Karen O’Leary

Brighton

Senior Editor, Research Analysis at Nature Medicine

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Articles

Maternal mental health is declining in the USA

1 week ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 18 June 2025 Analysis of national survey data reveals large declines in self-reported mental well-being among female parents, which suggests that maternal mental health should be a focal point of public health efforts.
Exercise reduces the risk of colon cancer recurrence

2 weeks ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 09 June 2025 Taking part in a structured exercise program after adjuvant therapy reduced the risk of colon cancer recurrence by 28% in a phase 3 trial — highlighting a powerful strategy for improving recovery and survival. Resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is the standard treatment for high-risk stage II and stage III colon cancer, but recurrence affects 20–40% of patients.
Personalized, in vivo gene editing for a newborn

3 weeks ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 06 June 2025 Researchers develop a personalized base-editing therapy within 6 months for a newborn with a rare genetic disease — using rapid workflow that could be customized to other patients too. Gene-editing techniques — and particularly base editing, which allows precise editing of single nucleotides — have the potential to correct many disease-causing genetic variants.
Hyperimmune volunteer enables discovery of a potent snake antivenom

1 month ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 29 May 2025 Researchers studied the antibody library of a venom-immune person with extensive snakebite exposure — and generated a three-agent, broadly neutralizing cocktail that protected mice against venoms from high-priority species.
Semaglutide treats MASH liver disease

1 month ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 29 May 2025 GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide significantly outperformed placebo in an ongoing phase 3 trial, showing reductions in steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis, in addition to cardiometabolic benefits. Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a form of liver disease that can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, but strategies for treating MASH are lacking.
Surgery avoidable with immunotherapy in mismatch repair-deficient tumors

1 month ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 22 May 2025 In a phase 2 trial, complete responses to neoadjuvant dostarlimab allowed most patients with early-stage solid tumors to avoid surgery, which allowed preservation of affected organs. Standard treatment for most early-stage solid tumors involves complete surgical resection.
Using metformin to stall clonal hematopoiesis

1 month ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 16 May 2025 Three translational studies reveal elevated mitochondrial metabolism as a driver of age-related clonal hematopoiesis and suggest that targeting this process — for example, with metformin — could reduce the risk of associated diseases. Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is an age-related process characterized by mutations in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs), most commonly in the DNMT3A gene.
Measles to become endemic in the USA if vaccination rates continue to fall

1 month ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 14 May 2025 A modeling study predicts a resurgence of previously eliminated infectious diseases, including measles, rubella, poliomyelitis and diphtheria, if current child vaccination rates continue to fall — with measles being the first to reach endemic levels. Childhood vaccination rates in the USA continue to fall.
Antibiotics reduce vaccine responses in infants

1 month ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 30 April 2025 Neonatal antibiotic exposure was found to negatively impact vaccine responses, probably mediated by decreased Bifidobacterium levels — which highlights potential strategies for enhancing vaccine efficacy in infants. Global immunization programs save millions of lives annually, yet individual responses to vaccines vary and may be suboptimal in certain high-risk populations.
Polygenic risk score boosts prostate cancer detection

2 months ago | nature.com | Karen O’Leary

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 28 April 2025 The polygenic score, based on analysis of DNA from a saliva sample, led to the detection of more cancers than would have been found with standard screening pathways. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers, and early detection has a huge impact on prognosis.