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Your Instagram photos may reveal more about loneliness than you think

Researchers analyzing Instagram data from 415 US college students found that photographs, language, and online activity provided moderately useful indicators of subjective loneliness but were less informative about social isolation. Social loneliness was associated with lower interpersonal engagement, while emotional loneliness was linked to negative language, sad or angry facial expressions in profile photographs, and late-night posting.

9 Nov 2026

Drinking 2–3 cups of coffee a day? A study of 495,000 adults links it to lower AF risk

In a prospective study of 495,269 UK Biobank participants followed for approximately 13 years, researchers found that coffee consumption was associated with a 7% to 11% lower risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), with the strongest association observed at 2–3 cups daily. Tea consumption showed a more modest and less consistent association, with the authors reporting a 5% lower AF risk at 2–3 cups daily, although the observational findings cannot establish causation.

9 Nov 2026

Animal study raises questions about semaglutide safety during pregnancy

They're the blockbuster drugs transforming weight loss, helping millions of people to shed unwanted kilos.

9 Nov 2026

Breast milk contains urea. Researchers think it may play an unexpected role

Researchers found that urea concentrations in breast milk change during lactation, with evidence suggesting that the mammary gland regulates its transport independently of measured maternal dietary and blood urea levels. Laboratory experiments showed that different urea concentrations favored the growth of different bacterial strains, suggesting a possible role in shaping the infant gut microbiome and raising questions about the composition of infant formula.

9 Nov 2026

Could a single brain scan reveal how quickly your body is aging?

Researchers examined whether DunedinPACNI, an MRI-derived measure of brain aging, was associated with blood-based indicators of biological aging in 746 adults across two independent midlife cohorts. Faster DunedinPACNI was associated with higher levels of multisystem biological aging in both cohorts and greater changes in aging-related blood biomarkers over 7–15 years in a longitudinal subgroup of 224 participants.

9 Nov 2026

Exercise, diet or stress? One lifestyle habit stood out in a heart disease study

A hospital-based case-control study involving 495 adults in Iran found that higher healthy lifestyle scores were associated with lower odds of cardiovascular disease, even after adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic factors. Physical activity and recreation showed the strongest numerical association per questionnaire point, although the observational design could not establish whether healthier habits prevented cardiovascular disease.

8 Nov 2026

Can Instagram-worthy healthy food compete with tempting fast food photos?

In a study of 203 Indian adolescents, researchers found that visually appealing Instagram images of healthy foods were significantly associated with a greater willingness to eat them, particularly for millet and pulse dishes. Although participants reported generally favorable attitudes and intentions toward healthy foods, most changes in eating behavior were not statistically significant, and nutritional captions provided no measurable additional benefit.

8 Nov 2026

Searching for medicine in Europe? Not every Google result is what it seems

A study examining 9,000 Google search results across 30 European countries found that 36.3% of links to online medicine sellers led to illegal vendors, rising to nearly 77% for controlled substances. Countries that permitted legitimate online medicine sales generally had fewer illegal vendors among highly ranked search results than countries that prohibited such sales, although the observational findings do not establish causation.

8 Nov 2026

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs may change what you crave, not just how much you eat

A prospective observational pilot study of 38 adults without diabetes found that three months of semaglutide or tirzepatide treatment was associated with an average weight loss of 7.2 kg, reduced food cravings, increased satiety, and improved self-reported hunger control. Most participants reported smaller meal portions, while some experienced changes in food preferences, although the study could not establish whether the medications directly caused these behavioral changes.

8 Nov 2026

Coffee, vegetables and exercise share a surprising connection in your gut

In a study of 6,803 Japanese adults, researchers identified two opposing gut microbiome patterns linking diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption with general health and 15 chronic diseases. Health-oriented microbial patterns were associated with butyrate production and lower inflammation, while disease-oriented patterns were linked to inflammatory processes, with microbiome-based prediction scores showing potential for distinguishing health and disease across international populations.

8 Nov 2026

Red meat and ultra-processed foods show no clear link to postpartum depression in new study

A prospective cohort study of 264 pregnant Iranian women found no statistically significant association between maternal consumption of ultra-processed foods or red meat and probable postpartum depression assessed four to six weeks after childbirth. However, the relatively small sample size and imprecise estimates mean that potentially meaningful associations cannot be excluded, highlighting the need for larger studies.

8 Nov 2026

NIH award supports research into ovarian cancer and neural connections

One of the biggest breakthroughs in modern cancer treatment doesn't attack cancer directly. Instead, immunotherapy harnesses the body's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

6 Nov 2026

Occasional male cannabis users experience stronger effects than women

Men who use cannabis occasionally reacted more strongly to smoked cannabis than women with similar use habits, even though the amount of THC in their blood was about the same, according to a new study from UCLA Health.

6 Nov 2026

Two common forever chemicals linked to higher incidence of ER-negative breast cancer

Women with higher blood levels of two common per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also familiarly known as PFAS, were more likely to develop estrogen receptor-negative, or ER-negative, breast cancer, according to a new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

6 Nov 2026

Metal fumes, drinking habits and dementia: What a new study found

This study examines how workplace chemicals and lifestyle habits may influence Lewy body dementia risk, revealing potential sex differences in exposure effects.

6 Nov 2026

Southern Europe eats closest to the planetary diet, so why is diabetes so high?

Researchers comparing temperature trends, food supplies, and diabetes prevalence across Europe found that Southern Europe had the closest alignment with Planetary Health Diet recommendations, yet also recorded the highest and fastest-rising diabetes prevalence. The exploratory study found inconsistent relationships between warming, dietary composition, and diabetes across regions, suggesting that multiple environmental, lifestyle, and demographic factors warrant further investigation.

5 Nov 2026

The Mediterranean diet has a modern problem, and it isn't just about food

A narrative review published in Applied Sciences examined how urbanisation, time constraints, food costs, and changing lifestyles have contributed to declining adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Drawing on 116 references, the authors identified workplace and school interventions, nutrition education, physical activity, and Mediterranean-inspired convenience foods as potential strategies for adapting this dietary pattern to modern life.

5 Nov 2026

A simple salt swap could prevent nearly 3 million deaths a year, researchers estimate

A global modelling study covering 193 countries and territories estimated that replacing regular salt with a potassium-enriched substitute containing 25% potassium chloride could prevent 2.96 million deaths, 10.17 million new cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease cases, and 69.43 million disability-adjusted life years annually. Although the researchers projected an increased risk of hyperkalemia-related deaths among people with impaired kidney function, the estimated cardiovascular benefits substantially outweighed these potential harms.

5 Nov 2026

Struggling with constipation? Two green kiwifruits a day may help

A narrative review of 33 publications found that consuming two fresh green kiwifruits daily for approximately four weeks can improve bowel movement frequency and gastrointestinal comfort in adults with functional constipation or constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Clinical studies reported broadly similar improvements with kiwifruit, psyllium, and prunes, although more research is needed to establish long-term benefits and differences between kiwifruit varieties.

5 Nov 2026

Hidden genetic differences in gut bacteria may hold clues to aging

Researchers analyzed approximately 12.8 million gut microbial genetic variants in 10,781 individuals across six cohorts, identifying 940 independent associations with 69 human health characteristics and environmental exposures. Nearly two-thirds of these associations were not accompanied by significant differences in bacterial species abundance, suggesting that microbial genetics can reveal relationships overlooked by conventional microbiome analyses, although causality remains unproven.

5 Nov 2026