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Healthy hearts prior to pandemic reduced severe COVID-19 risk

Better heart health before the pandemic was linked to a lower risk of severe COVID-19 events, according to research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

27 May 2026

Women who sleep less may face more irregular menstrual cycles

A study on 42,759 menstrual cycles shows that sleep quality affects menstrual health, with implications for physiological stability and individual variability.

27 May 2026

Efficient pitching mechanics can help avoid career-threatening elbow injuries

As professional baseball sees another high-profile elbow injury with Toronto Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos having undergone ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery, new research from the University of Waterloo suggests many pitchers may be able to reduce stress on their elbows without sacrificing velocity.

27 May 2026

Why blood pressure rises faster in women after midlife

This review examines how sex-specific blood pressure trajectories are shaped by genetics, hormones, metabolic risk factors, lifestyle exposures, environmental stressors, and medical treatments. It highlights that women generally have lower blood pressure earlier in life but may experience steeper increases with aging, especially around and after menopause, with exogenous stressors appearing to have a greater impact in women than in men.

27 May 2026

Deep learning model predicts vascular cognitive impairment from brain scans

The team built a DenseNet – a densely connected convolutional neural network – that learns hierarchical features directly from raw DTI volumes.

26 May 2026

One-time gene editing cuts LDL cholesterol in early hypercholesterolemia trial

A phase 1 NEJM interim analysis found that a single infusion of the investigational base-editing therapy VERVE-102 produced dose-dependent reductions in circulating PCSK9 protein and LDL cholesterol in adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or premature coronary artery disease.

26 May 2026

Cells detect and silence invading transposons through abnormal RNA signals

Transposons, DNA sequences that can self-replicate and move (jump) throughout the genome, are widespread and can affect cell survival if left unchecked. Cells control these "jumping genes" by silencing them, but little was known about how cells recognize and defend themselves from invading transposons.

26 May 2026

Retatrutide reshapes metabolism in obesity and type 2 diabetes, study finds

Retatrutide altered circulating metabolites and lipids linked to fatty acid oxidation and insulin resistance in people with obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes. These biomarker changes suggest improved metabolic health, but the post-hoc analysis remains hypothesis-generating and does not prove direct clinical benefit.

26 May 2026

Macrophage location within tumors may influence cancer progression outcomes

Cancer tumors are surrounded by immune cells, but not all of those cells help the body fight back. Some support anti-cancer immunity, while others can unexpectedly help tumors survive.

26 May 2026

Rare dual transplant gives Michigan patient a second chance

After nearly two decades of life-threatening illness, repeated complications, and organ failure, 33-year-old Briana Dery of Twining, Mich., is looking ahead to a healthy future, after successfully undergoing one of the rarest and most complex procedures in modern medicine.

26 May 2026

New study tests vitamin D analog against pancreatic cancer

A small clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers put a Salk Institute idea to the test in patients: that activating the vitamin D receptor can help reshape the protective environment surrounding pancreatic tumors in ways that could make the notoriously difficult-to-treat cancer more vulnerable to therapeutic treatments.

26 May 2026

Scientists target root of relapse in aggressive childhood brain tumors

Stopping cancer from coming back is the goal of new research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, where scientists are targeting cells that fuel the return of an aggressive pediatric brain tumor.

26 May 2026

Blood proteins can predict multiple sclerosis years before diagnosis

A new study has revealed a group of blood proteins, that are altered in people who go on to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), in some cases more than a decade before diagnosis.

26 May 2026

Hydroxychloroquine lowers heart risks in skin lupus patients

A study led by investigators from Johns Hopkins Medicine found that some patients with discoid lupus erythematosus - a form of skin lupus commonly diagnosed in young to middle-aged Black women that causes disc-shaped plaques to form on the body - were less likely to experience complications, such as diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease if they were prescribed hydroxychloroquine.

26 May 2026

Novel wearable ultrasound patch improves high-risk pregnancy monitoring

Current fetal monitoring tools for physicians to closely follow high-risk pregnancies are inadequate, so researchers at Stanford Medicine, the University of California San Diego and Oxford University developed a wearable ultrasound patch to monitor such pregnancies.

26 May 2026

Tomato-soy juice curbs inflammation in obese adults

Drinking tomato-soy juice loaded with compounds shown in animal studies to promote health lowered pro-inflammatory proteins in healthy adults with obesity after four weeks, a new study found.

26 May 2026

Estrogen decline alters brain cell matrix in older females

A largely overlooked space between cells in women's brains may hold the key to understanding memory loss tied to estrogen decline after menopause, reports a new preclinical Northwestern Medicine study.

26 May 2026

Engineers develop wearable ultrasound patch for continuous fetal monitoring

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a soft, wearable ultrasound patch that can continuously monitor a fetus for hours at a time - and it can do so consistently even as the fetus and umbilical cord constantly move during pregnancy.

26 May 2026

Study links ceramide levels to prostate cancer drug response differences

Ceramides-lipid molecules in cells that affect many physiological functions including cell differentiation, migration, and death-and their metabolites have been implicated in the development of cancer and other conditions.

26 May 2026

Rattlesnakes show higher vulnerability to fungal and parasitic infections

Snakes are threatened with extinction in many places around the globe. Disease, often caused by parasites or fungi, is thought to be one of the key factors alongside habitat destruction.

26 May 2026