Researchers analyzing claims from more than 10 million siblings linked first-born status to higher odds of several neurodevelopmental and allergic diagnoses, while second-born status tracked with substance abuse and gastrointestinal conditions. The observational study identified 150 significant birth-order associations across the phenome, but claims data and residual confounding prevent causal conclusions.

4 Aug 2026

NIH funds smartphone platform to improve driving safety for teens

Dr. Jeffrey Keller, Hibernia National Bank/Edward G. Schleider Endowed Chair at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Sara Seifert, president of Minnesota HealthSolutions, have received a new National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award to develop an innovative digital health platform that will help parents support teenagers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as they learn to drive.

4 Aug 2026

Complex ophthalmology letters may hinder patient understanding, study suggests

Letters to patients from ophthalmology services--the highest volume outpatient specialty in UK healthcare-include too much complex language and medical terminology which patients are likely to find hard to understand, reveals an analysis of more than 4 million letters from one large hospital trust, published in the open access journal BMJ Health & Care Informatics.

4 Aug 2026

The AI boom in women’s health could reinforce old biases

Authors argue that uncritical AI adoption in women’s health may encode reductive views of sex and gender, expand surveillance, and reproduce existing inequities. They call for greater scrutiny across the AI pipeline, community involvement, and structural change alongside carefully selected technologies.

4 Aug 2026

Breast cancer co-opts the immune system to attract nerves that fuel tumor growth

New research from the University of Oklahoma demonstrates how an aggressive form of breast cancer co-opts the body's own immune system to attract nerves that fuel tumor growth.

4 Aug 2026

Comedy videos help people recognize subtle positive facial expressions

In everyday life, the ability to read facial expressions plays a vital role in social communication, as it reveals a speaker's underlying emotions, intentions, and psychological state.

4 Aug 2026

DNA Script and leading healthcare solutions provider awarded up to $26 M by ARPA-H to advance cell-free DNA bioproduction

DNA Script, a pioneer in DNA synthesis providing scientists with rapid, on-demand access to high-quality DNA, today announced that in collaboration with prime awardee GE HealthCare, they have been awarded up to $26 million in funding for a four-year initiative from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

From DNA Script 4 Aug 2026

Continuous glucose monitors show no proven benefits for healthy people

Continuous glucose monitors are becoming increasingly popular, including among people without diabetes.

4 Aug 2026

Food may taste different on GLP-1 drugs, but taste may not be the reason

The review suggests that patient-reported “taste changes” during GLP-1RA treatment may reflect reduced food enjoyment and motivation rather than consistent impairment of basic taste. The authors propose a sensory-liking-wanting framework while emphasizing that current human evidence remains heterogeneous and largely indirect.

4 Aug 2026

Gestational diabetes cases surge across England, raising health concerns

One in eight mothers in England is now diagnosed with gestational diabetes, with diagnoses rising by 60 per cent in just five years, according to a major study.

3 Aug 2026

'Me-too' drugs drive increased spending through higher prescribing

A long-running debate over prescription drug costs has centered on whether drug manufacturers are better rewarded for truly innovative medicines or so-called "me-too" drugs that may offer only incremental improvements over existing treatments but still command high prices.

3 Aug 2026

First consensus guidelines outline GLP-1 medication use during pregnancy

As the use of GLP-1 and other incretin-based medications for obesity continues to grow worldwide, researchers at Marshall University have contributed to an international effort to address one of medicine's most pressing unanswered questions: How should these medications be used by women before, during and after pregnancy?

3 Aug 2026

Sensitive parenting buffers against child ADHD risks from pregnancy

Research from Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Mental Health Innovation provides new evidence that the way caregivers interact with children when they're very young can protect against the negative effects of inflammation during pregnancy, including increased attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, symptoms in children.

3 Aug 2026