Author: healthadmin

The now-dormant Denka neoprene plant in LaPlace has reached a settlement with the federal government for allegedly mishandling hazardous waste and disposing of material in a landfill for which it was not intended.Under a federal consent agreement, Denka Performance Elastomers agreed to pay nearly $1 million in penalties to resolve hazardous waste violations. The plant, which ceased production in May 2025, had long been the subject of regulatory action and public concern over its emissions of chloroprene, which is classified as a possible carcinogen. For at least seven years, Denka workers hauled byproducts that were later determined to be hazardous…

The Consortium for Neurodegenerative Biomedical Research and Artificial Intelligence (C-BRAIN), a global collaboration of academic researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and philanthropic organizations whose founding members include Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, today launched three open source AI tools to accelerate research aimed at developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The tool, announced at the Alzheimer’s Disease Society International Conference in London, synthesizes the Alzheimer’s disease and neuroscience literature, surfaces insights from unpublished, so-called “dark” or hidden data, and provides peer-reviewed feedback to researchers. WashU Medicine led the creation of a 17-member consortium. C-BRAIN’s mission…

A new USC-led study of more than 214,000 older adults in 14 countries and territories suggests that different strategies may be needed in different parts of the world to prevent dementia. Researchers found that many of the most important modifiable dementia risk factors, such as low education, high blood pressure, and smoking, varied widely across countries. The findings indicate that a single global approach to dementia prevention is unlikely to be effective everywhere. The research was presented at the Alzheimer’s Disease Association International Conference 2026 in London and published in a journal. Lancet Health and Longevity. AAIC is the world’s…

New research published in Medicinal Chemistry Journal suggests that new vaccine candidates could protect against fentanyl and its many illegal variants by training the immune system to recognize a broad molecular signature rather than a single specific structure. These findings provide evidence that next-generation drug vaccines have the potential to outperform the rapid development of synthetic designer opioids. Fentanyl and related synthetic opioids are responsible for numerous overdose deaths worldwide. In high doses, these synthetic drugs quickly enter the brain and disrupt nerve signals that control breathing. Illegal drug manufacturers are constantly changing the chemical structure of fentanyl to create…

Physicians are adopting wearable devices and see the potential to improve patient care, but they still face significant obstacles to integration into clinical practice. A survey of more than 2,000 physicians in six countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain) found that most physicians (97%) reported considering some form of wearable data, and the majority reported that wearable data provides at least some clinical benefit to patient care. Only 3% of physicians say they never consider such data. The most commonly reviewed data categories are similar across countries, including cardiac physiology, activity and function, biometrics/physical events and…

Hundreds of millions of pounds of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are used on U.S. farms each year, and the runoff flows into waterways, especially in the central part of the country where commercial crops dominate.A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey provides a clearer picture of pesticide pollution in rivers. The scope of the study was notable, with scientists regularly testing 80 chemicals across 81 facilities over a 10-year period.At most sites, at least one pesticide was detected at alarming levels from 2013 to 2022. The levels were high enough to potentially harm aquatic plants and invertebrates, such as…

Lizzy leads STAT’s FDA coverage. Her story explores the relationship between politics and science at the FDA, its influence on industry, and the agency’s ability to protect and promote public health. Confidential tips can be sent on Signal at lizzylaw.53.WASHINGTON — Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing ahead with efforts to help Americans wean themselves from taking psychiatric drugs, a medical procedure known as deprescribing. Earlier this month, dozens of mental health experts met with federal health officials to plan upcoming clinical guidance to help health care providers teach patients how to wean antidepressants. The Department of…

Dave Carew was on vacation. But before that, he had some things to do. It was a Thursday, two days before Independence Day, and Carew, who has worked for UPS for 13 years, was setting up an information booth with brochures and thermometers outside the company’s customer center in the north Bronx. His goal was to catch employees coming and going for their shifts and educate them on how to stay safe when it’s brutally hot outside. The heat was already intensifying, with New York City weather forecasts predicting temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend. Wearing bright blue…

Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics that explains how matter and energy behave on atomic and subatomic scales. Developed in the early 1900s by pioneers such as Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schrödinger, it became one of the most successful scientific theories ever created. This theory accurately explains a wide range of microscopic phenomena. These include the famous double-slit experiment, in which particles behave like waves, and quantum tunneling, in which particles can pass through barriers even if they do not have enough energy to cross them in the classical sense. Other important quantum effects, such…

The bacteria that cause periodontal disease do more than just damage your teeth. New preliminary research suggests they may also contribute to calcium buildup in the heart’s aortic valve, causing calcific aortic stenosis (CAVS), a common and potentially life-threatening heart valve disease. The study results were presented at the American Heart Association’s 2026 Basic Cardiovascular Science Session, held July 13-16 in Boston. This conference is one of the world’s largest gatherings focused on basic and translational cardiovascular research. According to the American Heart Association, CAVS develops when the aortic valve gradually thickens and becomes calcified, making it difficult for blood…