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- Study Reports Natural Compound Shows Anticancer Activity in Preclinical Models
- Ultra-processed food intake linked to silent strokes in healthy middle-aged adults, study finds
- Study Finds Lower Magnesium Levels in Adults With Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes
- This New Research About Microplastics Is Pretty Damn Scary
- Mindfulness exercises can support psychotherapy for adolescents
A study published in Oncotarget reports that an aqueous dandelion root extract inhibited colorectal cancer cell proliferation and survival in laboratory and animal models, according to the paper. The research describes a preclinical investigation of a compound derived from a common flowering plant long used in traditional medicine.
The study states the extract was derived from the root of the dandelion plant. The paper reports the extract was tested in several cancer cell models with no toxicity to non-cancerous cells.
The study found that the aqueous dandelion root extract triggered programmed cell death in more than 95% of colorectal cancer cells tested in the laboratory.
The paper reports the extract activated multiple death-signaling pathways. The researchers reported no toxicity to non-malignant cells at the doses tested.
Ultra-processed food intake linked to silent strokes in healthy middle-aged adults, study finds
McMaster University (Canada), October 15 2026 (Eurekalert)
Healthy adults who eat high amounts of ultra-processed food, like packaged snack foods, sugary breakfast cereals, soft drinks, instant noodles, and ready-to-eat frozen meals, are more likely to have signs of damage to the brain that may increase the chances of clinical stroke and future memory problems.
Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of nearly 9,000 people between the ages of 35 and 69 with no history of heart disease from communities across Canada and detected tiny areas of damage more frequently in participants who ate the most ultra-processed food compared to those who ate the least.
Participants with the highest intake were 40 per cent more likely to show these changes, which produce no obvious symptoms but are considered early warning signs that can appear years before a stroke or memory problems begins.
In this study, ultra-processed foods made up an average of about 25 per cent of participants' daily food servings. For the heaviest consumers, that increased to 45 percent of everything on their plates, compared with just 16 per cent for those who ate the least.
Study Finds Lower Magnesium Levels in Adults With Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes Kunming Medical University (China), October 17 2026 (Natural News)
A study of 68 adults with type 2 diabetes found that median blood magnesium levels were lower in participants with higher HbA1c, a marker of average blood sugar over the past two to three months. The median magnesium level was about 2.1 mg/dL in the higher HbA1c group compared with 2.3 mg/dL in the better-managed group, the study stated.
The findings add to a body of research examining the relationship between magnesium status and glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers split the 68 participants into two groups based on HbA1c and compared blood magnesium levels alongside other markers of metabolic health. Magnesium levels were lower in participants with higher blood sugar, and low magnesium levels were found only in the higher HbA1c group. Lower magnesium levels also were associated with higher triglycerides, suggesting a potential relationship between magnesium status and other markers of metabolic health, according to the study.
Within the higher HbA1c group, magnesium was not significantly linked to HbA1c, although researchers observed a trend toward lower magnesium alongside higher HbA1c. Medical literature has documented that magnesium status is frequently altered in individuals with type 2 diabetes, and the mineral serves as a critical cofactor in more than 300 enzymatic reactions, many of them involved in glucose metabolism.
A separate report listed magnesium among the essential minerals involved in muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and bone development, and cited National Institutes of Health recommended daily amounts of 400 to 420 milligrams for adult men and 310 to 320 milligrams for adult women.
This New Research About Microplastics Is Pretty Damn Scary Columbia University, October 19 2026 (Futurism)
A new piece of research is pushing back on the long-held belief that plastic is a harmless and chemically inert material.
The new study, published in the journal Nature, took a look at the way micro and nanoplastics interact with water-rich environments such as the human body. It found that typical consumer-grade microplastics exhibit “intrinsic physicochemical activity” there, indicating that the tiny chunks of plastic do indeed react chemically inside our bodies.
As plastic fragments into smaller and smaller particles, its surface area increases enormously. Then microplastics change the water that surrounds them, generating high-energy, reactive radicals that very likely contribute to biological damage that we see in animals and potentially in humans as a result of microplastic exposure.”
An earlier Columbia study found that the average liter of bottled water contains upward of 240,000 tiny microplastics, a much higher count than previously known. Combined with the new research, it looks like those untold thousands of plastic bits are capable of causing much more chemical harm than scientists had given them credit for.
It’s estimated that food packaging accounts for 40 percent of the world’s total plastic production.
Mindfulness exercises can support psychotherapy for adolescents
Heidelberg University (Germany), October 16 2026 (Eurekalert)
A brief mindfulness exercise at the beginning of a psychotherapy session can have a positive effect on psychological symptoms in adolescent patients.
Adolescents who completed a mindfulness exercise at the beginning of each session experienced a greater reduction in symptoms than those in the comparison group, who received psychotherapy without a standardized session-introduction. The researchers also found that patients perceived a greater improvement in the therapeutic alliance.
The study involved 90 adolescents aged 11 to 19 who were receiving outpatient treatment for depression, anxiety disorders, or ADHD and were randomly assigned to one of three groups. In the mindfulness group, each of the 24 therapy sessions began with a corresponding five- to ten-minute intervention. A second group completed relaxation exercises of the same duration at the beginning of each session, while the third group received no standardized session-introduction. In the field of mindfulness, various types of exercises were used, including breathing exercises, a body scan, and mindful walking.
The analysis showed that psychological symptoms decreased over the course of therapy in all three groups. However, the reduction was greater in the mindfulness group than in the group without a structured session-introduction. According to the adolescents, the quality of the therapeutic alliance also improved over time in the mindfulness group, while it declined slightly in the group without a structured session-introduction.
