Smokers who make the decision to quit will experience immediate health benefits, including a rapid reduction in their risk of atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), according to new research published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. The study, conducted by Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, offers compelling evidence for smokers to quit, showing that it’s never too late to avoid the damaging effects of smoking on heart health.

Dr. Marcus, the senior author of the study, emphasized that A-Fib can be prevented even in individuals who have smoked for years. "The findings provide a compelling new reason to show current smokers that it’s not too late to quit, and that having smoked in the past doesn’t mean you’re ‘destined’ to develop A-Fib," Marcus explained. "Even for the current and longtime smoker, A-Fib can still be avoided."

What is Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib)?

"There’s strong evidence that smoking increases the risk of A-Fib," Marcus said. "But the benefits of quitting smoking have been less certain." With this in mind, his team sought to determine whether quitting could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing A-Fib, or if the risk would remain the same.

The research team analyzed data from over 146,700 current and former smokers, tracking their smoking habits and health over a 12-year period using data from the UK Biobank database. The results were promising: former smokers had a 13% lower risk of developing A-Fib compared to current smokers, while those who quit during the study saw an 18% reduction in their risk.

"This is likely a testament to the potency of reducing atrial fibrillation risk pretty shortly after quitting," Marcus said in a statement from the American College of Cardiology.

The findings highlight the importance of quitting smoking, not only for general health but specifically for reducing the risk of serious heart conditions like A-Fib.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the most effective ways to lower the risk of A-Fib and improve overall heart health. While it can be challenging, the benefits of quitting are clear and immediate. Here are some tips to help you quit smoking successfully:

1. Choose a specific date to quit smoking and stick to it. Prepare yourself mentally and physically for this change.

2. Reach out to family, friends, or a support group to help keep you accountable. Sharing your goals with others can provide encouragement.

3. Options like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges can help ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.

4. Identify situations that make you want to smoke, such as stress or social gatherings, and find healthy ways to cope with them.

5. Regular exercise can help distract you from cravings and improve your mood during the quitting process.

6. Drinking water can help flush nicotine out of your system faster, reducing cravings.

7. Activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help manage stress, a common trigger for smoking.

Quitting smoking offers immediate and significant benefits, particularly in reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation. The latest research provides smokers with more motivation to quit, showing that it's never too late to take control of their heart health.

Scientists have identified a rare contagious skin cancer in brown bullhead catfish living in lakes across the US and Canada's Quebec, marking only the fourth known case of a naturally transmissible cancer in the animal kingdom.

A team led by the University of Vermont found that mysterious black skin lesions affecting brown bullhead catfish in Lake Memphremagog and other lakes in New England and Quebec were caused by a transmissible melanoma—the first such cancer ever identified in a freshwater fish species.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, add freshwater fish to a short list of species known to develop cancers that spread through the transfer of living cancer cells. Previously, transmissible cancers had been identified only in Tasmanian devils (facial tumor disease), dogs (canine transmissible venereal tumor), and shellfish, including clams, mussels, and other bivalve mollusks (leukemia-like transmissible cancers).

“The cancer cells behave more like parasites than conventional tumors, moving from fish to fish,” said the researchers led by the University of Vermont.

"The discovery sheds light on how cancer can spread in the wild and raises important questions about where this cancer originated, how it will affect fish health and populations—and how cancer works in all animals including humans," they added.

How Was Cancer Identified In Fish?

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Since 2012, anglers and biologists have reported increasing numbers of brown bullhead catfish with raised black skin patches in Lake Memphremagog, which straddles Vermont and Quebec. By 2014, nearly one in three fish examined had developed the dark lesions.

Initially, researchers believed the disease might be caused by a virus. They later suspected pollution or another environmental pathogen. However, further investigation revealed that the lesions were actually melanoma.

“This was surprising, and we wanted to know how a bottom-dwelling fish was getting a cancer we associate with exposure to too much sunlight,” said Julie Dragon, a scientist at the University of Vermont.

Using whole-genome sequencing, the team identified hundreds of thousands of shared genetic variants among tumor samples that were absent from the host fish, confirming that the cancer spreads between animals through living cancer cells.

How Does The Cancer Spread?

Researchers are now trying to determine exactly how the cancer moves from one fish to another. They believe that the tumors appear only "in larger fish that are of spawning age".

Mark Henderson, a fish biologist and study co-leader in UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources said that it “maybe some part of spawning behavior leads to the spreading of the cancer between animals."

During spawning, brown bullhead gather closely in shallow water, allowing physical contact that could transfer tumor cells. Because the fish lack scales and spend much of their time on lake bottoms, scientists also believe sediments could harbor free-floating cancer cells.

The study also suggests that naturally occurring arsenic or hormonal changes may weaken the fish's immune system, making them more susceptible to infection.

Should Humans Worry?

Despite the unusual discovery, researchers stress that there is no known risk to humans.

Lake Memphremagog supplies drinking water to more than 175,000 people, but scientists say the cancer cells cannot infect or survive in another species. They also state that the fish are safe to handle for research and monitoring.

Fish remains a highly nutritious food, rich in high-quality protein, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids that support heart and brain health.

Quebec's Ministry of the Environment recommends not eating fish with tumors, even though there is no evidence that doing so poses a risk to human health.

The findings raise broader questions about how pollution, habitat stress, and climate change may influence the evolution and spread of diseases in wildlife.

Researchers have developed an ultrasensitive blood test that can detect biological signs of Sjögren’s disease more than a decade before symptoms appear, potentially paving the way for earlier treatment and precision medicine.

Published in The Lancet Rheumatology, the researchers found that elevated levels of interferon-alpha (IFN-α), a key immune signaling protein, can be detected in the blood up to 14 years before a clinical diagnosis of Sjögren’s disease.

Importance Of Early Diagnosis

Observed every year on July 23, Sjögren’s Disease Day raises awareness about a chronic autoimmune disease that often goes undiagnosed for years because its symptoms, including dry eyes, dry mouth, fatigue, and joint pain, can mimic other conditions.

Diagnosis often takes years, by then damage to the salivary glands, tear glands, nerves, lungs, or kidneys already happens, making recovery impossible.

The newly developed blood test could change that by identifying people at risk long before symptoms begin. This could allow doctors to monitor patients closely and begin treatment earlier.

Also read: World Sjogren’s Day 2025: Why This “Mild” Autoimmune Condition Can Be Life-Altering

How Was The Study Conducted?

The researchers analyzed blood samples from:

• 177 people with Sjögren’s disease enrolled in the UK Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome Registry.
• More than 47,000 participants from the UK Biobank, including 257 people who later developed Sjögren’s disease.

Using an ultrasensitive single-molecule blood test, they measured interferon-alpha, a protein produced by the immune system during inflammation. The findings showed:

• About 61% of patients with Sjögren’s disease had significantly elevated IFN-α levels.
• Distinct immune protein "fingerprints" linked to IFN-α were detectable up to 14 years before diagnosis.
• People with high IFN-α formed a biologically distinct subgroup, despite having symptoms similar to other patients.
• Mouse experiments further suggested that persistently elevated IFN-α can drive immune changes associated with the disease.

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The researchers believe the test could help doctors identify which patients are most likely to benefit from therapies that specifically target interferon-driven inflammation.

Professor David Hunt, from the University of Edinburgh, said, "Sjögren's disease is a debilitating condition which is often overlooked. We are delighted to have shown how precision medicine technologies can be used in Sjögren's disease to help decode the immune pathways which cause disease. We hope that this is an important step towards making our ultrasensitive IFN-α blood test available to people affected by this condition."

Professor Rayk Behrendt, from University Hospital Bonn, added, "Now, for the first time, we can take treatments geared toward suppressing the interferon effect and trial them specifically on patients with elevated interferon levels. We might also find new approaches to treatment that will help a large percentage of patients over the long term."

What Is Sjögren’s Disease?

Sjögren’s disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the body's moisture-producing glands, particularly those that make tears and saliva.

Although dry eyes and dry mouth are the primary symptoms, the disease can also affect the joints, lungs, kidneys, nervous system, and other organs. Around 90% of patients are women, and diagnosis is often delayed because symptoms overlap with those of many other illnesses.

Researchers say the findings mark a major step toward earlier diagnosis and precision medicine for Sjögren’s disease, offering hope that future patients may receive treatment years before irreversible organ damage develops.

With long COVID continuing to affect millions, a recent study has emerged, suggesting that women are more likely to bear its neurological burden than men.

According to a new study from Northwestern Medicine, female patients reported more severe neurological symptoms, poorer cognitive function, and a greater decline in quality of life.

Published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, the study analyzed 2,329 adults evaluated at Northwestern Medicine's Neuro COVID-19 Clinic between May 2020 and August 2025. Researchers compared neurological symptoms in patients, examining differences between men and women.

Women Reported More Neurological Symptoms

Researchers found that women, on average, reported significantly more neurological symptoms about 16 months after their COVID-19 illness than men. Among the most commonly reported symptoms were:

• Brain fog
• Fatigue
• Numbness and tingling
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Blurred vision
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Altered smell and taste

Women also scored worse on measures of cognitive performance and reported a greater impact on their overall quality of life.

Lead author Dr. Igor Koralnik, chief of Neuroinfectious Diseases and Global Neurology at Northwestern Medicine, said, "While previous studies showed that women are more likely to develop long COVID, this is the first study demonstrating that women also experience more severe neurological symptoms, worse cognitive function and greater reductions in quality of life than men."

First author Dr. Aurore Gorenshtein added, "Recognizing these sex-specific differences is important because it may help clinicians provide more personalized care and improve treatment strategies for people living with neurological long COVID."

Why Might Women Be More Affected?

Even though the study did not narrow down the exact causes behind these differences, researchers believe that several biological and immune-related factors could contribute. Here are some possible explanations:

• Differences in immune system responses between men and women
• Hormonal influences, particularly estrogen
• More likelihood of autoimmune conditions among women
• Differences in inflammation and nervous system responses after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Earlier Studies

The new research aligns with earlier findings from the U.S. National Institutes of Health's RECOVER Initiative, which showed that females are generally more likely than males to develop long COVID. That analysis also suggested the risk is highest among women aged 40 to 54 years, particularly before menopause.

A study recently found out that long COVID may directly injure the brain's dopamine system, offering an explanation for symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, poor memory, slowed movement, and lack of motivation that persist long after the initial infection. The latest findings shed more light on deeper effects of long COVID on brain health.

Long COVID remains a major public health challenge, with neurological symptoms among the most persistent and disabling. Brain fog, memory problems, chronic fatigue, headaches and dizziness can significantly affect employment, education and daily life.

The latest findings suggest that healthcare providers may need to consider sex-specific approaches when evaluating and managing patients with neurological long COVID, ensuring women receive earlier recognition, cognitive assessments and personalised rehabilitation.