In this modeling paper, John Holmes and colleagues analyze the potential public health impact of changing the minimum unit price (MUP) of alcohol in Scotland, reporting that MUP policies will become less effective if the price threshold is not increased over time with inflation 🧪🍷 plos.io/3N8g18v

Time to the meet our next editor, Academic Editor Rana Hinman (@hinmanrana.bsky.social), Professor at the University of Melbourne (@unimelb.bsky.social). Rana is a physiotherapist and clinical trialist, and specializes in osteoarthritis & musculoskeletal conditions. #MedSky #PLOSMedicine 🧪

At next week's 4th Zhuhai Conference on Research Evaluation and Academic Publishing, our Editor-in-Chief Emily Chenette will give a talk about 20 years of @plosone.org, and @plos.org Associate Editorial Director Rebecca Kirk will take part in a roundtable on journal quality. zhuhai.xr-scholar.com#/

Explore emerging research and meet one of our Editors at an upcoming keystonesymposia.bsky.social event: 📅 January 26-29, 2026 📍 Keystone, CO, US ➡️ Cardiometabolism in Health and Disease: hubs.la/Q03XlfvT0 ➡️ Obesity Therapeutics: Unlocking Benefits and Minimizing Side Effects: hubs.la/Q03Xlfcp0

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used for acid-related disorders, but concerns exist around a possible association between long-term PPI use & upper gastrointestinal cancer. This study evaluates this association by factoring in confounding by indication and reverse causation🧪 plos.io/3L6lE6x

Mental health problems are known to run in families, but it's not clear whether this reflects nature or nurture. In this Perspective, Jasmin Wertz & Leah Richmond-Rakerd highlight a recent PLOS Medicine article investigating how mental health problems transmit across generations 🧪🧠 plos.io/3N9S4xx

Could higher taxation of foods high in fat, sugar, and sodium (HFSS) help curb rising obesity and diet-related diseases in India? In a modeling study, Maxime Roche, Jingmin Zhu & colleagues assess potential effects of HFSS taxation on population health & its economic impacts🧪 #MedSky plos.io/44Wom59

Continuing with our 'meet the editors', next up is Alison Farrell (@alisonfarrell.bsky.social), Senior Editor and Team Leader on the journal. Alison handles papers on infectious disease, respiratory medicine, and gastroenterology and hepatology. #MedSky #PLOSMedicine🧪

In this study, Leigh Johnson and colleagues use a modeling framework to predict limited effects of economic strengthening interventions that aim to reduce HIV, sexually transmitted infections and teenage births in South Africa. 🧪 #MedSky #HIV #STIs plos.io/3Lgiop8

Over the festive period, we will be giving staff, editors, and reviewers a well-deserved break! The journal office will be closed from Monday 22nd December, and will reopen Monday 5th January. To those who celebrate, we wish everyone happy holidays, and see you in 2026! 🎄

In a retrospective analysis of US FDA records of novel, approved drugs with pediatric study requirements, Rylee McGonigle and colleagues report that less than 60% of requirements were met a decade post-approval, and labeling changes were substantially delayed. 🧪 #MedSky

In this follow-up of a randomized controlled trial, Fahmida Tofail, Helen Pitchik & colleagues assess the long-term effects of early water, sanitation, handwashing and nutrition interventions on child development in rural Bangladesh🧪 #MedSky

Females & males often experience different health outcomes, but it is unclear which sex is more disadvantaged overall. In this study, Angela Chang et al. define a metric to assess sex inequalities in health outcomes, using countries with the highest life expectancy as benchmarks.🧪

Open research & data transparency protect against unethical activities, but can also introduce integrity risks. In this Perspective, @dmaupin.bsky.social, Matt Spick & Nophar Geifman set out the case for the use of safeguarding practices to protect against data exploitation🧪 #MedSky

Next up in our "meet the editors" is Academic Editor Pei Gao, Principal Investigator at Peking University, China. Pei's primary expertise lie in epidemiology and biostatistics, with a particular interest in cardiovascular disease risk prediction and decision modeling.🧪🫀 #MedSky #PLOSMedicine

Controlling transmission of bacterial #STIs has proven difficult in recent years. In this Perspective, Sami Gottlieb & colleagues highlight the need for innovative research, expedited clinical development & increased investment in the development of #vaccines against bacterial STIs🧪🦠 plos.io/4j7PpjU

Next up in our "meet the editors" is Academic Editor David Flood, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. David brings a wealth of expertise in internal medicine, including global non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. 🧪 #MedSky #PLOSMedicine

In this retrospective cohort study, Jeffrey Joy and colleagues examine frequencies of baseline antiretroviral drug resistance mutations and the heterogeneity of HIV transmission clusters associated with HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis 🧪 #MedSky #HIV #PrEP

In this randomized controlled trial, Anuja Dokras and colleagues compare the effects of oral contraceptive pills, metformin, and a combination of both on metabolic syndrome prevalence in patients with high-risk hyperandrogenic polycystic ovary syndrome 🧪 #PCOS #MedSky

Using a novel ultrasensitive assay, Miguel Á. González-Gay and colleagues perform a phenotypic characterization of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, examining how serum levels of IFN-α and IFN-γ correlate with disease activity, organ damage, and remission status. 🧪 #MedSky plos.io/4pCXGP0

Next up in our "meet the editors", it's Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Medicine, Till Bärnighausen, Director of the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health and Alexander von Humboldt Professor at the University of Heidelberg. 🧪 #MedSky #PLOSMedicine

In this retrospective analysis of national surveillance data in China, Li Chen & colleagues find that short-term exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was associated with a higher incidence of respiratory transmitted diseases than non-wildfire-related PM2.5.🧪 plos.io/4iRaPBn

Analyses of open health datasets can offer valuable contributions to health & medicine, but recent years have seen a proliferation of papers lacking robust or novel findings. In this Editorial, we provide guidance for conducting & reporting high-quality analyses using open datasets🧪 plos.io/4poBmZo

Next up in our 'meet the editors' is Academic Editor Brooke Nichols (@brookeenichols.bsky.social), Associate Professor of Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health (@busph.bsky.social). Brooke specializes in infectious disease modeling and health economics. 🧪 #MedSky #PLOSMedicine

In this population health estimates analysis, Xiaojing Zeng and colleagues explore the distinct factors associated with declines in maternal mortality in Eastern and Western China, which may help inform efforts to reach global reduction targets 🧪 #MedSky plos.io/44YcdfP

High blood pressure is recognized as a risk factor associated with the development of blood cancers. Here, the authors analyzed whether continuous use of the antihypertensive agent hydralazine is associated with a lower risk of hematologic neoplasms compared to other treatments 🧪 plos.io/48rqCDx

In this population-based cohort study, Daniel Myran and colleagues report that emergency or hospital care after hallucinogen use was associated with an increased risk of incident mania or bipolar disorder diagnosis 🏥🧪 #MedSky plos.io/48nPZGq

In this Editorial, Zulfiqar Bhutta discusses the Global Burden of Disease 2023 report, outlining why, alongside improved data acquisition & analysis, its continued expansion creates new challenges & opportunities for improving its accuracy, completeness & policy relevance 🌏🧪 #GBD2023 plos.io/4rKtXVN

Over the next few weeks, as our Bluesky community grows, we will be introducing some of the PLOS Medicine Staff and Academic Editors, so that you can learn about their roles, areas of expertise, and their hopes for the journal and community. 🧪 #MedSky #PLOSMedicine #editors

In this modeling study, Jiaxin Xie, Xuesi Dong, Zilin Luo and team use a multistate Markov model to quantify the long-term health and economic benefits of adhering to colorectal #cancer #screening, incorporating both traditional and biomarker-based initial screening methods 🧪 #MedSky plos.io/4rB3nOT

Did you know that you may be eligible to publish in PLOS Medicine without paying an APC? All PLOS journals offer several APC-alternative business agreements through institutional partnerships.📝🧪 To learn more and find out if your institution has an agreement, visit: plos.org/libraries/pa...

In this retrospective cohort study, Josh Lamb and colleagues estimate the cumulative incidence of first-time reoperation following primary total hip replacement, taking into consideration different age groups, sex, and implant types to help guide treatment decisions. 🧪🦴 #MedSky plos.io/4ougtL6

What prospects are there for preventative & stem-cell based therapies for type 1 #diabetes? 💉 In this Perspective, Kevan Herold & colleagues highlight exciting therapeutic developments aimed at arresting or reversing T1D & discuss challenges they face in reaching the clinic🧪 #MedSky plos.io/3XyyCwi

In recognition of World AIDS Day 2025, this Perspective by Gregory Folkers & Anthony Fauci reflects on progress made in #antiretroviral treatments & prevention of HIV/AIDS, highlighting promising therapeutic developments and looking ahead to what is needed to end the #AIDS epidemic 🧪 plos.io/48np3Fu

In this population-based study, Jehan Karim and colleagues investigate whether different policies of fetal anatomical ultrasound practice have an impact on the time of diagnosis of major fetal anomalies in England. 🧪 #MedSky #PLOSMed plos.io/4oqDrmc

We are pleased to sponsor the online seminar, "Global Health After the Breakpoint: Evidence for What Comes Next", featuring a panel of experts to discuss the future of global health. It's not too late to register using the link below! 🧪 📆 Tuesday 2nd Dec 🕐3.00-4.30pm GMT duke.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

In this Perspective, Petra Heitkamp, Obioma Chijioke-Akaniro & @madhupai.bsky.social discuss why abrupt international funding cuts, while threatening #tuberculosis services, also present an opportunity for a more self-reliant response led by high-burden countries🧪 journals.plos.org/plosmedicine...

In this cohort study, Valsamis and colleagues investigate the association between #BMI, patient complications and implant survival after shoulder replacement #surgery, finding that access to shoulder replacement should not be restricted based on BMI alone. ⬇️🧪 #MedSky #PLOSMed plos.io/43PI1TM

We pride ourselves on our commitments to open science, integrity, and equity in research. If you want to learn more, this Editorial by Executive Editor Helen Lumbard & Editor-in-Chief Till Bärnighausen outlines our scope and vision, and reaffirms our drive for meaningful change 🧪 plos.io/3XFZfzg

We are thrilled to now be on BlueSky! We prioritize studies addressing critical health challenges—from major diseases to health equity—that bridge scientific rigor with real-world impact, connecting researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to advance global health 🧬🧪 #OpenScience #MedSky