SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " medicine " 1,525 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
UAMS Opens New Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic on Rodney Parham in Little Rock
UAMS Celebrates its Newest Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic featuring traditional therapy, therapy for women, spine therapy and sports performance offerings.
Dr. Hillary Porter of Marshall Health Network named 2025 West Virginia Pediatrician of the Year
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Hillary N. Porter, D.O., associate professor of pediatrics at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and board-certified pediatrician, psychologist and child and adolescent psychiatrist with Marshall Health Network, has been named the 2025 West Virginia Pediatrician of the Year by the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics in recognition of her dedication to children’s […]
Vanderbilt Health physicians treating more patients with tick bites this year
Six medically important tick species live in the state, and many Tennesseans encounter ticks in their own yard or neighborhood. Perhaps attributable to changing weather patterns and rising temperatures, Vanderbilt Health’s Emergency Medicine physicians around the region began treating patients with tick bites in March this year.
How weight, diet and lifestyles are affecting women’s hormonal health - Baylor College of Medicine Blog Network
Dr. Mona Romezi explains how weight, diet and lifestyle affects women's hormonal health and how to balance those hormones.
“Worse Long-Term Outcome” – Sports Medicine Doctor Has Grim Prognosis of Conor McGregor’s Recovery After Upcoming Surgery
Conor McGregoris preparing for yet another major surgery after blowing out his knee at UFC 329 against Max Holloway. On X, ‘The Notorious’ confirmed that a grueling medical procedure is on the horizon, with subsequent reports also revealing that he is scheduled to undergo an MRI soon.
EMA and EISMEA boost cooperation to accelerate health innovations
Cooperation will encourage the development of innovative medicines and health solutions for patients
Fertilizer scarcity as a failure of global health governance
Nature Medicine - Fertilizer scarcity as a failure of global health governance
Health Brief: The $10M contraceptive mess
Plus: The Trump administration deepens its push into psychedelic medicine.
Sports Medicine’s new game plan
The University of North Dakota’s first-of-its kind Center for Sports Medicine adjusts to its new digs on the north end of campus
Chicago barely makes top 20 in American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 America's Fittest Cities ranking
Chicago just barely made the top 20 in the American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 ranking of the country's fittest cities.
Atlanta Dream and Emory Healthcare Announce Unique Collaboration to Advance Women's Health, Both On and Off the Court
Multi-year partnership will provide world-class athlete care, expand access to women's health resources, and use the power of sport to improve health outcomes for women and girls across Georgia ATLANTA (July 14, 2026) – The Atlanta Dream today announced a multi-year partnership with Emory Healthcare, naming Emory Healthcare the Official Team Healthcare Provider and Official Sports Medicine Provider of the Atlanta Dream. Rooted in a shared commitment to advancing women's health, the collaboration will deliver elite athlete care while expanding access to trusted health education and wellness resources throughout the community. A New Model for Women's Health The Atlanta Dream and Emory Healthcare believe sports can become one […]
Cosmos Health Accelerates Prescription Medicine Strategy with Libytec Partnership to Commercialize DIABIT-IS X in Greece
Cosmos Health will supply DIABIT-IS X (sitagliptin), while Libytec handles distribution and promotion in GreeceFive-year agreement expected to contribute to revenue and cash-flow visibilityAs a prescription medicine, DIABIT-IS X is expected to be accessible to patients through Greece's national health insurance system, broadening its potential reachDIABIT-IS X is a generic alternative to Merck's Januvia®, which with Janumet® generated approximately $4.5 billion in combined global sales in 2022Po
Germany pushes through healthcare reform package despite pharma's drug discount resistance
Even as the effort has met with fierce pushback from drugmakers, trade groups and opposition parties in the country’s own government, German lawmakers late Friday voted to pass health insurance ref | Even as the effort has met with fierce pushback, German lawmakers late Friday voted to pass health insurance reforms aiming to cut healthcare costs, in part by hiking up mandatory rebates that pharmas must pay on branded medicines.
Are 988 and other mental health crisis lines missing people over 50?
Many people over 50 aren't aware of the 988 mental health crisis line, though some are aware of other crisis lines, suggesting an opportunity to increase awareness and use.
2nd PET scan changes treatment for nearly half of prostate cancer patients
Managing recurrent prostate cancer after first-line treatment remains a key clinical challenge, experts write in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Med student Regina Taylor named inaugural Huppert Community Health Scholar in Family Medicine
Huppert Community Health Scholar in Family Medicine program gives medical students the chance to engage in community health, engagement and leadership experiences for four years.
Generations of Health: Lisa Boyd, PA, Discusses the Power of Family Medical History
Your family shares more than memories; they pass down a genetic blueprint that can shape your health for years to come. Lisa Boyd, PA-C, with CaroMont Family Medicine in Dallas, explains why knowing your family medical history is one of the most powerful tools in preventive healthcare. From predicting risk before symptoms appear to guiding smarter screening schedules, this information helps you and your care team make more informed decisions. Learn how to start the conversation, what conditions have hereditary links and when genetic testing may be the right next step for you.
Science & Medicine: Pursuing precision medicine for Alzheimer's disease
A cutting-edge technology and an exciting recent hire hint at exciting developments in the future of precision medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Big Medicine threatens your wallet and your health. But there is a solution.
The Break Up Big Medicine Act has bipartisan support, and builds on new laws restricting pharmacy benefit managers.
Want to Boost Your Brain Health? A Neurologist Says to Change This 1 Thing About Your Daily Walk
A long-term study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine revealed a powerful link between walking and cognitive resilience.
How climate change harms human health — and what can be done
From air pollution to wildfires, from heat waves to vector-borne diseases, climate change harms our health and causes significant stress to the healthcare system. Horizons moderator William Brangham explores what can be done to protect people from a warming world with Victor Tsao of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and Lisa Patel of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
James Cronin joins Essentia Health-South University Clinic to practice sleep medicine
The Essentia Health-South University Clinic is proud to welcome James Cronin, an advanced practice registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner in sleep medicine.
Lyster Army Health Clinic Releases Eight-Part Aviation Medicine Podcast Miniseries
Recognizing the busy, high-tempo lives of aircrews at the Home of Army Aviation, Lyster Army Health Clinic has released a comprehensive audio resource in their Aviation Medicine miniseries available now on the Lyster Health Talks podcast, hosted by Lt. Col. Leah Steder, commander of Lyster Army Health Clinic.
Center for Sports Medicine surgeries to shift away from CommonSpirit Health
Patients who utilize the Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopedics received a notice stating that CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital is in a transition period.The
Best Muscles To Strengthen For Heart Health, According To A Doctor
In TODAY.com’s Expert Tip of the Day, a sports medicine doctor reveals which muscle groups you should focus on to build strength and also give the heart a good workout.
Biological aging clocks in health and disease
Nature Medicine - This review outlines the state of the art of biological clocks and how they could help understand pathobiology, reduce the burden of disease and extend healthspan.
LSU and FMOL Health award research grants targeting state’s critical health needs
LSU and FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake have awarded more than $1.6 million in research grants to seven teams through the Collaboration in Action Program, or CAP, supporting projects aimed at solving critical health challenges in Louisiana. The funded research focuses on areas including cancer, trauma care, chronic disease, obesity, sports medicine, […]
Eight Health Professionals Selected for RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program at the National Academy of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today named the 2026-2027 class of RWJF Health Policy Fellows. Beginning
Scientists finally crack nature's secret for building better cancer drugs
Researchers have cracked the code behind bacteria's ability to naturally manufacture multiple versions of powerful anti-cancer drugs. The discovery could make it much easier to engineer new cancer treatments inspired by nature, including improved versions of existing medicines.
Joint Society Editorial Calls For Science-Based Approach to CV Health Equity
A joint editorial on behalf of the ACC, American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology and World Heart Federation calls for a new era of equity-centered cardiovascular care designed to redefine prevention, optimize care delivery and ensure that all patients worldwide benefit equally from the promise of modern cardiovascular medicine.
Tignor named WVU Health System vice president, chief managed care officer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Rachel Tignor has been named vice president and chief managed care officer for the WVU Health System (WVUHS), effective July 5. Rachel Tignor Tignor has served in leadership roles of increasing...
Brigham and Women’s doctor combines medical expertise, journalism
Dr. Jeremy Faust saves lives in the ER and breaks stories with his Inside Medicine newsletter. He’s also testing the bounds of news reporting.
Inside the BoF and Clinuvel Community Lunch Exploring the Future of Skin Health
Investors from Goldman Sachs, L Catterton and Bansk Beauty joined leaders from L’Oréal, Harrods, Space NK and Unilever at The Business of Beauty Global Forum to examine how advances in medicine, biotechnology and longevity are redefining the future of skin health.
Inside the BoF and Clinuvel Community Lunch Exploring the Future of Skin Health
Investors from Goldman Sachs, L Catterton and Bansk Beauty joined leaders from L’Oréal, Harrods, Space NK and Unilever at The Business of Beauty Global Forum to examine how advances in medicine, biotechnology and longevity are redefining the future of skin health.
UND health professions addition in design phase as leaders envision the future of healthcare education
Dean Marjorie Jenkins of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences said the building will be a game changer not only for UND, but the state.
Capitol Hill Programming: The Power and Peril of Food: The Latest Science on Your Mood, Memory, Metabolism, Fertility, and Longevity
On Wednesday, July 29th, join Food Tank and Tufts University Food is Medicine Institute for the U.S. Capitol Hill Programming, “The Power and Peril of Food: The Latest Science on Your Mood, Memory, Metabolism, Fertility, and Longevity.”
Preparing for Mars: UCLA Health's Space Medicine Program is training astronaut doctors
UCLA Health's Space Medicine Program is training astronaut doctors.
Switching to a cheaper health plan delayed a man's access to vital medicine: "He didn't deserve to die like that"
Why U.S. measles outbreaks have grown harder to extinguish
As the nation nears last year’s record case total, experts say the virus is becoming harder to contain, forcing medicine to relearn a disease many thought had been consigned to history.
Science & Medicine: Training health care workers to save lives in Texas maternity care deserts
In the nearly half of Texas counties considered maternity care deserts, few health care workers are trained to handle a pregnancy emergency like maternal cardiac arrest. A simulation-based training program from an expert at UT San Antonio's Kate Marmion School of Public Health aims to change that, and reduce preventable deaths in the process.
Science & Medicine: Training health care workers to save lives in Texas maternity care deserts
In the nearly half of Texas counties considered maternity care deserts, few health care workers are trained to handle a pregnancy emergency like maternal cardiac arrest. A simulation-based training program from an expert at UT San Antonio's Kate Marmion School of Public Health aims to change that, and reduce preventable deaths in the process.
This Fourth of July, a quieter American story: Muslims in science, medicine and charity
This Fourth of July, a quieter American story: Muslims in science, medicine and charity
Harsh Medicine: Fixing Science’s Gender Gap
Women now enter medicine in numbers equal to men, yet they remain largely underrepresented. That’s harmful to science and patient care.
Why you should wash new clothes before wearing; signs that you are aging well; effective leadership in health care; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources
Jami Miller, MD, Professor of Clinical Dermatology, and David Gaston, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, are quoted in a Southern Living piece about the importance of washing new clothes before wearing them. Dyes, chemicals, mold and bacteria are all potential troublemakers lurking around your new duds. Parul Goyal, MBBS, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, was quoted in a Huff Post story outlining signs that you are aging well. Tae Kon Kim, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, was interviewed by Healio for a story headlined, “Effective leadership in health care ‘starts with listening.’” AAMC News reporter Patrick Boyle interviewed Wes Ely, MD, Professor of Medicine and Critical Care, for a story about ICU delirium. PharmaVoice reporter Kelly Bilodeau interviewed Romney Humphries, PhD, Vice Chair and Executive Medical Director, Clinical Services, for a story about the CDC’s new data that shows an alarming increase in the prevalence of a gene that can make “nightmare bacteria” significantly harder to treat. American Community Media interviewed William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, for a piece about Ebola that was reused by several media outlets around the U.S., including The Mississippi Link. Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Professor of Health Policy, was quoted by The Independent in a story about how Medicare will soon cover weight-loss drugs. Courtney Schadt, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, was interviewed by Tennessean reporter Beth Warren, about tanning safety and tanning fads circulating social media. WKRN News 2 interviewed Amanda Peltier, MD, Professor of Neurology, about the correlation between head trauma and ALS following the diagnosis of former Titans running back Chris Johnson.
Patient Care Center structure changing for physical medicine and rehabilitation
The changes align with Vanderbilt Health’s strategic vision for growth, including regional expansion and the development of innovative rehabilitation and pain medicine services.
Harsh Medicine: Fixing Science’s Gender Gap
We talk to UCSF distinguished professor Jennifer Grandis about the issues still facing women in science and health care.
Seattle hospital cuts family medicine resident slots
Fewer residency slots in family medicine could add to a troubling shortage of doctors in Washington, especially among community clinics.
EMA steps up efforts on medicines for women’s health
Initiatives to map gaps, challenges and prioritise further actions
Trinity Health Grand Rapids works to offer more free medication
Trinity Health Grand Rapids is rolling out a new program that aims to get prescription medicine to some of the lowest-income patients in West Michigan.
Your guide to summer grilling and heart health - Baylor College of Medicine Blog Network
Dr. Nidal Buheis explains the role red meat plays in heart health and suggests how to enjoy red meat in moderation this summer.
Students Explore Science And Research At Fourth Annual Discovery Day
Local students joined Cincinnati Children’s Discovery Day to explore research labs, meet scientists, and learn about careers in science and medicine.
Simpler lung cancer screening criteria could capture more patients likely to benefit
New research published in JAMA Internal Medicine compared current USPSTF criteria to a potential shift toward total years smoked, rather than pack years.
Expanding Maternal Care in New Mexico Through Data and Mental Health Support
No two pregnancies or childbirths are the same, but every New Mexico family deserves the same access to safe, high-quality maternal-fetal care. Two University of New Mexico School of Medicine projects aim to improve how providers care for pregnant...
Stop playing politics with children's lives
Every day at my family medicine practice, I see how important secure relationships are for healthy development.
Science for Living: How acupuncture is earning its place in modern medicine
UMass Chan researchers discuss the growing evidence behind acupuncture’s role in modern integrative medicine and how it is helping to reduce chronic pain.
Vote for the Cincinnati high school winter Athletes of the Year
Cincinnati Enquirer readers can now vote for the 2025-26 Beacon Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine readers' choice winter Athletes of the Year.
Fish oil supplements no match for Alzheimer's risk, new study finds
A new study from the Keck School of Medicine at USC found a revelation regarding fish oil supplements. Here's the researchers' findings.
Pediatric sports medicine expert shares the health benefits of playing soccer
Essentia Health-Cloquet Clinic welcomes Jaycee Hewitt to practice family medicine
Jaycee Hewitt, an advanced practice registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner in family medicine, is thrilled to join the Essentia Health-Cloquet Clinic.
Israeli health-tech conference opens in Jerusalem with 1,800 participants from 40 countries
MIXiii Health-Tech.IL 2026 brought together investors, doctors, researchers, startups and global health-tech leaders, with a focus on Israeli emergency medicine, tech-bio, and technologies.
Political Control of Research Funding Threatens Sound Science
Decades of federal research funding have led to breakthroughs in medicine, technology, and environmental science. A new OMB proposal aims to derail all of this through political interference.
GLP-1s 101: What the science says about weight loss, side effects, safety
We asked Stanford Medicine experts to break down everything you need to know about the drugs known as GLP-1s, semaglutide, Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and many more.
Benchmark Scores Don’t Break. Clinical Reality Does. The Health AI Readiness Illusion.
Nature Medicine's frontier AI evaluation exposes a dangerous gap: models acing medical benchmarks collapse under adversarial pressure, and the FDA has no…
Efzimfotase alfa demonstrated improvements in bone health in treatment-naïve pediatric patients with hypophosphatasia achieving median difference of 1.67 vs placebo in RGI-C Score at week 25 in MULBERRY Phase III trial
Positive results from the MULBERRY Phase III trial showed that efzimfotase alfa (ALXN1850), an investigational enzyme replacement therapy, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in bone health in children (2 to
Science & Medicine: Scanning the brain to improve treatment for traumatized teens
Around 20% of teens who have experienced emotional trauma don't respond to talk therapy. UT Health San Antonio is using neuroimaging to track brain changes in traumatized teens during a course of therapy to see if they can figure out why, which could lead to the development of more personalized treatments that will help more teens heal.
Government overreach won’t fix youth gender medicine
The real cure for bad science is better clinical trials, not lawsuits.
Government overreach won’t fix youth gender medicine
The real cure for bad science is better clinical trials, not lawsuits.
Alzheimer’s research headlines 2026 brain health summit
The summit, hosted by the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, highlighted the latest advances in Alzheimer’s research.
ACES hosts event looking at health impacts of climate change
Dr. Mark Gladwin, the dean of University of Maryland School of Medicine and the vice president of Medical Affairs, is slated to speak with Aspen Center for Environmental Studies from 6 to 7 p.m. July 2 on the worsening health impacts in the face of human-driven climate change.
Why where you live matters for heart health — even in childhood - Baylor College of Medicine Blog Network
Evidence links environmental exposures to early cardiovascular risk, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities like AI/AN youth.
Sweden and WHO launch new long-term initiative to transform Ukraine’s health system
WHO and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) have launched a new multi-year cooperation project to support the long-term recovery and transformation of Ukraine’s health system. The new project, “Ukraine’s Health System Transformation Initiative: Strengthening Health Governance, Health Financing and Service Delivery for Long-Term Recovery”, was launched at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdansk, Poland on 26 June, and will run from June 2026 to 2029. Sweden will contribute approximately US$ 26 million (240 million Swedish krona) to support this project. This contribution forms part of Sweden’s broader support to Ukraine through the Team Europe approach, which brings together the European Union, its Member States, and key partners such as the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood and Enabel, and WHO as lead health agency, to support Ukraine’s recovery, reform agenda and European integration.“Ukraine’s health recovery cannot be measured only by what is rebuilt, but by whether people can count on the health system when they need it most. The scale of the task is immense, with health reconstruction and modernization needs estimated at US$ 19.4 billion over the next decade. Sweden’s US$ 26 million contribution to Ukraine’s Health System Transformation Initiative is a timely investment in the institutions, financing and services that will support Ukraine’s long-term recovery and European integration. WHO remains a trusted partner of the Government of Ukraine in advancing this process. I am deeply grateful to Sweden for its consistent support and partnership,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. More than 4 years of war have placed unprecedented pressure on Ukraine’s health system, creating 3 interconnected challenges. The first is responding to the immediate consequences of the war and the urgent health needs of the population. The second is recovering and modernizing health services today. The third is continuing reforms and aligning the health system with European standards in the context of Ukraine’s future accession to the European Union. The war has led to large-scale population displacement, an increasing need for trauma care and rehabilitation, and shortages of health workers. High out-of-pocket payments in Ukraine make access to health services more difficult. Around 46% of total health expenditure is paid directly by individuals, placing a significant financial burden on many households and underscoring the need for reforms in health financing. Older people, persons with disabilities, women, children and veterans continue to face the greatest difficulties in accessing health services. “Ukraine is demonstrating that health system transformation can continue even during war. Ukraine is also continuing to align its health system with European norms and standards. WHO is committed to supporting Ukraine on this journey. We provide technical support, help coordinate partners’ efforts and support the institutional changes needed to strengthen the system. We are grateful to Sweden for its support. Through this partnership, we can help Ukraine build a more resilient, accessible and people-centred health system,” said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine. About the Health System Transformation InitiativeThe new initiative will support Ukraine through 3 interconnected areas: strengthening governance and coordination of health sector reforms through more inclusive coordination platforms and structured policy dialogue; transforming service delivery by reinforcing a primary health care-centred model that integrates family medicine, nursing and midwifery; and improving financial sustainability by supporting reforms that ensure the long-term viability of the national health system and reduce out-of-pocket payments for households. Overall, these reforms are expected to make the health system more coherent and easier to navigate, improve the quality and continuity of care, and ensure more equitable access to services, particularly for those who need them most. They will also support Ukraine’s progress towards a more modern health system aligned with European standards. “We are convinced that long-term recovery is not possible without strong, high-quality, person-centred health services that are accessible to everyone. Our partnership with WHO is designed to support deep and lasting systemic changes. Investments in human capital especially autonomous midwives, whose role for maternal, newborn and adolescent sexual and reproductive health cannot be understated, stronger governance, digital transformation and the financial sustainability of the health system are investments in Ukraine’s future. We are proud to support this process,” said Malin Perhult, the Head of the Ukraine Unit at Sida. Focus throughout implementation will be given to the most vulnerable population groups, including older people, women and children, and persons with disabilities, who have been affected by the war and face greater health-care needs. The initiative will be implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the National Health Service of Ukraine, the Public Health Centre of Ukraine, regional authorities and international partners. This project will help Ukraine move towards a system where everyone can access the health care they need. It will strengthen primary care, make the health finance system more stable and predictable, and reduce the out-of-pocket costs that Ukrainians face when using health services. As a result, the Ukrainian health system will become more aligned with European standards and more sustainable in the long run.
Small Creatures, Big Mission: NMHM Bugapalooza 2026 Connects Science and Military Readiness
Mosquitoes, ticks, flies, and pollinators drew a crowd at the National Museum of Health and Medicine's Bugapalooza on June 13. Nearly 400 visitors attended the annual event to explore the world of insects through hands-on activities, exhibits, and conversations with military and civilian experts.
Evaluating the robustness and readiness of large frontier models in health AI applications
Nature Medicine - Adversarial evaluation of leading AI models uncovers gaps between benchmark success and robustness, highlighting limitations in current health AI benchmarks and their ability to...
UCLA comparative literature department to offer health humanities minor in fall
UCLA will offer a minor in health humanities starting this fall. The minor, housed under the comparative literature department, is an interdisciplinary program that examines how health and medicine are shaped by literature, culture, history and social experience, according to the department’s website.
Priscilla Chan on science, disease prevention and the future of medicine
CNBC's Becky Quick sits down for a conversation with Dr. Priscilla Chan, co-founder of Biohub, at Aspen Ideas: Health.
Distrust In Science Isn't New: We Mistook Silence For Trust
Distrust in medicine and science isn't a new crisis. Drawing on decades in communities, a physician explains the real source and how we earn trust.
Making Our Own Luck
We are cross-posting a piece that former NIH official Kris Willis wrote for Macroscience. Kris is now the President and Founder of the Woodley Park Institute, for which I’m a board member. Picking winners or hedging bets? Federal science agencies have long wrestled with the question of how to ensure their billions of dollars of grants and contracts result in maximum benefits for Americans. On the surface, it might seem that a goal-oriented, interventionist style of management would be the best policy: prioritize our most pressing problems and distribute funding accordingly.This top-down strategy creates a unique hazard, though: bad choices can send resources in the wrong direction, resulting in slow progress that impedes the delivery of tangible benefits to citizens. Moreover, if decision makers pursue an applied advance when the underlying scientific principles remain poorly understood, they risk costly failures and a loss of support for the research enterprise at large. Examples include Nixon’s 1971 War on Cancer, undertaken on the premise that a cure could be achieved in less than a decade, the drive to build an operational commercial fusion plant by the mid-1990s, and the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which failed to produce the effective treatments and prevention strategies promised by 2025. The contrasting laissez-faire approach is to hedge your bets. If the path to an advance is impossible to predict, then the wisest choice might be to distribute funding to as widely as possible. The main risk of this strategy is that spreading funding thinly may limit the resources available to the most promising research, resulting in the same negative outcomes as the interventionist approach: limited support for the most promising topics, slow progress, and delayed returns. In reality, at science agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, program managers navigate between these two extremes, setting some funds aside to target high-priority areas and using the rest to cover the widest possible range of meritorious proposals. This middle path seems like the most rational way to proceed, but it still requires making choices. How much should be set aside for high priority topics? What should those topics be? How should we define merit? Expert opinion can provide a helpful guide, but leading experts can have remarkably different opinions about what matters and what should be prioritized. Moreover, experts and administrators alike can be risk averse, giving an edge to high-profile, well-established concepts. What’s really needed is a data-driven framework to help guide decision-making, one that doesn’t simply repackage prestige or incumbency. Recognizing breakthroughs years in advance Many breakthroughs fail to attract funding or recognition at the earliest stages of development. Katalin Karikó, for example, spent years struggling to win grants for work on mRNA that would eventually win her and Drew Weissman a Nobel Prize. Similar stories can be told about Jim Allison’s groundbreaking studies leading to the development of cancer immunotherapy, Stan Pruisner’s demonstration that prions can self-replicate without DNA, or Robin Warren and Barry Marshall’s proof that Helicobacter pylori, not stress, causes ulcers. Yet at some point, the scientific community recognizes and responds to transformative breakthroughs like these. How does that change happen? And what if science funders could identify the areas that are on the cusp of a breakthrough? Those questions led my collaborators and me to study how scientists responded to past breakthroughs. Based on patterns in that data, we developed a means of predicting future breakthroughs, using biomedicine as a proof of concept. It’s worth taking a moment to describe how our approach works. Briefly, our prediction process begins by grouping the 18 million or so peer-reviewed papers in PubMed, the authoritative database of biomedical research, into roughly 50,000 unique topics. A small subset of these topics are so widely acclaimed as breakthroughs that they have been recognized with a major prize like a Nobel or a Lasker Award. We theorized that studying the development of these outliers over time, especially before they gained acclaim, was the key to identifying future instances of them. After defining topics, we chose 21 representative breakthroughs and asked what they looked like before they won prestigious prizes. To answer that question, we re-ran our topic-mapping algorithm repeatedly, winding back the clock one year each time, stringing together the years to follow the progress of each field as it grew and advanced. We found that in each case, the years leading up to a discovery followed a pattern: a burst of papers on a new, rapidly evolving topic, many of which quickly became influential. These characteristics—the percent of papers that are new, the percentage of papers that are brought in from other topics, and the influence of each individual paper—can all be measured separately for any given topic. Together, they act as a predictive signal that is detectable an average of five years before a transformative discovery is made, and up to thirty years before the discovery receives a major prize. Scanning the current research landscape for topics that display this signal allows us to predict what work will likely produce a future breakthrough. Each year we analyzed includes four or five signals, a number that appears to have remained constant across a twenty year time frame. In their classic work on the sociology of science, Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar established that the desire to participate in a major discovery is an important motivator for scientists as they consider whether they should take up (or abandon) a research problem. Although further work is needed, the simplest explanation for our results is that this behavior is widespread enough to detect at scale. A foundational advance, or something like it, draws the attention of scientists and causes them to change the direction of their research. They vote with their feet, staking their own reputation and careers by publishing on and citing the new idea. That upswell of interest is the foundation of our breakthrough signal. What kind of research does our model identify as a breakthrough? After building a model based on the patterns in our 21 preselected breakthroughs, we tested it by identifying all early signals of discovery from 1994 through 1997. Of the 18 signals we found in that time period, 17 can be traced forward in time to a breakthrough. Examples include super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (see the image above), the directed evolution of proteins and enzymes (Chemistry Nobel, 2018), and sequencing the human genome (National Medal of Science, 2008). The discovery of the role of leptin signaling in obesity is a particularly interesting case study. Around 1950, scientists noticed the existence of a type of lab mouse that suffered from a unique inherited form of obesity. When given the freedom to choose their own diet, these mice ate more than normal and preferred food that was high in fat. Researchers had few clues as to why the animals overate; early experiments pointed to the existence of a soluble ob factor found circulating in the bloodstream that regulated appetite, but its identity was unknown. In 1994, Jeffrey Friedman and colleagues identified and sequenced the ob gene, noting that the protein it encoded appeared to fit the profile of a circulating factor. A year later, a trio of high-profile publications demonstrated that ob was a hormone that regulated body weight and fat deposition by regulating appetite. One of these was co-authored by Friedman, who christened it leptin from the ancient Greek word for thin. Using our model, the data from 1996 make it clear this advance would become a breakthrough. Scientists had flocked to study the biology of the new hormone, generating the flurry of new papers and citations required to produce a signal. One of these demonstrated that serum leptin concentrations reflected the amount of adipose tissue in the human body, providing clinical validation of the earlier mouse studies. Before the identification of leptin, scientists were unable to point to a specific molecule that controlled appetite and adiposity, so that it was impossible to rule out non-physiological causes of obesity; its characterization fundamentally changed our concept of weight gain. In 2010, Friedman and fellow pioneer Douglas Coleman were awarded a Lasker for the discovery. Our work also identifies breakthroughs in clinical practice and behavioral and social sciences, even though these areas are less likely to draw the attention of major prize committees. One example that falls into this category is the introduction of endovascular aneurysm repair, a minimally invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm, a leading cause of death among Americans over the age of 65. Relative to the previous standard of care, it reduces in-hospital mortality by almost four-fold. In 2017, Timothy Chuter received the American College of Surgeons’ prestigious Jacobsen Innovation award for his multiple refinements to the technique. Another under-recognized breakthrough identified by our model is the development of standardized survey instruments to assess the quality of life for HIV+ patients. The antiretroviral cocktails introduced in the mid-1990s reduced AIDS mortality, but treatment came with serious side effects. The new evaluations showed that patients whose disease progressed had worse physical functioning than Americans with other chronic diseases, while those who were asymptomatic maintained a health-related quality of life on par with the overall US population. This evidence made it possible for patients and activists to argue that even in the absence of a total cure, and in spite of the side effects, alleviation of symptoms was a worthwhile priority for clinicians. My colleagues and I have failed to identify any significant recognition for the physicians and health policy experts who pioneered this advance, although in 2016, researchers called for the World Health Organization to set targets for good health-related quality of life as part of its framework to end the AIDS pandemic. From forecasting to funding How should science funders use our predictions? Any serious discussion of what we should do with this new capability needs to begin with an understanding of its limitations. We can’t (and shouldn’t) invest all of our resources in the small number of topics predicted to produce breakthroughs. Innovative new fields are born from existing ones; they rarely arise de novo. If funders don’t maintain a diverse portfolio, the breakthroughs of tomorrow will have no antecedents. Think of this as eating the seed corn, or killing the goose that lays the golden egg. There are also multiple goals of funding beyond basic scientific discovery, including translating discoveries into clinical practice, developing new technologies, supporting economic development, and training new scientists. The investments needed to accomplish these goals are likely different from those required to support emerging breakthroughs. Finally, we must be aware that we may not capture every instance of a breakthrough. The concept is fuzzy, and not every significant discovery is recognized with a major award. Further, breakthroughs are rare, meaning that our dataset is, by necessity, small. This makes formal estimates of accuracy challenging. Although our overall success rate appears to be high, any one signal may turn out to be a false positive. We found one apparent example: the development of the third generation COX-2 inhibitors, Vioxx and Celebrex, which were much celebrated in the early 2000s as effective but non-addictive pain relievers, meets all the algorithmic criteria of a breakthrough. Five years after it received FDA approval, researchers demonstrated that Vioxx was associated with serious cardiovascular complications, and the manufacturer voluntarily pulled the drug from the market. Celebrex remains available, although like other NSAIDs, it carries an FDA warning for increased cardiovascular risk. Decision makers who were overly focused on the breakthrough potential of this research might have wasted substantial resources nurturing an area that ultimately proved to be a failure—but so would those who relied on expert opinion at the time. That said, the potential benefits of funding the next mRNA vaccine or cancer immunotherapy years earlier than we might have are large. When we can’t assume the outcome of an action, it’s worth conducting an experiment. Can targeted support for areas that are poised to produce a breakthrough increase the return on scientific investment without cannibalizing future advances? With the necessary administrative infrastructure in place, conducting this experiment would be straightforward. First, identify all the breakthrough signals between 2018 and 2023, select half at random, and commit to a decade of investment. For biomedicine, a six year window should yield about 30 topics with the potential to produce a breakthrough. Providing strong support to half of these might be accomplished for $300 million a year. That’s roughly half of the recent annual budget of the NIH Common Fund or around 20% of the fiscal year 2025 budget for ARPA-H. After five years, then again at ten, compare to see which group — the one that was actively managed, or the control — produced more breakthroughs, and on what timescale. Although we used biomedicine as an example, the same experiment could just as well be run for physics, materials science, or any other discipline. Any attempt to undertake such an experiment should keep three points top of mind. First, we can predict the topic of future breakthroughs, but the people and vision for how to move the work forward are still important. In practice, this means success requires active program managers with the expertise to develop the science and the authority to do so, including by recruiting investigators. Second, we would be wise to learn from the failures of past attempts to fund transformative research. High among these are funding modestly repackaged work, confusing the genuinely novel with the merely unfamiliar, and relying too much on incumbent investigators. All of these risks can be mitigated by thoroughly and intelligently integrating high quality data into portfolio management. Finally, we need to have patience. Even with strong funding support, producing a breakthrough takes time. If supporting breakthroughs is the best way to nurture the birth of new fields, we also need to accurately describe and properly manage the other two stages, so that we invest wisely throughout the productive lifetime of ideas and divest once they reach the point of diminishing returns. We would benefit from more study of all of these phases, especially the transition from one to another. More research could answer questions like: When does a breakthrough become an established field? How do the availability of funding, the size and characteristics of the available workforce, and the accumulation of evidence that disagrees with prevailing models affect a field’s decline? Exactly how do old ideas give birth to new ones, and can we speed up the process? The more we understand about the dynamics of scientific progress, the better we can maximize the odds that our curiosity leads to results. I’d call that finding a way to make our own luck.
Q&A: What does science say about plants as medicine?
Plants have always played an integral role in traditional medicine and healing practices, according to Kent Vrana, Elliot S. Vesell Professor of Pharmacology at Penn State College of Medicine…
Another look at carrots and eyesight; how to get more fiber; why mosquitoes bite some people and not others; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources
AARP reporter Stacey Colino interviewed Milam Brantley, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, in 2020 for a story about whether eating carrots can improve vision. Sacramento Bee reporter Samantha Agate has now used Brantley’s comments in an AI-curated story created by content specialists on the same topic that has been picked up by MSN and others. Prevention magazine interviewed Heidi Silver, RD, PhD, Founding Director of the Vanderbilt Diet, Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core, for a story about the importance of fiber and how people can get more of it in their diet. William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by several news outlets about public health issues, including: Women’s Health (tick bites and alpha-gal syndrome); The Washington Post (tetanus); and Healthline (why mosquitoes prefer to bite some people and leave others alone). A visit to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt by some Banana Ball baseball players was covered by The Tennessean and WZTV Fox 17 News, and The Tennessean’s story was also picked up by Yahoo! Sports. Clarksville Now published a story written by the Montgomery County Economic Development Team, whointerviewed Bradley Stancombe, MD, professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Vanderbilt Neonatology, about the new energy of Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital and how the facility is recruiting physicians. Healio Allergy/Asthma group editorial director Richard Gawel interviewed Mark Rolfsen, MD, Clinical Fellow in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, for a story about his presentation at the American Thoracic Society meeting on metal health outcomes following ICU discharge. Nashville Scene reporter Hannah Herner interviewed James Crowe, MD, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, for a story about his efforts to prepare for the next pandemic by isolating antibodies that can neutralize dangerous viruses. Medscape reporter Kathleen Doheny interviewed Neesha Choma, Associate Chief of Staff of Vanderbilt University Hospital, for a story about how hospitals can reduce readmissions.
Scientists measure hidden quantum forces that could power a new generation of pharmaceutical drugs
Researchers invent a laser technique that reveals the hidden forces shaping proteins, advancing a future of precision medicine engineered with quantum precision.
Keith Flaherty: Translating Science into Medicine
Keith Flaherty: Translating Science into Medicine / American Association for Cancer Research, cancer, Keith Flaherty, Massachusetts General Hospital,
CU Director of Sports Medicine Dr. Eric McCarty Provides Capitol Hill Briefing on College Athletics Landscape
The University of Colorado's Director of Sports Medicine Dr. Eric McCarty was among a prestigious panel of physicians and coaches leading a briefing on Capit...
The Heart-Healthy Way to Lift Weights, Explained by a Doctor
In TODAY.com’s Expert Tip of the Day, a sports medicine doctor reveals whether it’s better to use heavier weights with fewer reps or lighter weights with more reps for a healthy heart.
Mercy Helps Position St. Louis as Global Gateway for Healthcare Innovation
Mercy continues to bring innovative thought leadership to the communities it serves and beyond. Dr. Damon Broyles, Mercy vice president of clinical innovation, informatics and precision medicine, recently shared insights and helped attract new companies to St. Louis’ nationally recognized healthcare industry as part of BioSTL.
Scientists design 'tunable' biomolecules to probe how sugars behave
Sugars are not just a source of energy—they also play a crucial role in how cells communicate, how proteins interact and how materials behave in medicine and industry. But studying these processes is ...
New Office at SBU Links Climate, Community and Health
Stony Brook's new Office of Health Equity and Climate Medicine Research brings together groups to better understand how the environment shapes health outcomes.
Service meets science: Meet the first graduate of UAB’s Master of Science in AI in Medicine
UAB’s first graduate of the M.S. in AI in Medicine program blends clinical training with artificial intelligence, highlighting how physicians can use AI to reduce burnout, improve patient care and shape the future of healthcare.
Death Row Disability Cases Are Questions of Morality, Not Science
Doctors’ input on how to weigh cognitive disability in death penalty cases can be helpful, but characterizing such judgments as science misrepresents medicine and psychology, says Dr. M. Gregg Bloche of Georgetown Law.
The best universities for radiology education, according to US News & World Report
Harvard University is the No. 1 school in the world for radiology, nuclear medicine and medical imaging, according to the publication.
Flagship Pioneering and Lean Business Services Company Announce Collaboration to Advance Healthcare Innovation and AI-Enabled Biomedical Research in Saudi Arabia
/PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering, the scientific innovation company behind Moderna, Generate Biomedicines, and more than 100 other life sciences ventures,...
Can the Sugar Molecules That Coat Our Cells Predict Our Health?
Can the Sugar Molecules That Coat Our Cells Predict Our Health?: Glycans, once ignored, may revolutionize medicine
Emory Healthcare Named Founding Partner and Official Healthcare Provider of the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center
Emory Healthcare becomes a Founding Partner of the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, bringing nationally recognized research, innovation, and sports medicine to the new home for soccer in America.
How This Common Painkiller Is Stopping Cancer From Spreading, Scientists Reveal - Futura-Sciences
Guess Who? The Painkiller Hiding a Secret Weapon Riddle: it’s in countless family medicine cabinets. It’s the go-to when fever or pain strikes. For more than half a century, scientists have known about its anticancer properties. Some even believe it might lower the risk of metastases—those are the little troublemakers...
Lancaster General Health sells downtown Lititz office building for $8.1M
The new owners of a historic mill that most recently served as Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health’s administrative offices will look to revitalize the building as a mix of retail,
University of Hawaiʻi researchers awarded $12M grant to advance AI, data science in medicine
The funding will be dedicated to accelerating biomedical discoveries through AI and data science to benefit people in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region, and worldwide.
When Sixth Graders Study Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine is partnering with school districts to create health science programs that prepare students for careers.
Former high-level health officials think out loud about HHS, FDA
More than 15 years after the National Academy of Medicine summoned a blue-ribbon panel to “reimagine” the Department of Health and Human Services for the 21st century, the cabinet-level operation has yet to make good on the experts’ overarching directive.
Long-term health risks of e-cigarettes after smoking cessation
Nature Medicine - Real‑world evidence from a nationwide cohort suggests that using electronic cigarettes after smoking cessation may attenuate the benefits of quitting in reducing lung cancer...
The Pulse: Women's Health is Having a Reckoning - The Longevity Gap is Where it Starts
Welcome to our new series The Pulse, covering everything you need to know about the age of intelligent health.From ovarian aging and maternal health to cardiovascular and dementia risk, HLTH USA 2026 is programming the women’s health conversations medicine has been too slow to have.While women live longer than men, they spend 25% longer in poor health. The healthspan gap, between how long women live and how long they live in good health, is the defining focus of the next frontier in women’s health. “Diminished healthspan ...