Medicine & Healthcare

Physician-scientists at Kanazawa University have demonstrated, for the first time worldwide, the clinical efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy in patients with ultra-rare urachal cancer. Furthermore, their reverse translational research elucidated the mechanism by which the addition of immunotherapy enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy.

Pinpointing associated factors that contribute to injury in older adults

Patients with stroke undergoing inpatient rehabilitation differ in how sedentary time accumulates and changes over one month.

PHABCON 2026, advanced research on human-animal bonds as pathways to healing, care, and connection.

Researchers from The University of Osaka found that nanomicelle-mediated delivery of five mRNAs involved in angiogenesis, heart cell contraction, immune and hematopoietic stem cell recruitment, and immune response suppression promoted cardiac repair and increased overall survival in a mouse model of myocardial infarction–induced heart failure. These findings suggest that a multifactorial treatment approach effectively addresses the complex nature of heart failure and could aid new treatments in regenerative medicine for cardiovascular disease.

At his first graduation as Dean, Patrick Tan presides over a record class of 135 graduates, with Guest of Honour Mdm Rahayu Mahzam and keynote speaker Dr Robert Califf

Scientists from National Taiwan University and St. Paul’s Hospital have demonstrated how AI can leverage routine chest X-rays to detect asymptomatic bone loss, closing critical gaps in screening healthy Asian populations.

Diet and homocysteine may influence fatigue and motivation

By regulating EGFR trafficking to late endosomes and attenuating AKT and ERK signaling, CASK suppresses p21 expression and promotes proliferation in NSCLC cells.

Researchers from The University of Osaka have found that the rat brain differs from other mammals in the proportion of upper and deep layer neurons in the cortex. This change likely arises from differences in the timing of signaling pathways during early brain development. Importantly, this identified mechanism may have future applications in regenerative medicine for developmental and neurological disorders.

National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), in collaboration with multiple medical centers across Taiwan, has found that patients with hepatitis C remain at a significantly elevated risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) even after successful viral eradication with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), particularly if metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is present.

Researchers studied 23 cases of oral cancer with a burrowing growth pattern and found that rare carcinoma cuniculatum has a unique genetic fingerprint. The research found genetic alterations in FAT1, NOTCH1, PIK3CA, and CASP8, suggesting a potential explanation for its slow growth and favorable prognosis. These findings suggest that genetic testing could improve diagnosis and inform treatment decisions in oral cancer.

Real time data collected during the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake response show that unclear tasks and command structures, and lack of meal- and rest breaks increased self-reported fatigue among disaster responders.

Researchers from The University of Osaka found that only a small subset of tumor-killing T cells undergoes extensive expansion during immunotherapy for multiple myeloma. By tracking individual cells, the team showed that the T-cell clones that later became dominant had already begun expanding shortly after the treatment started. The findings also suggest that highly proliferative immune cells show lower levels of exhaustion-related markers, offering new insights into why some patients respond better to immunotherapy.

Engineered carbon-based nanomaterials can interfere with the aggregation of misfolded proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases, offering a new direction for future therapeutic exploration.

Professor Liang Wang has just been appointed new Lead Editor in Microbiology in Health and Disease at the Journal of Applied Microbiology. In a fascinating new Q&A, he discusses antimicrobial resistance, emerging fields in microbiology and Helicobacter pylori.

More than a student event or hospital outreach effort, Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour Awareness (PBSTA) Day has become a growing community of support for children living with cancer and the families who care for them.

For millions of Filipinos, healthcare is not an abstract system; it’s a daily risk, a financial burden—and, far too often, an unanswered question.

Researchers found that FK 23, a lactic acid bacterium-derived material, improved the sperm dysfunction induced by bisphenol A (BPA)—a chemical commonly used in plastic production including food containers—using a rat model.

The prize, in partnership with Nature, will celebrate breakthroughs in mental health science. It aims to accelerate translation, influence policy and transform lives. This award champions new pharmacological, psychological, social and digital interventions from around the world. The overall winner will receive USD 1 million, and three finalists will be awarded USD 250,000 each.

A high-resolution cellular atlas of liver fibrosis and recovery identifies two proteins, SEMA4D and LMCD1, as promising therapeutic targets. The findings were validated in both mouse models and human patient samples, suggesting relevance to human disease.

Obesity trends have continued to rise in low- and middle-income countries over the past 45 years, but have plateaued in many high-income countries, a study in Nature reports.

Researchers from The University of Osaka and collaborators developed a wastewater-based method to estimate influenza incidence by measuring viral RNA concentrations in wastewater. The approach can separately estimate influenza A and B trends and may detect epidemic changes about one week earlier than conventional patient report data. The study highlights wastewater surveillance as a promising complement to existing public health systems for earlier healthcare preparedness.

Expansion of Duke-NUS’ Pathways to Medicine programme lets more aspiring doctors pursue diverse academic interests before joining medical school

Cellular changes affect ability to conceive

Drug resistance of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia prompts need for effective alternative treatments

Stubborn cancer tumors were completely (and safely) eliminated in a mouse model with a small but mighty treatment method using nanoparticles, controlled drug release in stages, and light from lasers.

Researchers at National Taiwan University have developed a liver-directed IL-10 gene therapy that strengthens cancer-fighting immune cells and suppresses liver tumors in mice. The treatment also generated long-lasting immune memory cells that remained in the liver after tumors disappeared.

A large-scale study of more than 31,000 patients found pneumonia occurred more often after breathing tubes were removed than during ventilation. Researchers say the condition, tied to swallowing dysfunction, should be recognized as a distinct clinical entity—one that may be preventable with early intervention.