Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are the gold standard of medical research as random assignment approach helps eliminate bias and yields the most reliable evidence on whether a treatment truly works. Since RCTs sit at the top of the evidence hierarchy, retractions can send ripple effects across the entire system. A fraudulent study with fabricated data or results can influence the credibility of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and those distortions can quietly shape clinical practice guidelines that influence real-world medical care.

Over 1 billion people worldwide are living with one or more mental health disorders that affect their mood, thinking processes and behavior, impacting their daily functioning to varying degrees. Identifying variations in the brain's structure and organization that are commonly linked with mental health disorders could help to devise more effective tools to diagnose these conditions or create personalized treatment plans.

Infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat and are responsible for over 2.8 million infections and more than 35,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. A new study in Nature Communications reports that a drug used to lower blood pressure could also be the basis of a promising new treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

UPMC and University of Pittsburgh clinician-scientists have weaned and kept multiple liver transplantation patients off of all immunosuppressant drugs for more than three years through a first-in-human clinical trial of a unique "immune priming" therapy.

Restricting calorie intake in species such as mice, rhesus monkeys, and fruit flies has been shown to extend their lifespans. In some cases, these animals not only live longer, but are also free of disease. But when pushed too far, calorie restriction can have negative impacts. Mice that undergo a 40% reduction in calorie intake, for example, are more susceptible to infections, less likely to reproduce, and experience stunted growth.