Social Media News and Research

Latest Social Media News and Research

Social media ‘sweet spot’ for Aussie teens

YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat – they’re just a few of the banned social media sites for Australian teenagers under 16.

25 Apr 2026

Antisense oligonucleotides reverse rare neurodevelopmental disorder in preclinical models

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found they can reverse the effects of HNRNPH2-related neurodevelopmental disorder using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in preclinical models. ASOs are short synthetic nucleic acid strands that target specific messenger RNA.

22 Apr 2026

Global experts highlight new strategies to target human aging

A new meeting report was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 6, 2026, titled "Toward actionable interventions in human aging (12th ARDD meeting, 2025)."

22 Apr 2026

Fitness in midlife extends health span and overall life expectancy

How fit you are in midlife may help determine not just how long you live, but how many of those years are spent in good health, according to a new study published today in the JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology.

22 Apr 2026

AI chatbots give misleading health advice nearly half the time

Widespread inaccuracies in AI chatbot health responses pose public health risks, highlighting the urgent need for better oversight and cleaner training data.

21 Apr 2026

New UWB technique helps pill-sized cameras overcome human body interference

Diagnostic tests for stomach conditions are tough for patients, as many of the most accurate ones involve minor surgical procedures or invasive techniques.

21 Apr 2026

Study finds many UK adults want to avoid ultra-processed foods but cannot define them clearly

A qualitative study of 30 UK adults found that many people see ultra-processed foods as unhealthy but struggle to define them clearly or distinguish them from other processed foods. The findings suggest that clearer communication and food-environment changes, not education alone, may be needed to help people reduce UPF intake.

19 Apr 2026

Yeast model reveals mechanisms behind premature aging from progerin

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 3, 2026, titled "Modeling premature aging in yeast via the expression of Progerin."

17 Apr 2026

Your new therapist: Chatty, leaky, and hardly human

Vince Lahey of Carefree, Arizona, embraces chatbots. From Big Tech products to "shady" ones, they offer "someone that I could share more secrets with than my therapist."

17 Apr 2026

Psychedelic use is associated with major life changes across 10 domains

Researchers created a new questionnaire to measure major life changes linked to psychedelic use and found that most surveyed adults reporting naturalistic psychedelic use said psychedelics had influenced at least one major change in their lives. These changes most often involved goals, values, and spirituality, were usually rated positively, and were more commonly reported by people with more frequent use.

16 Apr 2026

New lab-grown organoids accurately mimic pediatric brain tumor biology

Efforts to identify and evaluate next-generation therapeutics for pediatric brain tumors are easily stymied by the quality and availability of laboratory models for research. To address this issue, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital developed patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor organoid xenografts that accurately reflect the biologic underpinnings of embryonal brain tumors.

16 Apr 2026

Popular chatbots often provide inaccurate and incomplete medical information

A substantial amount of medical information provided by 5 popular chatbots is inaccurate and incomplete, with half of the answers to clear evidence based questions "somewhat" or "highly" problematic, show the results of a study published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

15 Apr 2026

Pennsylvania town faces fallout from Trump's environmental rule rollback

North America's largest coke plant hugs the west bank of Pennsylvania's Monongahela River, belching out emissions from turning superheated coal into a carbon-rich fuel.

13 Apr 2026

1 in 10 health ad dollars go to sites spreading misinformation

Advertising on health misinformation websites reached $336.4 million, with $35.7 million from public health entities, threatening credibility in health info.

13 Apr 2026

Dietitians report widely different strategies for FODMAP food reintroduction in IBS

A national survey of 145 registered dietitians found wide variation in how the low FODMAP diet’s reintroduction phase is delivered, especially in dosing, timing, sequencing, and follow-up. The findings suggest that clearer, evidence-based protocols could improve consistency while still allowing individualized care.

12 Apr 2026

Man steps forward to donate kidney to unknown teen

Tim Fitzpatrick was at home on Long Island when he saw a local news story about a 13-year-old boy in need of a kidney transplant.

11 Apr 2026

AI analyzes Reddit posts to find underreported GLP-1 side effects

By using AI to analyze more than 400,000 Reddit posts, Penn researchers have identified patient-reported symptoms associated with GLP-1s, the popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide, that may not be fully captured in clinical trials or regulatory documents.

10 Apr 2026