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Why intuition matters more than facts in flu vaccination decisions

Flu infections are rising sharply across the United States, contributing to at least 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths so far this season, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

5 Jan 2026

Diabetes could drain up to INT$78.8 trillion from the global economy by 2050, study finds

This global macroeconomic analysis estimates that diabetes mellitus will cost the world economy INT$10.2 trillion between 2020 and 2050, rising to INT$78.8 trillion when unpaid informal caregiving is included. Using a health-augmented economic model across 204 countries, the study shows that informal care is the dominant and most underestimated driver of diabetes-related economic losses worldwide.

5 Jan 2026

AI method sharply improves noise removal in brain imaging

Obtaining clearer functional MRI data about the brain and its disorders is possible using artificial intelligence, according to Boston College researchers who reported recently in Nature Methods that they developed an AI-assisted method to remove "noise", or image distortions, caused by movement, heartbeat, and other factors.

5 Jan 2026

Greenland shark eyesight offers clues to longevity, vision, and healthy aging

Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk sits in her office, eyes fixed on the computer monitor in front of her.

5 Jan 2026

New guidelines aim to standardize diagnosis of canine dementia

An international working group of canine cognition experts has released a set of guidelines for veterinarians to use in diagnosing and monitoring canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS), or canine dementia.

5 Jan 2026

Income sufficiency emerges as key factor in early brain development

Decades of research show that early psychosocial stress, including chronic exposure to adversity, can shape how a child's brain develops, with effects that last well beyond childhood. But families rarely experience just one source of stress at a time.

5 Jan 2026

Common blood signals explain why chronic diseases cluster as we age

This population-based study shows that shared and pattern-specific blood biomarkers reflect biological vulnerability underlying multimorbidity and the pace at which chronic diseases accumulate in older adults. Metabolic and systemic stress markers such as GDF15, HbA1c, cystatin C, and insulin consistently tracked higher disease burden and faster accumulation, with findings replicated across cohorts.

5 Jan 2026

Maintaining a healthy weight may help avoid low back pain

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition associated with disability, work loss and economic burden to healthcare. Significant risk factors include poor sleep, physical and psychological stress, inactivity, advanced age and smoking.

5 Jan 2026

Inhalable nanotherapy can activate the immune system against checkpoint-resistant melanoma

Immune checkpoint molecules play a crucial role in keeping the immune system in balance and preventing an attack on the body's own cells.

5 Jan 2026

Injectable paste from human skin cells may improve breast reconstruction

Removing part or all of the breast during breast cancer treatment is a potential outcome for some people.

5 Jan 2026

Calculator offers accurate scoring of multilingual language ability

More than half of the world's population speaks more than one language-but there is no consistent method for defining "bilingual" or "multilingual." This makes it difficult to accurately assess proficiency across multiple languages and to describe language backgrounds accurately.

5 Jan 2026

Researchers identify hundreds of genes essential for the development of brain cells

An international research team identified hundreds of genes essential for the development of brain cells, including one gene linked to a severe neurodevelopmental disorder not previously described.

5 Jan 2026

Two bacterial shutdown modes explain antibiotic persistence and relapse

New study reveals that bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment through two fundamentally different "shutdown modes," not just the classic idea of dormancy.

4 Jan 2026

Self-sabotage may reflect the brain’s need for control and safety

Self-harming and self-sabotaging behaviors, from skin picking to ghosting people, all stem from evolutionary survival mechanisms, according to a compelling new psychological analysis.

4 Jan 2026

Weaker and fragmented circadian rhythms linked to higher dementia risk

Circadian rhythms that are weaker and more fragmented are linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to a new study published on December 29, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Jan 2026

Irregular collagen in uterine scars linked to placenta accreta development

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) used to be a rare pregnancy condition, but it now affects roughly 14,000 pregnancies annually, posing a major cause of maternal death.

2 Jan 2026

New method can help better assess precision genome editing technology

Scientists and physicians can better assess precision genome editing technology using a new method made public today by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Significant amounts of time and resources spent improving CRISPR gene editing technology focus on identifying small off-target sites that pose a safety risk, which is also technically challenging.

2 Jan 2026