Mercury Pharmaceuticals

14

Sep 2026

An 8-hour eating window stood out for weight loss, but the full picture is more complicated

A pooled analysis of individual data from five time-restricted eating trials involving 124 adults linked shorter eating windows with modestly greater weight loss. Eight-hour TRE was associated with greater weight loss than 12-hour TRE and controls, while cardiometabolic outcomes showed no consistent relationship with eating-window duration and several weight associations weakened after adjustment.

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14

Sep 2026

More hospitals are adopting AI, yet the access gap is proving hard to close

A national analysis of 6,166 US hospitals found that specific workflow AI capabilities were associated with higher sepsis bundle completion rates and lower 30-day pneumonia mortality, whereas robotics showed narrower procedural associations. Geographic access remained highly uneven, with about 114.6 million people in the access-analysis population living more than 30 minutes from an AI-enabled hospital, although the observational design prevents causal conclusions.

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14

Sep 2026

Like your tea or coffee very hot? A study of nearly 1 million adults found a striking cancer link

In pooled prospective data from 977,282 UK adults, preferring tea or coffee “very hot” was associated with more than threefold higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with preferring drinks “warm,” while drink temperature showed no material association with adenocarcinoma risk. Consuming six or more hot drinks daily was independently associated with higher squamous cell carcinoma risk, and modeling estimated that about 440 UK cases each year could be prevented by switching from “very hot” to “hot” drinks if the association is causal.

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14

Sep 2026

What happens to blood pressure during extreme heat? A 4.2 million-visit study offers a clue

In a cross-sectional analysis of more than 4.2 million summer outpatient encounters across US community health centers, same-day extreme heat was associated with small reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with somewhat larger differences among adults aged 65 years or older. The changes were unlikely to be clinically meaningful for most individuals, suggesting that acute blood pressure shifts may account for little of the cardiovascular risk associated with extreme heat.

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14

Sep 2026

Researchers changed the music in a cafeteria. Food choices shifted too

Across one cafeteria field experiment and three scenario-based studies, low-arousal background music was associated with a higher proportion of healthy food selections or stronger intentions to consume healthy foods than high-arousal music. In the scenario studies, perceived comprehension helped explain the relationship, while the final experiment found that both music conditions produced stronger healthy-food intentions than restaurant noise alone, with low-arousal music showing the greater benefit.

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14

Sep 2026

More data, more answers? A 1.9 million-person health study shows why scale has limits

Researchers analyzed phenotypic and linked health-record data from more than 1.9 million adults in Our Future Health, comparing demographic characteristics, disease patterns, clinical associations, and rare-condition case counts with national data and other major cohorts. The cohort's size provides unusually large samples for many common and less common conditions, although its demographic composition and current data sources require careful consideration when interpreting population-level estimates.

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14

Sep 2026

APOE genotype helps p-tau217 predict who may develop cognitive impairment sooner

A pooled analysis of 8,582 adults from seven prospective cohorts found that higher plasma p-tau217 concentrations were associated with greater cognitive impairment risk and earlier progression, with stronger associations among APOE-ε4 carriers. Each 1-SD increase in p-tau217 was associated with a 24% shorter time to cognitive impairment among carriers compared with 13% among non-carriers, suggesting that genetic background can refine the prognostic meaning of this Alzheimer’s disease blood biomarker.

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13

Sep 2026

A study of ayahuasca users found a mental health pattern researchers cannot yet explain

In a cross-sectional study of 808 Brazilian adults planning to attend ayahuasca ceremonies, greater prior experience with the brew was associated with lower depression, anxiety, and stress scores, as well as higher spiritual well-being and stronger metaphysical beliefs. Because the study was observational and relied on self-reported data, it cannot show that ayahuasca caused these differences.

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13

Sep 2026

Cockroaches have a reputation for surviving almost anything, but this diet proved deadly

A laboratory study tested how ultra-processed, unprocessed, and mixed diets affected survival in 127 lobster cockroaches, <em>Nauphoeta cinerea</em>. Cockroaches fed only ultra-processed foods had higher mortality than those given unprocessed or mixed diets, although the study could not determine whether processing, ingredients, nutrition, or differences in food intake caused the effect.

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13

Sep 2026

A large US study found no overall link between fluoride in pregnancy and children’s behavior

A US cohort study of 5,520 children found no overall association between prenatal exposure to fluoride in public drinking water and internalizing or externalizing behavioral problems across the primary analyses. Exploratory analyses identified some associations with externalizing problems at higher fluoride concentrations and in certain subgroups, but the researchers said these findings require further investigation.

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