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Assessing the value of modern US healthcare gains

Over two decades, medical care improvements increased health spans in the U.S. by 1.3 years and medical spending by $234,000 per person over their lifetime – or about $182,000 per additional healthy year of life gained – when measured from birth. These are among the key findings in a new in-depth national study published today in Value in Health.

26 Feb 2026

Decoding the purpose of fetal yawns in the womb

Even in the womb, where all oxygen is provided by the parental placenta, fetuses can-and do-yawn. More yawns during observation were associated with a lower weight at birth-potentially indicating mild fetal stress in the womb, according to a study published February 25, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Damiano Menin, of the Università degli Studi di Ferrara in Italy, and colleagues.

26 Feb 2026

New daily tablet simplifies long-term HIV care

A new, daily oral tablet that combines two current HIV treatment medications, bictegravir and lenacapavir (BIC/LEN), may be able to effectively replace more complicated HIV treatment regimens used by people living with HIV who are long-term survivors, according to the results of a new phase 3 clinical trial published in The Lancet.

26 Feb 2026

Study reveals hidden internal structure within biomolecular condensates

Cells rely on biomolecular condensates to coordinate essential biological processes without surrounding membranes.

25 Feb 2026

Vitamin B3 shows promise for treating rare genetic disorder

Scientists at Gladstone Institutes have flipped the traditional approach to finding potential treatments for deadly diseases.

25 Feb 2026

Disrupted lymphatic vessels may drive chronic organ transplant rejection

Despite advances in the field of organ transplantation, long-term organ rejection that can become apparent a decade or more after a heart or lung transplant remains a common problem for patients.

25 Feb 2026

Prior COVID infection increases kidney disease risk

Approximately one in seven adults in the United States has kidney disease, where the organs responsible for filtering waste and excess water from the blood are damaged, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

25 Feb 2026

Smoking status influences Parkinson's disease risk and mortality outcomes

A new study of smokers finds that currently smoking is associated with a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease, but quitting smoking was associated with a lower risk of death.

25 Feb 2026

Combining healthy lifestyle and GLP-1 therapy reduces heart risks in diabetes

Individuals living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) had a significantly lower risk of poor cardiovascular health when they used a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) in combination with adhering to healthy lifestyle habits, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

25 Feb 2026

Road traffic noise linked to immediate heart and blood vessel stress

A new study published in the journal Cardiovascular Research shows that a single night of road traffic noise, at levels that are typical of those living in a city, causes stress to the heart and blood vessels.

25 Feb 2026

Digital health access gaps limit patient care and outcomes

Patients are now expected to navigate much of their care online - from seeing their doctor on a screen to booking appointments, refilling prescriptions, and checking test results through health care portals.

25 Feb 2026

Opioids offer limited short-term relief for acute pain

The world's largest review of opioid pain relievers prescribed for acute pain found these medicines provide only small, short-term relief for some acute conditions and are ineffective for some others.

25 Feb 2026

Small RNA molecules can accurately predict survival in older adults

As people age, it becomes harder to know who is on track for healthy years ahead and who may be at higher risk for serious decline.

25 Feb 2026

Nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. may have cardiovascular disease in the next 25 years

Driven by rising rates in high blood pressure, nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. will have some type of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the next 25 years, according to a new scientific statement published today in Circulation, the peer-reviewed, flagship journal of the American Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health for all.

25 Feb 2026

High-fat ketogenic diet improves exercise response in diabetic mice

To be healthy, conventional wisdom tells us to exercise and limit fatty foods. Exercise helps us lose weight and build muscle.

25 Feb 2026

Acute heart failure linked to high readmission and death rates

Almost half of patients hospitalized for acute heart failure in Europe are readmitted within a year, according to a new study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the European Heart Journal.

25 Feb 2026

High-risk patients account for majority of postoperative deaths and readmissions

A major new study, led by Queen Mary University of London and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has been published in The Lancet Public Health.

25 Feb 2026

Lingering brain inflammation found after mild COVID infection

Even a mild case of COVID-19 or the flu can impact the body long after the fever and cough fade, according to new Tulane University research that may help explain why some people struggle to feel fully recovered weeks or months later.

25 Feb 2026

Combined GLP-1 and GLP-2 treatment appears safe but does not beat placebo for obesity

In a 12-week randomized phase IIa trial in adults with obesity, the dual GLP-1/GLP-2 receptor agonist dapiglutide was well tolerated but did not achieve statistically significant weight loss compared with placebo at 4 mg or 6 mg doses. Although the higher dose showed modest within-group weight reduction and improved HbA1c, unexpectedly substantial placebo-associated weight loss limited the observed treatment effect.

24 Feb 2026

ChatGPT Health fails critical emergency and suicide safety tests

ChatGPT Health, a widely used consumer artificial intelligence (AI) tool that provides health guidance directly to the public-including advice about how urgently to seek medical care-may fail to direct users appropriately to emergency care in a significant number of serious cases, according to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

24 Feb 2026