Health

Scientists have identified a hidden vitamin A-related signal that helps cancers evade the immune system, and developed a way to switch it off. Researchers at the Princeton University branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research report that a vitamin A-derived molecule, all-trans retinoic acid, can suppress key immune responses against tumors and undermine the effectiveness of certain cancer vaccines. The findings, detailed in two studies published in Nature Immunology and iScience, help resolve a long-standing scientific debate over vitamin A's mixed role in cancer. They also led to the development of the first experimental drugs designed to block retinoic acid signaling, a pathway that had resisted drug development for decades.

Myelofibrosis is a rare and dangerous blood cancer, and Australian researchers claim to have discovered a new, highly targeted method of treating it, boosting expectations for more potent therapies that go beyond symptom management. Researchers from the University of Adelaide, SA Pathology, and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute have developed an immunotherapy-based strategy that targets the aberrant blood cells causing the illness specifically.

A woman dies from cervical cancer every two minutes, according to UNICEF, underscoring why the disease remains the fourth most common cancer among women globally. Cervical cancer develops when abnormal cells grow in the cervix, the lower, narrow part of the uterus that connects to the vagina, and can be life-threatening if not detected early. January, marked as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, aims to educate women and healthcare workers about prevention and early detection. While awareness around symptoms and screening is improving, experts say a crucial aspect often overlooked is the link between cervical health and fertility. To shed light on this, we spoke to Dr Amreen Singh, Consultant, Infertility and IVF at Yatharth Super Speciality Hospital, Noida Extension.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that although the COVID-19 pandemic has officially ended and the virus no longer causes the level of disruption seen during the global health emergency, it continues to hospitalize and kill people, particularly those who are not up to date with vaccination. Studies led by the WHO Regional Office for Europe found that people who received timely booster doses were significantly less likely to develop severe illness, require intensive care or die from COVID-19. The findings were drawn from data collected by the European Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Vaccine Effectiveness (EuroSAVE) network, which monitors hospitalised respiratory infections across parts of Europe, the Balkans, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.

For decades, steroid use has been stereotypically associated with hyper-muscular men, like Arnold Schwarzenegger or modern-day shirtless influencers like “the Liver King.” But that image is rapidly shifting. Women now account for a growing share of steroid users, signalling an urgent need to rethink harm-minimisation strategies that have long targeted men alone.