Scientists have taken a giant leap forward with the development of tiny microneedles designed to detect subtle but critical changes in how the liver and kidneys process therapeutic drugs. The experimental technology, under development at the University of California, Los Angeles, aims to overcome longstanding limitations that have hindered wearable microneedle biosensors.

“Wearable microneedle biosensors promise real-time molecular monitoring for precision medicine but are limited by low sensitivity and tissue abrasion,” writes Dr. Jialun Zhu, lead author of a new study published in Science Translational Medicine.

“Overcoming these challenges, we recast electrode functionality not merely as a sensing substrate but as a mechanism for resilient, high signal-to-noise ratio measurements in tissue,” added Zhu, a bioengineer in UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering.

In plainer English, the multidisciplinary UCLA team was able to get their system to work flawlessly compared with similar devices by other research groups.

Tracking drug clearance in real time

The team has developed a biosensor that in early research already shows promise for real-time in-tissue monitoring of drug pharmacokinetics. These preclinical studies also show that the device is both safe and highly accurate. However, it has not yet been tested in humans.

Still, if the technology seems futuristic, it may be because tiny wearables and implants that measure any number of biological processes have been themes in science fiction for decades. With refinements underway to improve precision medicine, the future has already arrived. Scientists involved in the project ranged from molecular and cellular biologists to biochemists and a team of bioengineers like Zhu.

One goal in precision medicine has been the development of a minimally invasive device that can monitor the clearance of drugs from a patient’s kidneys and liver, providing more accurate dosing guidelines. To address persistent problems that have impeded progress toward reaching that goal, the team engineered what it calls a “resilient nanostructured bioelectrode” using a microscopically thin layer of a precious metal.

“Our microneedle-based resilient nanostructured bioelectrode is fabricated using a bilayer process that strengthens the electrode with a micrometer-thick gold adhesion layer,” Zhu noted in the research paper.

The key reason that an accurate wearable biosensor is needed is explained by the growing number of medications with narrow therapeutic ranges. That means it is possible to provide doses that are either too low or too high. With a wearable such as the one under development, doctors can tell if they have prescribed a precise dose, and how well the drug is being processed and excreted.

Toward precision monitoring in organ dysfunction

In preclinical experiments, the biosensor enabled continuous in-tissue monitoring of drug pharmacokinetics, including changes associated with liver and kidney dysfunction. Scientists found in the animal model research that their experimental technology measured drug kinetics for six days and produced accurate parameters for drug dosing while also monitoring drug clearance from the liver and kidneys.

The system revealed, for example, that one chemotherapy drug, irinotecan, cleared out slowly in mice with liver damage. The technology also traced the kinetics of several antibiotics during various stages of chronic kidney disease.Comparison between conventional blood-based therapeutic drug monitoring and wearable ISF-based therapeutic drug and metabolic function monitoring. Credit: Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adr5493

An approach by other research groups has involved the use of wearable biosensors that incorporate microneedles, which measure minute molecular changes in drug concentrations. However, current microneedles suffer from issues such as low sensitivity and poor mechanical durability.

In contrast, Zhu and colleagues developed a more resilient, nanostructured microneedle that analyzes the biochemistry of interstitial fluids between cells. Their design incorporates sensors that endow it with a high degree of specificity and features a strong layer of gold that increases the needle surface area and resists corrosion.

Technology holds promise

In an editorial commentary, Molly Ogle, an associate editor at Science Translational Medicine, notes that wearable technology could play an important role in precision medicine. “The study demonstrates preclinical promise for minimally invasive therapeutic drug monitoring and functional assessment of hepatic and renal drug processing,” Ogle wrote.

Zhu and colleagues underscored, meanwhile, that their device not only has marked improvements over similar technology but also could be economically manufactured. They predict that their resilient nanostructured bioelectrode could be mass produced at less than $1.50 per sensor.

“These results establish the resilient nanostructured bioelectrode as a viable microneedle platform for high-fidelity in vivo deployment of electrochemical biosensors, enabling minimally invasive, longitudinal monitoring of low-concentration analytes and real-time assessment of organ function,” Zhu and the UCLA team concluded.

A new meta-analysis of 55 studies involving more than 3 million people has found that 31% of individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD) also struggle with major depressive disorder (MDD). While a link between these two conditions has been known for some time, this study provides the clearest evidence to date that the relationship goes both ways. CUD was also found to be present in 10% of those with MDD.

The findings are published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

An international team of scientists searched major databases to identify relevant studies published in English and Portuguese through to 2024. They used mathematical models to combine results from millions of people, ensuring they accounted for differences in age, gender, and location.

Setting matters

The team discovered that the overlap between MDD and CUD varies significantly depending on the setting. For example, in the community (among the general public or volunteers in the studies), rates of cannabis use disorder among people with depression are relatively low. However, in psychiatric clinics, the connection is much stronger. More than 28% of patients being treated for depression also meet the criteria for CUD.

The meta-analysis also revealed that the two disorders are often linked throughout a person’s life, even if they are not present at the same time. While 20% of those with cannabis use disorder were found to be depressed at the time they participated in their respective study, 35% had struggled with depression at some point during their lives.

The problem of overlapping symptoms

Despite these findings, the researchers note that several limitations may prevent us from getting a clear picture of what is happening. One major challenge is an overlap in diagnosis where symptoms of cannabis withdrawal, such as anxiety, irritability, and sleep disturbances, are very similar to the clinical signs of depression. This makes it difficult for doctors to determine whether someone is suffering from a depressive disorder or the effects of their cannabis use.

Additionally, much of the data comes from North America, so it may not reflect conditions in other countries or cultures.

Future screening

However, due to the high percentages involved, the study authors recommend that health care providers regularly screen for cannabis use in depressed patients. Likewise, they suggest evaluating depression levels in those seeking help for CUD.

“Differences between psychiatric and community samples—especially the markedly higher current CUD prevalence in patients with MDD—underscore the need for systematic screening across treatment settings,” wrote the team in their paper.

Because the two disorders appear deeply linked, catching one early may prevent the other from worsening.

More than 200 mushrooms—primarily those belonging to a genus of gilled mushrooms called Psilocybe—contain the psychoactive compound psilocybin. In the brain of mammals, this chemical can bind to serotonin receptors and influence behavior and emotions, including aggression, appetite, and mood. Its effects on the social behavior of animals, however, remain largely undescribed.

In a new Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience study, researchers in Canada have tested whether the effects of psilocybin extend to the social behavior of the amphibious mangrove rivulus fish (Kryptolebias marmoratus).

“We show that an acute, low dose of psilocybin significantly reduces activity and aggressive attack behavior during social interactions in adult mangrove rivulus fish, a species that is naturally highly aggressive,” said first author Dayna Forsyth, a research associate and former MSc student at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

“These findings provide the first evidence that psilocybin can selectively reduce escalated aggression in a vertebrate model without suppressing social interaction,” added senior author Dr. Suzie Currie, a biologist at The University of British Columbia.

Calm waters

Mangrove rivulus fish are innately aggressive, especially when paired with another individual. Their aggressive behaviors are straightforward and subtle changes can easily be detected. These fish are also self-fertilizing and produce embryos that are genetically identical. Therefore, this model ensures all observed effects are caused by psilocybin treatment rather than genetic differences between fish.

The team used three genetically distinct, laboratory-bred lines. Fish from one line were exposed to psilocybin, fish from a second served as stimulus fish. A third line was used to quantify whole-body concentrations and absorption of psilocybin.

For the first phase of the experiment, the focal fish was added into a tank containing a stimulus fish to measure baseline behavior. The fish were separated by an opaque cover placed over a fiberglass mesh barrier through which the fish could see and smell, but not reach, each other. After a five-minute adjustment period to the shared tank, the opaque barrier was removed and interaction monitored.

Twenty-four hours later, the same focal fish was put in a water tank in which psilocybin was dissolved. After exposure to the substance for 20 minutes, the fish was added into the tank occupied by the same stimulus fish of the day before. After removal of the opaque barrier, interaction was observed again.

Magic mushroom, mellow fish

Observation of behaviors to measure activity (time spent moving) and aggression levels (including swimming bursts) revealed that fish dosed with psilocybin showed decreased levels of activity and performed fewer swimming bursts compared to specimens that hadn’t received psilocybin treatment.

“Swimming bursts are high‑energy attack behaviors that represent an escalation of aggression towards the stimulus fish without making physical contact,” explained Currie. “Other types of aggressive behaviors, like head‑on displays, are more about communication and social assessment and require very little energy.”

“Psilocybin’s calming effect appears to selectively reduce energetically costly, escalated behaviors while lower‑energy social display behaviors remained largely unchanged,” said Forsyth. “This suggests that this compound can selectively dampen escalated social conflict rather than shutting down behavior altogether.”

Psilocybin also influenced activity levels, with dosed fish spending less time moving than control fish when paired with a conspecific.

Diving deeper

In the long run, non-human models in drug-screening experiments like this can provide robust results that can later be translated to humans. In the future, findings like those made here could help inform therapeutic research by clarifying which aspects of social behavior are most sensitive to psilocybin.

The team cautioned, however, that the current study did not test clinical treatments and results from fish cannot be directly extrapolated to humans.

The study also focused on single doses and short periods of exposure, and didn’t examine long-term effects, repeated dosing, or adaptation over time. Future studies are needed to confirm whether the lower level of aggression observed here can be sustained.

“Future studies can build on this work to explore how psilocybin alters neural signaling, which serotonin pathways are involved, and why some aspects of social behavior are affected while others are not,” concluded Currie. “These are questions that are difficult or impossible to answer directly in humans.”

College students with anxiety, depression and eating disorders may be more likely to start and to respond more positively to therapy offered via a digital app compared to referrals to in-person campus clinics, according to a study led by Penn State researchers and published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

Globally, an estimated 40% to 60% of college students experience a mental health disorder at some point, and the need for campus counseling services has increased faster than institutions’ capacity to provide these services, according to the researchers.

The research team wanted to see if a proactive intervention using a digital therapy app could effectively treat anxiety disorders, depression and eating disorders, as well as address the increased need for psychological services.

How the digital therapy app works

The commercially available app incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles that coach individuals through identifying negative thinking patterns and developing skills and behavioral changes to address these patterns.

The researchers found that students receiving the digital intervention were more likely to report being symptom free at the six-week, six-month and two-year marks, and that these students were more likely to engage these services compared to the campus referral group.

Specifically, service uptake—or when a person actually receives a service—was seven times greater for college students assigned to a digital intervention than to on-campus clinic referrals. Approximately 74% of individuals given access to the digital intervention started the program, compared to 30% of individuals who were given a referral to a campus clinic and received at least one therapy session or a new medication prescription.

“One of the challenges with any digital intervention is that people sometimes download an app but then do not use it,” said lead author Michelle Newman, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Penn State.

“We were also interested in learning the extent to which people actually received services after being randomized to the app or on-campus counseling center. We found that uptake was significantly better in the digital intervention than referral to the counseling center.”

How the study was conducted

To test the effectiveness of the digital intervention, the researchers worked with 26 colleges and universities across the U.S. to send an email to the entire student body—what researchers call a population-level approach—inviting them to take part in a mental health screening.

Of the 39,194 individuals who completed the screening, 6,205 had clinical levels of or were at high risk of developing generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, depression or an eating disorder. Those individuals completed an additional baseline survey and were randomized into one of two groups. One group received access to the coached digital intervention for six months, while the other group received referrals to their campus counseling center.

The therapy app offered six to eight 20-minute-long modules for each mental health problem. Participants in the digital therapy group completed an average of 2.4 modules and received about 15 messages from a trained therapy coach.

Newman explained that individuals in the digital therapy group began with modules addressing their main mental health concern and then worked with their coaches to receive additional modules that addressed co-occurring issues.

Measuring multiple disorders over time

“A unique aspect of the work was that we screened for five disorders—generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression and eating disorders—and measured all disorders at every point in the treatment, because we know that disorders like depression and anxiety often co-occur, but that co-occurrence doesn’t necessarily happen simultaneously,” Newman said.

“The digital intervention overall had a significantly larger number of individuals who had no disorders at every timepoint in the study. We did not just treat individuals with clinical levels of these disorders, but we also prevented the onset in more of those in the digital intervention who screened to be at risk.”

For example, compared to the campus referral group, those who used the digital intervention had a 4.3% lower prevalence of having any mental health disorder at the six-week mark, 4.9% lower prevalence at the six-month mark and 3.8% lower prevalence at the two-year follow-up.

This result showed that the coached digital intervention both prevented the development of new disorders as well as treated disorders that were present before the intervention.

Implications beyond the pandemic

The researchers conducted the study during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiting participants from October 2019 to November 2021 and completing their data collection by October 2023. The results, they said, highlight the effectiveness of digital interventions at times when access to traditional, in-person services may have been constrained.

The population-level screening and digital therapy approach can complement existing in-person services beyond college campuses, Newman said.

“This approach could potentially be used anywhere where you have access to a full population in terms of email addresses, like at a company, to help disseminate mental health services that people might not think about seeking,” she said, explaining that the proactive screening process taken in the study helped individuals prevent disorders for which they were at high risk of developing and treated disorders for which they may not have sought face-to-face services.

Future work to personalize treatment

Next steps will make use of work led by Penn State graduate student Adam Calderon and Newman, who will use data from the current study and previous work by Newman’s lab to examine which individual characteristics may predict who would benefit from digital interventions, Newman said.