NIH Research Matters

Researchers identified compounds that could kill malaria parasites inside mosquitoes.

Studies in people and mice show a diet that’s low in the amino acid cysteine reprograms fat to burn more calories, triggering weight loss and reduced inflammation.

Loss of the Y chromosome in both tumor and immune cells may hamper immune protections and lead to poorer outcomes for men with different types of cancer.

Researchers developed scores based on metabolite levels in blood and urine that can identify diets high in ultra-processed foods.

Almost 19 million U.S. children—1 in 4—lived with at least one parent or primary caregiver who had a substance use disorder in 2023.

Researchers used a personalized gene-editing approach to mend a faulty gene in a baby born with a rare, often deadly disorder.

A new study in mice sheds light on how brain circuits get rewired when learning new movements.

Researchers developed a tool to quantify various aspects of a person’s biological age and health status.

A nationwide analysis found a higher incidence of 14 types of cancer among people under 50 years old compared to rates in 2010.

Researchers found that cells in skin that stop dividing but don’t die, called senescent cells, aren’t all the same, coming in three types with distinct treatment responses.

Scientists were able to target a fat-recycling process to reduce pancreatic tumors in mouse and human models.

By analyzing subtle facial movements, researchers found ways to objectively measure the severity of tinnitus and sound sensitivity disorder symptoms.

Teens and young adults who took a smoking cessation drug called varenicline were more likely to quit vaping nicotine than those who got a placebo pill.

Researchers designed a non-hallucinogenic analogue of LSD that had antidepressant and numerous cognitive benefits in mice.

A study in mice yielded new insights into the workings of nerve cells that sense touch and temperature from the skin, and how inflammation leads to pain.

Scientists mapped the connections between hundreds of thousands of neurons in a small section of mouse brain and examined their firing patterns in response to visual stimuli.

Researchers updated estimates of radiation-related cancers in the U.S. that can be expected based on the current use of CT scans.

Researchers developed a brain-computer interface that quickly translates brain activity into audible words.

Proteins perform many different functions in biology. Scientists have been working to custom design proteins that can perform unique functions beneficial to human health.

A study in mice found that female hormones can prompt sex-specific suppression of a type of pain by certain immune cells.