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Brain shrinkage biomarker may predict early-onset Alzheimer’s progression

In people diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, a biomarker tool that detects shrinkage of the brain's gray matter may predict how quickly someone may progress from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia, according to a new study published August 26, 2026, in Neurology, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

27 Aug 2026

Internet-controlled brain implant enables remote neural stimulation and drug delivery

A researcher in Chicago remotely controls a miniaturized brain implant in Daejeon, Korea - over the internet. Korean researchers have developed a wireless device that can deliver drugs and light to precisely modulate targeted neurons from anywhere in the world.

27 Aug 2026

New platform enables large-scale production of custom proteins

Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don't naturally do.

27 Aug 2026

Can caffeine make you mentally sharper in the morning? This study tested the idea

In a controlled crossover study of 51 recreationally active young men with low habitual caffeine intake, researchers tested whether 300 mg of caffeine taken about an hour before morning testing affected cognition, mood, temperature, appetite, and related outcomes, with reactive agility assessed in 27 participants. Caffeine did not improve cognitive or reactive agility performance or meaningfully alter mood, tiredness, appetite, or thermoregulation under the study conditions.

27 Aug 2026

Computer model could streamline design of protein degraders

A team of Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has developed a computer model that will help scientists more efficiently develop protein-destroying therapies, a newer type of treatment that is particularly promising for cancer.

27 Aug 2026

Gut microbiome atlas maps how bacteria establish themselves and shift in inflammatory bowel disease

Researchers created a microbiome-wide atlas mapping more than seven million colonization factor genes across 4,716 human gut microbial species, revealing three putative strategies linked to metabolism, stress resistance, and microbial communication. Applying the framework to inflammatory bowel disease showed that colonization-factor profiles can provide a compact, biologically interpretable view of disease-associated microbiome changes.

27 Aug 2026

Faulty myelin-making brain cells may help drive cognitive decline with age

Researchers found that greater age-related cognitive decline was associated with more dysfunctional oligodendrocytes, reduced NRF2 expression, smaller myelinated axons, and abnormally thicker myelin in human white matter. Experiments in mice showed that deleting NRF2 specifically from oligodendrocytes reproduced key white matter abnormalities and reduced cognitive improvement over time, implicating this pathway in cognitive aging.

26 Aug 2026

A major NFL brain study puts new numbers on the burden of CTE

Researchers analyzed 1,712 former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2021, including 338 brain donors, to estimate the possible prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at death and its association with dementia. At least 24.5% of players who died from 2016 to 2021 had confirmed CTE, while stage IV CTE among brain donors was associated with a 44% higher risk of clinician-adjudicated dementia.

26 Aug 2026

New retina model reveals how CLN3-Batten disease damages vision

Researchers have developed a new way to study CLN3-Batten disease, a rare, inherited condition that causes early vision loss in children followed by progressive neurological decline.

26 Aug 2026

Maternal immune response to urinary tract infection may drive preterm birth risk

A new study published in Science Translational Medicine shows that the increased risk of preterm pregnancies associated with urinary tract infection (UTI), is linked to the body's immune response to the infection rather than to the bacteria themselves.

26 Aug 2026

Nanoparticles regenerate neurons and improve cognition in Alzheimer’s mice

The adult human brain has limited capacity to repair or regenerate neurons lost to Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia.

26 Aug 2026

Breast milk fats may reflect more than the fats a mother eats

A cross-sectional study of 109 breastfeeding women in the Netherlands found that maternal intakes of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs and trans fats were associated with corresponding fatty acid proportions in human milk. The researchers also identified links involving dietary fiber, diet quality and several micronutrients, although whether these relationships reflect direct biological effects or broader dietary patterns remains uncertain.

26 Aug 2026

Why erratic step counts may matter more than your daily total

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26 Aug 2026

Coronary artery calcium scan may be most valuable for a specific group of patients

It's an increasingly popular scan that measures calcium in the heart's arteries and helps predict risk of future heart disease.

26 Aug 2026

Experimental vaccine protects against Zika virus through T cells alone

Zika virus has been spreading for decades, but it first grabbed worldwide headlines in 2016. That February, with an outbreak sweeping the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the surge in Zika-linked birth defects a "public health emergency of international concern"-a designation which lasted until that November.

26 Aug 2026

Gut bacteria may send different biological signals in Parkinson’s disease

A new study from the University of Oulu suggests that gut bacteria may send different biological signals in Parkinson’s disease.

26 Aug 2026

Maternal obesity alters fetal liver metabolism via placental molecular signals

A mother's obesity during pregnancy may send molecular signals across the placenta that permanently alter her son's liver metabolism, according to a new study in mice published in Nature Communications.

26 Aug 2026

Nicoya is a famous blue zone. DNA aging estimates tell a more complicated story

Researchers developed a SuperLearner framework that combines established epigenetic clocks with machine learning to compare DNA methylation-based aging in residents of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Blue Zone with other Costa Ricans. Initial calibration suggested a modest younger epigenetic age among Nicoyans, but accounting more closely for age distribution substantially reduced the apparent advantage, highlighting the importance of population-specific calibration in longevity research.

26 Aug 2026

Vagus nerve stimulation may enhance long-term motor learning

Do you ever feel like sometimes you can master a new dance step almost immediately, while other times you struggle to nail it despite repeated practice? This might be due to skill or effort, but also to something less obvious: whether the brain is in a state that allows learning to take hold.

26 Aug 2026

New artificial lung mimics breathing and alveolar movement

Almost everyone has blown a soap bubble through a straw at least once. Inspired by this thin soap bubble film, an "artificial lung that breathes" like a real lung has been developed.

25 Aug 2026