Health and Medicine
Categories
Not sure where to start? Choose a topic below.
Retraining after a lapse in endurance exercise adds to muscle gains, study finds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New research offers potential good news for those who’ve lapsed at the gym. The study found that mice that voluntarily ran on an exercise wheel for four weeks, stopped for four weeks and ran again for another four weeks saw unexpected gains. The second bout of wheel running led to a bigger […]
Study identifies hotspots of disease-carrying ticks in Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists analyzed the distribution of three potentially harmful tick species in Illinois, identifying regions of the state with higher numbers of these ticks and, therefore, at greater risk of infection with multiple tick-borne diseases. The study found that, of the three species tracked, the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is most prevalent […]
Study: Muscle-building response to weight training differs among high-protein animal foods
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study tracked the acute muscle-building response in adults engaged in a weight-training exercise who were fed either high-fat or lean ground pork burgers with the same amount of protein in each. The findings surprised the scientists, adding to the evidence that muscle-protein synthesis in response to weight-training and a post-exercise […]
Long-term alcohol use suspends liver cells in limbo, preventing regeneration
Excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt the liver’s unique regenerative abilities by trapping cells in limbo between their functional and regenerative states, even after a patient stops drinking, researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators found in a new study. This in-between state is a result of inflammation disrupting how RNA is spliced during the protein-making process, the researchers found, providing scientists with new treatment pathways to explore for the deadly disease.
High-volume antibody testing platform could accelerate disease research and treatment development
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Antibodies are the critical targeting agents of the immune system and the crux of immune therapy and vaccine development, but studying them is slow, expensive and labor-intensive. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new high-volume method that can rapidly build and test large numbers of antibodies at […]
Kidney fibrosis linked to molecule made by gut bacteria
A molecule made by bacteria in the gut can hitch a ride to the kidneys, where it sets off a chain reaction of inflammation, scarring and fibrosis — a serious complication of diabetes and a leading cause of kidney failure — according to a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Mie University in Japan. The group also developed a new antibody that could counter it.
Study: Multiracial women at greater risk of bipolar disorder during the perinatal period
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A recent study of more than 3.8 million women who gave birth in California found that those who were multiracial were more likely to have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder compared with women of a single race. The number of women in the study sample with bipolar disorder diagnoses was more than […]
Ukrainian teachers benefit from mental health training that helps their students
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Educators in three conflict zones in Ukraine who participated in a virtual program to learn about supporting the mental health needs of their students significantly reduced their own symptoms of anxiety and depression, a recent study found. Researchers at universities in three countries — the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the U.S., […]
Map-making neurons change even in familiar settings, study finds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Neurobiologists at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found the brain’s internal GPS changes each time mice navigate a familiar, static environment. Even when a mouse walks the same path every day — and the path and surrounding conditions remain identical — each journey activates different “map-making” neurons in the […]
Why is basic science support important for cancer breakthroughs?
CONTACT: Liz Ahlberg Touchstone, Biomedical Sciences Editor, 217-244-1073; eahlberg@illinois.edu CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The proposed fiscal year 2026 budget from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services includes a 40% reduction to the National Institutes of Health, among cuts to other scientific agencies. Basic scientific research is an essential foundation for advances in technology and […]
Beyond the mammogram: Study finds differences between benign and cancerous breast calcifications
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Benign and cancerous calcium phosphate deposits that may look identical on a mammogram have distinct differences in their structures and formation processes, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas at Austin found in a new study that provides the first detailed […]
Paper: FDA needs to develop labeling standards for AI-powered medical devices
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Medical devices that harness the power of artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms are rapidly transforming health care in the U.S., with the Food and Drug Administration already having authorized the marketing of more than 1,000 such devices and many more in the development pipeline. A new paper from a University of […]