Air pollution may not only affect your heart and lungs but can also raise the possibility of developing meningioma -- a typically noncancerous brain tumour -- according to a study.

This common type of brain tumour forms in the lining of the brain and spinal cord. The findings, published in the journal Neurology, do not prove that air pollution causes meningioma -- they only show a link between the two.

The study analysed several air pollutants, including those commonly linked to traffic -- such as nitrogen dioxide and ultrafine particles -- which are especially concentrated in urban environments.

The researchers found that people with higher exposure to air pollutants had a greater risk of developing meningioma.

"Various types of air pollution have been shown to have negative effects on health, and ultrafine particles are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and may directly affect brain tissue," said Ulla Hvidtfeldt, doctoral student at the Danish Cancer Institute in Copenhagen.

Exposure to lead during pregnancy and early childhood may speed up the rate at which children forget information, potentially impairing learning and cognitive development, according to a new study.

The study employed a well-established cognitive test known as the delayed matching-to-sample task to assess memory performance in children aged 6 to 8, news agency reported.

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US, applied a novel statistical model -- the nonlinear modified power function -- which had previously been used in animal and human studies but is now being adapted for environmental health research.

A woman undergoing treatment at a state-run hospital near here, identified as a high-risk contact of a Nipah-positive patient who died last month, passed away on Wednesday.

The deceased was admitted to the same hospital ward as the earlier Nipah victim.

Verbal autopsy is a scientific tool that can significantly aid India in the fight against tuberculosis, as it helps identify the deep reasons for mortality caused by the world’s deadliest infection, said Dr Kavita Vasudevan from Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMC&RI) in Puducherry.

Vasudevan, from the Community Medicine Department at the Medical College explained how a verbal autopsy model can help identify TB treatment delay patterns, and reasons for TB deaths and improve the referral process.

“A comprehensive approach is essential to effectively tackle TB, which includes the provision of quality TB care through access to quality diagnostics, effective drugs for therapy, prevention strategies, and identifying the underlying causes of mortality associated with the disease. Identifying the reasons for TB mortality can provide critical insights into the factors leading to these deaths,” the doctor said.

Even in moderation, consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked with measurable increases in risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancers, according to research.

The study showed that low but regular intake of processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and trans fatty acids (TFAs) can increase the risk of diseases like Type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease (IHD), and colorectal cancer.

While the risks have long been known, systematic characterisation of the dose-response relationships between these foods and health outcomes is limited, said the researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

In the paper published in the journal Nature Medicine, the team showed that consumption of processed meat between 0.6 grams and 57 grams daily can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes by at least 11 per cent compared with no consumption.

A total of 51 deaths caused by dengue have been reported across Bangladesh since the start of this year, indicating a sharp increase compared to the last two years.

As of Tuesday, dengue cases were reported from 60 districts of the South Asian nation. During the same period in 2024, cases were reported from 54 districts, while in 2023, the number was 56.

This faster and wider spread of the disease has raised serious health concerns, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh, three more people died from dengue in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, bringing the number of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease to 51 in 2025.

Additionally, 425 new patients were hospitalised across the country, raising the total number of infections to 13,188 since January.

The new cases reported in the country include 120 in Barishal, 98 in Chattogram, 36 in Dhaka Division (outside city areas), 38 in Dhaka North City Corporation, 55 in Dhaka South City Corporation, 18 in Khulna, 11 in Mymensingh, 48 in Rajshahi, and one in Sylhet.

While cancer has seen some significant advancements in treatments that have shown promise and increased lifespan, however, it also causes serious side effects, which can affect quality of life.

A new study by researchers from Australia is shedding new light on the reasons behind these side effects, news agency reported.

The team from Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne discovered that the protein MCL-1 -- a key target in cancer drug development -- plays not only a role in preventing cell death in cancer cells but also supplying energy to normal cells.

As a result, drugs that inhibit MCL-1 can inadvertently damage healthy tissues that rely on this protein for energy, especially in organs with high energy demand like the heart and liver, leading to the severe side effects observed in clinical trials, said the team.

US children today weigh more, battle more illnesses and face higher odds of dying than youngsters just a generation ago, according to the most extensive review of pediatric well-being published in nearly two decades.

The study, released Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), tracked 170 separate health indicators drawn from eight national data sets that stretched back to 2002, reports news agency.

"All of them point in the same direction: children's health is getting worse," lead author Christopher Forrest of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said.

Researchers found that obesity among 2-19-year-olds climbed from 17 per cent in the 2007-2008 survey cycle to about 21 per cent in the 2021-2023 cycle.

Excess weight may increase the risk of developing breast cancer among postmenopausal women with cardiovascular disease, according to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), published on Monday.

Higher body mass index (BMI) is a known risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society CANCER, unravels how the risk differs among women with and without cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.

It showed that each 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI was associated with a 31 per cent higher risk of breast cancer in women who developed cardiovascular disease during follow-up and a 13 per cent higher risk in women without cardiovascular disease.

The development of type 2 diabetes did not seem to affect breast cancer risk: women with or without type 2 diabetes had a similarly elevated breast cancer risk related to higher BMI.

“The findings of this study could be used to inform risk-stratified breast cancer screening programmes,” said a team led by Heinz Freisling, from the WHO’s specialised cancer research team, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Are you in the habit of sleeping with lights on during the night? Beware, a study led by an international team of researchers found that brighter night-time light exposure may increase the risks of five major cardiovascular diseases.

Light at night causes circadian disruption, which is a known risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, it is not well understood whether personal light exposure patterns predict an individual’s risk of cardiovascular diseases.

In a study of 88,905 people, yet to be peer-reviewed, researchers from the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, along with colleagues in the UK and the US, showed that avoiding exposure to night light may lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

The study posted on the pre-print site medRxiv, that night light exposure to women more, with stronger associations for heart failure and coronary artery disease. Younger participants were also found at an increased risk for heart failure and atrial fibrillation.