Author: healthadmin

Recent research published in JAMA network open We provide evidence that interacting with conversational artificial intelligence programs can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression while increasing your overall sense of well-being. The findings suggest that these digital platforms can form meaningful therapeutic bonds with users and provide an accessible way to support mental health at scale. Mental health problems affect millions of people around the world, but only a small percentage of them receive the professional care they need. This treatment disparity tends to be caused by structural issues such as a lack of trained therapists, high costs, and…

Angus Cheng covers all issues broadly related to cancer, including medicines, policy, science and stocks. She joined STAT in 2021 after covering health and science at NPR and NPR affiliate stations. His work has been recognized with the national Edward R. Murrow Award and the June L. Biedler Award for Cancer Journalism, among others. You can access Angus.08 on Signal.The way Color Health CEO Osman Laraki sees it, cancer is a growing problem. New science regularly sets new treatment standards and increases the complexity of managing an already complex disease. Laraki said cancer patients are growing faster than oncologists, and…

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has received warm feedback on its start-to-2026 performance after several consecutive quarters of underperformance. This is due in no small part to the company’s head start over rival Eli Lilly in the fast-growing market for oral obesity drugs. With adjusted net sales (PDF) of 70.1 billion Danish kroner ($11 billion) in the first three months of this year, Novo’s first-quarter sales were down about 4% year over year. However, the strong performance of the company’s obesity series and early strong results from the launch of Wegovy tablets sent the company’s stock up about 3% on…

In the latest update on the coronavirus and vaccine-related debate heating up at the FDA, FDA officials recently blocked publication of several safety studies conducted on coronavirus and shingles vaccines, The New York Times reported Tuesday. The study, in which FDA scientists worked with data companies to examine millions of patient records, found that serious side effects of the vaccine were “extremely rare,” according to the NYT. The debacle dates back to October, when researchers were forced to withdraw two coronavirus vaccine studies that had already been accepted for publication in medical journals. Then in February, FDA officials said they…

WASHINGTON – Following reports of pressure from President Trump, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first fruit-flavored e-cigarettes on Tuesday. The approval may sound like a move sure to alarm public health experts. But the decision, which debates whether the potential benefits of helping people quit outweighing the risks of youth tobacco use, has proven to be rather divisive among researchers and smoking cessation advocates. But they share concerns over reports that politics has tainted the scientific process. Political appointees are increasingly involved in making scientific decisions across government agencies. Newly approved e-cigarette flavors from Los Angeles-based company Glas…

As the battle for promotion between rivals Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly intensifies, French regulators are reminding the world’s two biggest obesity drug makers of what happens when promotion goes too far. In Europe, pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to sell prescription drugs directly to patients, but they can run awareness campaigns about the diseases they treat. But in these cases, the companies appear to have crossed the line, as regulators determined their campaigns amounted to indirect promotion of prescription treatments, in violation of state rules. First up is Novo. France’s medicines regulator, the National Agency for Health Security (ANSM),…

“Lulu” may sound like a funny word, but the health burden that comes with it is no laughing matter. Locally undesirable land uses (LULUs) – industrial sites, highways, power plants, waste facilities – are essential to the functioning of cities. But living near them can also mean greater exposure to pollution, excessive noise, and other environmental stressors. Many studies link this type of exposure to a wide range of health concerns. Air pollution is linked to millions of premature deaths around the world each year alone and that is Associated with heart and lung diseaseEspecially in communities located near industrial…

A newly studied synthetic psychedelic compound promotes rapid structural growth of brain cells and reverses depressive behavior in rodents. The drug, known as 25C-NBF, appears to lack the addictive properties and sensory disturbances associated with similar recreational substances. These results were recently published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Depression is a widespread mental health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Symptoms range from persistent low mood to severe loss of interest in daily life. Many conventional treatments provide insufficient symptom relief and can take weeks or months to become effective. This delay in onset has led researchers to explore…

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have introduced a new method of using artificial intelligence to tackle one of the most difficult challenges in mathematics: inverse partial differential equations (PDEs). These equations are essential to understanding complex systems, but solving them has long pushed the limits of both mathematics and computing. The team’s solution, called “Mollifier Layers,” improves how AI handles these problems by refining the mathematics behind the process, rather than simply increasing computing power. This approach could have a wide range of applications, from deciphering genetic activity to improving weather forecasting. “Solving an inverse problem is like looking…

E-cigarettes can rapidly drive toxic metals deep into the lungs, where they can damage tissue, according to a new study providing detailed evidence on the risks of vaping.Even short-term exposure can result in measurable accumulation of toxic metals in lung tissue, increasing the risk of chronic lung problems, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions. This study was published last month (April 2026). Analytical and bioanalytical chemistryfor the first time used a special method to break down e-cigarette vapor, separate its components and accurately measure toxic metals. For the first time, researchers have detected chemical evidence that certain metal-based compounds (organometallics)…