Only structural change will fix NZ’s glaring health equity gap – what voters should know - The Conversation

It's well known that alcohol has profound consequences on the way the brain works, and research shows that even low levels of the drug can damage your brain. But how does alcohol actually cause brain damage at the cellular level? In a surprising discovery reported in Immunity, scientists found that alcohol doesn't just interact with neurons. New findings show the drug also affects immune cells in the brain called microglia, triggering them to dismantle the extracellular matrix that structurally supports brain cells. "For years, alcohol's effects on the brain were largely viewed through the lens of neurons, and for good reason: alcohol acts directly on neuronal receptors," says neuroscientist and senior author of the study Dimitrios Davalos from the Cleveland Clinic. "By following microglia in real time, we were able to see that they aren't simply responding to damage. They drive the detrimental changes alcohol causes in the brain. "Experiments showing how alcohol use negatively affects the brain's microglia immune cells over time.

IntroductionHistoric masonry minarets are slender, tall structures that embody cultural identity while remaining vulnerable to progressive deterioration and sudden hazards1,2. Aging mortar, material heterogeneity, environmental exposure, nearby construction, and seismic activity can introduce cracks, detachments, and out-of-plane deformations that are difficult to detect early, especially when access is limited and interventions must be minimally invasive. Structural health monitoring (SHM) for such heritage assets therefore benefits from non-contact sensing and data-driven inference that can operate continuously, localize damage, and provide interpretable evidence to support conservation decisions. For tall, slender masonry forms, monitoring is additionally complicated by geometric discontinuities (e.g., balconies, openings, and transitions), spatially varying material properties, and complex soil–structure interaction, all of which can concentrate damage and alter dynamic response over time3,4,5.

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) could transform diabetes management for millions of Americans with type 2 diabetes who don't take insulin, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The clinical trial found that adults using CGMs spent approximately five additional hours each day within their target blood sugar range compared with those receiving routine care. Nearly twice as many CGM users also achieved an A1c level below 7%, a common treatment goal for people with diabetes.

Patients who wore noise-canceling headphones during minimally invasive gynecological surgery were significantly less likely to experience postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), suggest findings from a randomized clinical trial presented at the Anesthesiology 2026 annual meeting.

“Beyond Detecting Cancer Recurrence: Can Whole-Genome Sequencing-Based ctDNA Monitoring Help Personalize Adjuvant Treatment? An exciting new study published in The Oncologist highlights the clinical potential of Signatera Genome, a whole-genome sequencing (WGS)-based, tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assay, not only for detecting molecular residual disease (MRD), but also for potentially informing adjuvant treatment decisions.