Complex healthcare policies are often challenging to implement. That's a reality states across the country will deal with as new Medicaid work requirements get rolled out next year.

7 Aug 2026

Living near a dry cleaner may come with an unexpected Parkinson’s disease link

A nationwide case-control study of older U.S. Medicare beneficiaries found that living closer to a dry-cleaning establishment was associated with higher odds of incident Parkinson’s disease, with the strongest association among people living within 0.1 mile.

7 Aug 2026

Severe COVID-19 reactivates dormant viruses and may leave a lasting viral signature

A longitudinal study of 1,154 hospitalized COVID-19 patients found widespread reactivation of chronic Herpesviridae and Anelloviridae, with distinct viral patterns linked to disease severity, inflammation, and clinical outcomes. Anelloviridae also persisted during convalescence and were associated with physical deficits in long COVID, although the study did not establish causation.

7 Aug 2026

New study explores cholesterol-driven survival mechanisms in pancreatic cancer

A University of Oklahoma researcher has received a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate how pancreatic cancer uses cholesterol to survive chemotherapy.

6 Aug 2026

AI sleep model reveals health risks missed by standard apnea scores

An AI foundation model extracted hidden physiological patterns from routine polysomnography and identified five patient groups with distinct long-term risks of mortality, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders. The approach outperformed apnea–hypopnea index severity categories for risk stratification and remained informative in an independent sleep cohort.

6 Aug 2026

Wearable sensor technology detects physical patterns linked to mental distress

Researchers have shown that measurements taken from a person's fingertip could help identify physical patterns associated with stress, anxiety and depression.

6 Aug 2026

Live tracking reveals how robotic surgery impacts surgeon stress

Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) is one of the most advanced tools in modern medicine. These systems give surgeons extreme precision, allowing procedures to be performed through small incisions that minimize both pain and recovery time.

6 Aug 2026

Meningococcal B vaccine linked to lower gonorrhoea risk

The meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine could provide protection against more than one disease, with new research linking it to a significant reduction in the risk of gonorrhoea in young Territorians.

6 Aug 2026

Swiss flagship project harnesses AI and sensors for diabetes prevention

Type 2 diabetes generates high healthcare costs in Switzerland and causes significant suffering for those affected.

6 Aug 2026

Advances in DNA technology are reshaping preventive healthcare

A new review highlights how advances in DNA technology are reshaping the future of healthcare by shifting the focus from treatment to prevention.

6 Aug 2026

NEWS2 score may improve antibiotic decisions in suspected sepsis

A study of nearly 100,000 adults treated for suspected infection suggests that the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), a score based on routinely collected vital signs that is widely used to identify patients at risk of clinical deterioration, may help clinicians identify which patients are most likely to benefit from immediate antibiotic treatment and which may safely undergo further evaluation before receiving antibiotics.

6 Aug 2026

Experts call for better trials as IVF preparation techniques show unproven results

Preparation techniques used before embryo transfer, considered the most critical step in the IVF process, show no proven effect on pregnancy rates and remain inconclusive due to limited or low-quality data, a new Cochrane review finds.

6 Aug 2026

Older men’s sexual priorities extend well beyond erectile function

A web-based survey of 6,000 Japanese men aged 50 or older found that sexual arousal was the function they most wanted to preserve, while erection became more highly valued as erectile function worsened. Erection showed the earliest age-related decline pattern, whereas ejaculation was the function most often reported as lost in older age.

6 Aug 2026

GLP-1 drug tirzepatide associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular events

Adding the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro) to standard care for patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease is associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

5 Aug 2026

NIH funds Boston University center for Alzheimer's prevention studies

Maria Glymour, Andrew Stokes, and Deborah Carr will lead the Boston University-Quantitative Population Science and Healthy Cognitive Aging Research Program (BU-SHARP) to foster national research collaboration on preventing and ameliorating the consequences of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in disproportionately affected populations.

5 Aug 2026

ACLM launches first lifestyle medicine evidence repository for healthcare professionals

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has launched the Lifestyle Medicine Evidence Repository, the first centralized, curated collection of scientific research focused specifically on lifestyle medicine interventions.

5 Aug 2026

Hypothyroidism linked to higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea

According to a study conducted in Brazil by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) with participants from the São Paulo Epidemiological Sleep Study (EPISONO 2018), people with hypothyroidism experience a higher frequency and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

5 Aug 2026

New website tracks vaccine preventable diseases across the United States

A new website will track the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases across the United States to offer the public, the media, healthcare providers, public health officials, and policymakers reliable and visual information about current disease trends.

5 Aug 2026

Neuroscience-informed therapy provides massive cost-savings for opioid addiction treatment

A new economic evaluation from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has revealed that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) - an innovative, evidence-based, neuroscience-informed therapy for opioid misuse and chronic pain - provides $12 in cost savings for every dollar spent, between two and six times more cost effective than other addiction treatments such as residential or intensive outpatient treatment.

5 Aug 2026