists Grow Mini Human Livers That Predict Toxic Drug Reactions

Oct. 15, 2025 — A new human liver organoid microarray developed by Cincinnati Children’s and Roche recreates immune-driven liver injury in the lab. Built from patient-derived stem cells and immune cells, it ...

Exercise Might Be the Key to a Younger, Sharper Immune System

Oct. 14, 2025 — Endurance exercise may train the immune system as much as the muscles. Older adults with decades of running or cycling had immune cells that functioned better and aged more slowly. Their inflammation ...

Your Brain’s Power Supply May Hold the Key to Mental Illness

Oct. 14, 2025 — Groundbreaking Harvard research is exposing hidden energy failures inside brain cells that may drive major psychiatric conditions. By studying reprogrammed neurons, scientists are revealing how ...

C-Section Births Linked to Sleepless Nights and Painful Recoveries

Oct. 13, 2025 — Women who undergo C-sections are more likely to experience debilitating pain and sleep disorders in the months after giving birth. Researchers found both qualitative and large-scale data supporting ...

Your Skin Could Warn of Hidden Mental Health Trouble

Oct. 13, 2025 — People experiencing their first psychotic episode who also have skin conditions such as rashes or itching are at greater risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, according to new research presented ...

Fentanyl Overdoses Among Seniors Surge 9,000% — A Hidden Crisis Few Saw Coming

Oct. 13, 2025 — Overdose deaths from fentanyl mixed with stimulants have skyrocketed among seniors, increasing 9,000% in just eight years. Once thought to affect mainly the young, the opioid epidemic’s fourth wave ...

Your Type of Depression Could Shape Your Body’s Future Health

Oct. 12, 2025 — Different types of depression affect the body in different ways. Atypical, energy-related depression raises the risk of diabetes, while melancholic depression increases the likelihood of heart ...

Keto Diet Shields Young Minds from Early-Life Trauma

Oct. 12, 2025 — Young rats given a ketogenic diet were largely protected from the mental and behavioral issues caused by prenatal stress. The high-fat, low-carb diet appeared to safeguard brain development and ...

This Experimental “super Vaccine” Stopped Cancer Cold in the Lab

Oct. 13, 2025 — UMass Amherst researchers have developed a groundbreaking nanoparticle-based cancer vaccine that prevented melanoma, pancreatic, and triple-negative breast cancers in mice—with up to 88% remaining ...

Scientists Find Gold Hiding in Food Waste

Oct. 12, 2025 — Researchers are finding extraordinary new uses for what we throw away. Beet pulp may help crops resist disease, while composted coconut fibers could replace peat moss. Discarded radish and beet ...

Breakthrough Compounds May Reverse Nerve Damage Caused by Multiple Sclerosis

Oct. 11, 2025 — Researchers have identified two compounds, K102 and K110, that could repair the nerve damage from multiple sclerosis. These drugs help regenerate the protective myelin sheath and balance immune ...

MIT’s “stealth” Immune Cells Could Change Cancer Treatment Forever

Oct. 11, 2025 — MIT and Harvard scientists have designed an advanced type of immune cell called a CAR-NK cell that can destroy cancer while avoiding attack from the body’s own immune defenses. This innovation ...

When Men Drink, Women and Children Pay the Price

Oct. 10, 2025 — Men’s heavy drinking is fueling a hidden crisis affecting millions of women and children worldwide. The harms, from violence to financial instability, are especially severe where gender inequality ...

A Sweet Fix for Baldness? Stevia Compound Boosts Hair Growth

Oct. 10, 2025 — Researchers discovered that stevioside, a compound from the Stevia plant, enhances the skin absorption of minoxidil, the main treatment for pattern baldness. In mice, a stevioside-infused patch ...

Scientists Unlock Nature’s Secret to a Cancer-Fighting Molecule

Oct. 9, 2025 — Researchers have cracked the code behind how plants make mitraphylline, a rare cancer-fighting molecule. Their discovery of two critical enzymes explains how nature builds complex spiro-shaped ...

Scientists Discover Brain Circuit That Can Switch Off Chronic Pain

Oct. 10, 2025 — Scientists have pinpointed Y1 receptor neurons in the brain that can override chronic pain signals when survival instincts like hunger or fear take precedence. Acting like a neural switchboard, these ...

Two Common Drugs Could Reverse Fatty Liver Disease

Oct. 12, 2025 — Researchers at the University of Barcelona found that combining pemafibrate and telmisartan significantly reduces liver fat and cardiovascular risks in MASLD models. The drug duo works better ...

Why Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t the Real Villain Behind Overeating

Oct. 5, 2025 — Researchers from Leeds found that overeating is driven more by what people believe about food than by its actual ingredients or level of processing. Foods perceived as fatty, sweet, or highly ...

Would You Eat Yogurt Made With Ants? Scientists Did

Oct. 6, 2025 — In a remarkable blend of science and tradition, researchers have revived an old Balkan and Turkish yogurt-making technique that uses ants as natural fermenters. The ants’ bacteria, acids, and ...

Nearly Half of Drivers Killed in Crashes Had THC in Their Blood

Oct. 5, 2025 — Over 40% of fatal crash victims had THC levels far above legal limits, showing cannabis use before driving remains widespread. The rate didn’t drop after legalization, suggesting policy changes ...

Brain Cancer That Eats the Skull Stuns Scientists

Oct. 5, 2025 — A new study shows glioblastoma isn’t confined to the brain—it erodes the skull and hijacks the immune system within skull marrow. The cancer opens channels that let inflammatory cells enter the ...

Why the Brain’s GPS Fails With Age, and How Some Minds Defy It

Oct. 5, 2025 — Stanford scientists found that aging disrupts the brain’s internal navigation system in mice, mirroring spatial memory decline in humans. Older mice struggled to recall familiar locations, while a ...