Automated CT Scan Analysis Could Fast-Track Clinical Assessments
NIH‑funded researchers at Stanford introduced Merlin, a foundation model that interprets 3D abdominal CT scans for a broad spectrum of clinical tasks. Trained on more than 15,000 scans paired with radiology reports and nearly one million diagnostic codes, Merlin outperformed specialist AI tools in over 750 tasks, reaching up to 90% accuracy on specific diagnostic code predictions. The model also forecasted five‑year chronic‑disease risk with 75% accuracy and matched chest‑scan specialists despite never seeing chest data.
A Fresh Energy Supply May Shield Nerves From Diabetic or Chemo-Induced Neuropathy
Researchers funded by the NIH discovered that satellite glial cells (SGCs) deliver mitochondria to sensory neurons through tunneling nanotubes, a process essential for neuronal energy supply. In mouse models of diabetes and chemotherapy‑induced neuropathy, this mitochondrial transfer is impaired, leading...
Researchers Achieve the First Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass
Researchers at NIH and Emory have performed the world’s first minimally invasive coronary artery bypass, called VECTOR, without opening the chest. The technique reroutes blood flow by creating a new coronary ostium using catheter‑based tools introduced through the femoral vessels....
NIH Halts Arm of Clinical Trial Evaluating a Potential Stroke Treatment
The National Institutes of Health halted the low‑dose rivaroxaban arm of the CAPTIVA trial after the Data Safety and Monitoring Board identified a rise in adverse events and concluded the treatment was unlikely to be beneficial. CAPTIVA, a double‑blind, three‑arm...
NIH Opens East Palestine Health Research Office to Study Train Disaster
The National Institutes of Health has inaugurated the East Palestine Health Research Program Office, a five‑year, $10 million initiative to study the long‑term health impacts of the 2023 train derailment in Ohio. The office will coordinate community‑focused studies, enroll residents in...
NIH-Funded Study Clearly Ties Risk of Dementia to Severe CTE
A new NIH‑funded study provides the strongest evidence linking severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to dementia risk. Analyzing 614 donated brains without Alzheimer’s or other common neurodegenerative diseases, researchers found stage IV CTE patients were 4.5 times more likely to have...
NIH Scientists Develop "Digital Twin" Of Eye Cells to Understand and Treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration
NIH researchers have built the first subcellular‑resolution digital twin of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, using 3‑D imaging of 1.3 million cells and an AI algorithm called POLARIS. The model maps polarity, organelle size and volume across developmental stages, creating...
NIH Proposes Embryonic Stem Cell Research Shift to Put Patients First
The National Institutes of Health announced a Request for Information aimed at identifying biotechnologies that can replace human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in research. NIH is temporarily pausing the review and approval of new hESC lines, leaving the existing 503...