A US study analysed data from more than 110,000 women since 1993 and found that those with a history of endometriosis had a 31% higher risk of premature death (before the age of 70). In absolute terms, the rate of premature death in women with and without endometriosis was 2 and 1.4 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. In contrast, the presence of uterine fibroids was not associated with an overall increased risk, although the risk of death from gynaecological tumours was increased. The results are published in The BMJ.

The Human Cell Atlas, an international research consortium, publishes biological data from different cell types in the human body in a series of articles in Nature and other journals in its family. One of the articles integrates single-cell RNA sequencing datasets from the gastrointestinal tract of healthy people and others with different diseases. It describes inflammation-induced changes in stem cells that alter mucosal tissue architecture and promote increased inflammation, a concept that can be applied to other tissues and diseases.

Adipose tissue retains a ‘memory’ of obesity through cellular transcriptional and epigenetic changes that persist after weight loss, which may increase the likelihood of regaining weight, experiments in human and mouse cells show. The findings, published in Nature, could help explain the problematic ‘yo-yo effect’, the rapid weight rebound often seen with dieting. 

Adults make better decisions than adolescents, according to a study of 92 participants aged 12 to 42. So-called ‘noise’ in decision-making - making choices that are not the most efficient - decreases with age and is linked to the development of skills such as flexibility and planning, according to the study published in PLoS Biology.

If practices and public policies do not change, the mass of mismanaged plastic waste in the world will double to 121 million tonnes per year by 2050, according to a study published in Science. The article also assesses the potential impact of global measures, such as those envisaged by the forthcoming UN global treaty on plastic pollution, which begins its final negotiating session at the end of this month.

Less than four months after the European Medicines Agency recommended in July not to grant marketing authorisation for Leqembi™ (lecanemab) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has reassessed the available evidence to conclude that the benefits outweigh the risks.

A new epidemiological forecasting model could provide a better system for early temperature-related health warnings, according to a paper published in Science Advances. The model, called Forcaster.health, could provide mortality predictions at least 10.5 days before cold episodes and 8.3 days before hot episodes. The Universitat Pompeu Fabra and ISGlobal took part in its design.

CAR-T cell-based treatments have been successful against some blood tumours, but are much less effective for solid tumours. A phase 1 clinical trial has tested their use in 11 children and young adults with diffuse midline glioma, a tumour of the nervous system that is considered incurable. The results, published in the journal Nature, indicate that the treatment improved functional status in nine of the 11 patients. One of the four who showed a strong response is still healthy four years later.

Many diseases related to bacteria, such as inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal cancer, are associated with an overgrowth of gut bacteria considered 'bad'. However, a study published in the journal Cell suggests that changes in microbial load, rather than the disease itself, could be the driving factor behind the presence of these harmful species associated with pathologies.

There are still no clear signs that global fossil carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have peaked, according to the 2024 Global Carbon Budget. The report - which is published in the journal Earth System Science Data in preprint format and will be launched at COP29 in Baku - estimates that these emissions will grow by 0.8% this year compared to 2023, to 37.4 billion tonnes of CO₂. If this rate continues, there is a 50% chance that global warming will exceed the 1.5°C limit in six years.