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Disordered lipid nanoparticles enhance RNA delivery efficiency

The tiny fatty capsules that delivered COVID-19 mRNA vaccines into billions of arms may work better when they're a little disorganized.

22 Feb 2026

Tuberculosis bacteria stiffen cell membranes to evade immune destruction

Scientists have uncovered an elegant biophysical trick that tuberculosis-causing bacteria use to survive inside human cells, a discovery that could lead to new strategies for fighting one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases.

22 Feb 2026

Affordable microscope captures living cells during chaotic conditions of zero-gravity flight

As space agencies prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars, scientists need to understand how the absence of gravity affects living cells.

22 Feb 2026

Study reveals unexpected role of TMC proteins in deafness

Proteins long known to be essential for hearing have been hiding a talent: they also act as gatekeepers that shuffle fatty molecules across cell membranes.

22 Feb 2026

MRSA and E. coli detected weeks after Potomac sewage spill

Nearly a month after a wastewater pipe broke and spewed hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River just north of Washington, D.C., the latest water testing results from the University of Maryland School of Public Health continue to show high levels of E. coli and S. aureus – commonly called staph, including antibiotic-resistant MRSA.

22 Feb 2026

Grant funds research on prenatal massage for maternal mental health

The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) announces the award of a research grant to University of Denver, Denver, Colo. The grant will support a three-year study entitled, "Prenatal Massage: A Complementary Approach for Maternal Health and Mental Health," led by Primary Investigator Galena Rhoades, PhD.

22 Feb 2026

Study pushes back timeline of syphilis-related diseases

An article by Mississippi State Professor of Anthropology Molly Zuckerman and her graduate student Lydia Bailey has been published in Science, one of the foremost scientific journals in the world.

22 Feb 2026

Certain brain regions found to be more active in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder

A new study revealed that certain brain regions are more active in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during cognitively demanding tasks.

22 Feb 2026

Misinformation and uncertainty drive misunderstanding of medical aid in dying

Public misunderstanding about medical aid in dying in the United States falls into two distinct categories – misinformation and uncertainty – and each is driven by different forces, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

22 Feb 2026

Genetic differences may shape emotional reactions to art

Why do some people feel chills when listening to music, reading poetry, or viewing a powerful work of art, while others do not? New research by Giacomo Bignardi and his colleagues from Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI) published in PLOS Genetics reveals that part of the answer lies in our genes.

22 Feb 2026

Hormone-driven immune cells may explain sex differences in chronic pain

Chronic pain lasts longer for women than men, and new research suggests differences in hormone-regulated immune cells, called monocytes, may help explain why.

22 Feb 2026

Indoor air quality plays major role in adult asthma symptoms

For adults with asthma, having fans, air purifiers or other ventilation and exhaust systems - especially in kitchens and bathrooms - is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of flare-ups at home.

20 Feb 2026

Single prenatal exposure to fungicide linked to disease across 20 generations

A single exposure to a toxic fungicide during pregnancy can increase the risk of disease for 20 subsequent generations - with inherited health problems worsening many generations after exposure.

20 Feb 2026

Smarter timing of cancer treatments could improve cure rates, study suggests

A new study provides hope that smarter timing of cancer treatments could improve cure rates.

20 Feb 2026

Social media exposure associated with steroid use intentions among boys and men

A new study of more than 1,500 boys and men in Canada and the United States suggests that social media may play a meaningful role in shaping intentions to use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), particularly when users are exposed to muscularity-focused content and engage in body comparisons online.

20 Feb 2026

Discovery offers hope for reducing immune-related heart risks in cancer patients

For many people diagnosed with cancer, treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has dramatically extended lives.

20 Feb 2026

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities face severe mental health disparities

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome, experience substantially higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general population of adults, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open.

20 Feb 2026

Cannabis use in adolescence associated with higher rates of psychiatric disorders

Adolescents who use cannabis could face a significantly higher risk of developing serious psychiatric disorders by young adulthood, according to a large new study published today in JAMA Health Forum.

20 Feb 2026

Tropical cyclones linked to rise in drug-related deaths months after landfall

Tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and tropical storms, are linked to increased rates of drug-related deaths up to three months after the storm passes-particularly in higher-income, White communities and among younger populations.

20 Feb 2026

Grant supports research into how microglia may spread toxic tau in Alzheimer’s

A researcher with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio has received a two-year, $402,500 grant award from the Cure Alzheimer's Fund to study how microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, paradoxically might contribute to the spread of toxic forms of tau protein in the disease.

20 Feb 2026