10 discoveries that changed the way we think about health in 2025
From advances in male birth control to supplement science, scientific American Highlights some of the most fascinating health and medical stories of 2025
Stuart Kinlough/Science Source
Despite setbacks in science and public health in 2025 — from deep cuts in funding to the federal government’s departure from rigorous, evidence-based studies — medicine has made progress in some exciting areas this year. Here are 10 fascinating discoveries scientific American Reported in 2025 that transformed our understanding of health and the human body and led to treatments for age-old diseases – it underlines how important this research is.
A vaccine could prevent Alzheimer’s
A landmark real-world experiment has provided the strongest evidence yet that the shingles vaccine can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, finally giving solid data to support a long-held belief that viruses may increase the risk of dementia to some extent. People in Wales who got the shingles shot were 20 per cent less likely to develop dementia over the next seven years than people who did not get the vaccine.
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An embryo is compressing and invading the uterine tissue.
Human embryo transplantation in 3D
For the first time, researchers captured incredible real-time, three-dimensional images and video of human embryos implanted in artificial uterine tissue. This transplant used a laboratory matrix that was not designed for in vitro fertilization (IVF), but the study authors said the new footage of the reproductive phase could potentially inform better IVF techniques. Implantation failure is one of the main causes of infertility and miscarriage.
Male birth control pill?
Male contraceptive options are limited to condoms and vasectomy, but the male birth control pill is getting closer to reality. The daily non-hormonal oral contraceptive is the first of its kind to pass early-stage safety trials in humans. The pill works by preventing the vitamin A metabolite from attaching to receptors in the testicles, ultimately stopping the process of making sperm. The effects are reversed when people stop taking the medicine. However, the pill must undergo large-scale human trials and efficacy studies before it can be approved.
coffee in the intestines
The largest study to date on coffee and the gut microbiome has shown that regular coffee drinkers may have more “good” gut bacteria, Lawsonibacter acaccharolyticus. The little-known microbe produces butyrate, a metabolite that aids proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. Scientists hope that future investigations can confirm the role of gut bacteria in mediating the health benefits of coffee.
New GLP-1 drug insights
This year scientists have uncovered more layers of how new glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs like Ozempic and Vegovy affect the body and brain. Researchers found a clue as to why some people taking GLP-1 drugs experience changes in their favorite foods – meat suddenly seems disgusting or fried food seems too heavy. The new data also shows that most people who start a GLP-1 drug drop out of treatment within two years, raising questions about what impact stopping the drug — which is meant for lifelong use — might have on long-term health. Emerging genetics research is also providing information about GLP-1 drug “nonresponders” – people who are unable to lose enough weight to see health benefits. And preliminary findings suggest that both the gut and the brain may be involved in the drug, causing some people to drink less alcohol — and feel less drunk when they do.
Dairy cows inside the Teaching Dairy Barn at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
Jeffrey Delvisio/scientific American
mystery of bird flu
This year we followed the fiery path of avian influenza through US dairy cattle, poultry and wildlife. Some humans have also become ill from the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus. Scientists are looking for clues to the virus’s ability to jump from one species to another – and to evaluate how prepared we are for a potential pandemic. In a three-episode special of scientific AmericanPodcast of science quickly, We took listeners to beaches, barns, and biosecurity vaccine laboratories with researchers studying one of the highest-profile viruses of the past year.
supplements that work
Thousands of pills, capsules and powders claim to “support immunity” or “reduce inflammation,” but what does the evidence really support? In scientific American‘In a review of research on anti-inflammatory supplements, three showed notable effectiveness in reducing disease-related inflammation: omega-3 fatty acids, curcumin, and vitamin D.
Another new analysis shows that vitamin D may help slow aging by preventing the loss of telomeres – the end caps of chromosomes, which become shorter as humans age. However, according to experts, its effects may have no real clinical benefit in slowing aging. And other studies show that Too much Vitamin D was also associated with shorter telomeres.
better than bleach
Hypochlorous acid – an age-old germ killer increasingly found in skin care products – may become the next best disinfectant. Not to be confused with the sodium hypochlorite in household bleach, hypochlorous acid is a weaker acid that can be safely used on the skin and it destroys a range of harmful germs by attacking the cell walls. Poor shelf stability has kept it from becoming mainstream, but scientists are tinkering with the chemical to make it last longer.
Relief from severe morning sickness
Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe form of morning sickness that affects up to 3 percent of pregnant people. It is the primary cause of hospitalization in early pregnancy – and, in some cases, it can be life-threatening. This year Marlena Fejo won the Bioinnovation Institute and Science Translational Medicine Award for Innovations in Women’s Health for her discovery of the key gene behind the condition. he told scientific American About his personal journey with hyperemesis gravidarum and new research on future treatments.
Immune “peacekeeper” cells win Nobel
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognizes research into the system that prevents immune responses from going out of control and attacking the body – a process that is critical to preventing autoimmune disease. Researchers Mary E. Brunko, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi jointly won the prize for their fundamental discoveries about the system called peripheral immune tolerance. At the heart of this process are immune cells called regulatory T cells, which Sakaguchi and his colleague Zoltán Fehrvari nicknamed “peacekeepers” in a 2006 article. scientific AmericanScientists are now trying to use these cells for new ways to treat cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and organ or tissue transplant complications,
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