Medicine & Healthcare Public health

A team of international researchers has developed alternatives to antibiotics that prevent infection of cow udders, called bovine mastitis, to address rising antibiotic resistance and concerns around milk contamination from antibiotic residues.

Findings based on efforts in Sera Town, Japan showed the pneumococcal vaccination support program reversed the previously increasing trend in pneumonia mortality rate in the community.

Chinese and Australian scientists have reported the discovery of twenty new bat viruses in research published this week.

Ateneo de Manila University researchers warn that young Filipinos graduating with a degree in nursing or medicine face an uphill battle for stable employment, fair pay, and meaningful roles in the local public health system.

Higher maternal selenium levels during pregnancy were associated with a lower risk of streptococcal infections in children, suggesting a potential protective effect.

Colder temperatures are linked with increased risk of diarrhea among Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, emphasizing the need for climate-sensitive health strategies in refugee settings.

Widespread contamination by emerging foodborne pathogen detected in retail chicken meat

Duke-NUS Medical School has appointed Professor Patrick Tan as its next and fourth Dean, effective 1 January 2026, marking a new chapter for the School as it builds on its legacy of medical education, research and innovation.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led team report on the development of a highly selective isolation medium CT-PS-XR-MacConkey agar for efficient isolation of E. albertii.

SS 705 provides a first-of-its-kind Singapore-developed assessment to test the effectiveness of antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral potency, as well as durability of surface disinfectants and coatings.

Effective treatment of gastric cancer-bacterial infections begins with understanding differing clinical methods

Popular milk and dairy products in Egypt show over 25% prevalence of E. coli

Amylase and mucin decrease the effects of ozonated water

Development of a low-cost, easy-to-use tool for assessing the lack of essential nutrients

Warnings against saturated fat on heart health need to be revisited as flaws were revealed in the seminal 1950s studies on which these warnings were based, according to new research coming out of the Ateneo de Manila University.

Pathogenic system found on plasmid can lead to severe food poisoning symptoms

The study’s findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive regulation, including a potential ban on flavored tobacco products and the adoption of plain packaging to curb their appeal.

By targeting multiprotein molecule, antibody inhibits bacteria’s growth, pathogenicity

Incidence, risk factors found for pulmonary aspergillosis, an invasive fungal infection of lungs, among COVID-19 patients

A pioneering study titled “Causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan 2020-2022,” published in Nature Human Behaviour, has conducted the most comprehensive investigation to date on the causal relationship between video gaming and mental well-being. This research, the first to demonstrate this relationship using real-life data, challenges commonly held views about the effects of gaming.

Researchers develop method to calculate the probability of a fall for older adults

Novel real-time PCR method might become diagnostic tool targeting emerging bacterium responsible for food poisoning outbreaks

Researchers at Osaka University analyzed data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study and found that socioeconomic status (SES) transitions affect dementia risk. Specifically, upward SES mobility is greater associated with reduced dementia risk and extended healthy aging with dementia-free lifespan, while downward mobility increases risk. The study of 9,186 participants found that lifestyle, comorbidities, and social factors mediate this relationship, highlighting the importance of SES in cognitive health and preventing dementia.

Researchers undertook a study of older adults to examine the connection between a sense of economic insecurity and a person’s participation in social activities.

MozzHub, a user-friendly dengue hotspot detector, could significantly assist the management and control of dengue.

The researchers from Osaka University showed how two psychological factors, belief in just deserts (BJD) and human rights restrictions (HRR), differ across countries. BJD tended to be higher in Japan and lower in the UK, whereas HRR was higher in China and lower in Japan. Public health messages for high-HRR individuals could potentially be used effectively to reduce disease-related discrimination and prejudice.

In recent years, an emerging zoonotic pathogen called E. albertii, transmitted by wild animals such as raccoons, has garnered attention due to its remarkable similarities to several strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), including O157, and its potential to cause severe illness, particularly in children. A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has developed a novel culture medium that allows for the selective cultivation of E. albertii from raccoon fecal samples. This enabled the successful isolation of E. albertii even from samples with very low quantities of this bacterium. Their findings are expected to further elucidate the bacteriological characteristics of E. albertii and to contribute to the control of foodborne illnesses.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers conducted a 5-year claims-based study of 655 non-frail or pre-frail older adults who were certified as having low care needs to investigate the relationship between the risk of frailty and two types of care services. The results showed that users of community-based adult care services had a 40% reduced risk of developing frailty compared to non-users. This suggests that utilizing appropriate support and services can prevent the progression of frailty.

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have developed an AI model that accurately estimates a patient’s age, using chest radiographs of healthy individuals collected from multiple facilities. Furthermore, they found a positive relationship between differences in the AI-estimated and chronological ages and a variety of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, hyperuricemia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In the future, it is expected that AI biomarkers will be developed to predict life expectancy, estimate the severity of chronic diseases, and forecast surgery-related risks.

Researchers from Osaka University found that patients with persistently high levels of urinary albumin excretion in the long term are at high risk of new-onset heart failure. Preventive treatment associated with the lowering of urinary albumin excretion levels in these patients could reduce the risk of later heart failure or mortality.