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States change custody laws to keep children of detained immigrants out of foster care

As immigration authorities carry out what President Donald Trump has promised will be the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, several states are passing laws to keep children out of foster care when their detained parents have no family or friends available to take temporary custody of them.

14 Apr 2026

A new model to break the cycle of chronic nightmares in children

The DARC-NESS model targets chronic nightmares in youth, promoting confidence and coping strategies to restore healthy sleep patterns and mental well-being.

14 Apr 2026

Very high prenatal PFAS exposure increases childhood asthma risk

High prenatal exposure to PFAS linked to increased childhood asthma risk, highlighting concerns over 'forever chemicals' and early-life environmental impacts.

14 Apr 2026

Microplastics lab studies may fail to reflect real-world exposure

Microplastics pose health risks, but lab studies often fail to reflect real-world exposure, highlighting critical gaps in toxicological research methodologies.

14 Apr 2026

Study finds top AI models still struggle with clinical reasoning

Researchers tested 21 frontier large language models on 29 stepwise MSD Manual clinical vignettes and found that, although many models performed well on final diagnosis, they remained much weaker at differential diagnosis and diagnostic testing. They also introduced the PrIME-LLM score, a multidimensional benchmark designed to better capture balanced clinical reasoning across the full workflow rather than raw accuracy alone.

14 Apr 2026

Study warns of rising teen dependency on AI companions

It's estimated that more than half of all of U.S. teens are regularly using companion chatbots powered by large language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

13 Apr 2026

New method boosts AI-driven protein engineering with massive data

Protein engineering is a field primed for artificial intelligence research. Each protein is made up of amino acids; to optimize a protein function, researchers modify proteins by switching out one of 20 different amino acids for another.

13 Apr 2026

Generative AI falls short in diagnostic reasoning despite accuracy

Despite increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, a new study led by Mass General Brigham researchers from the MESH Incubator shows that generative AI models continue to fall short at their clinical reasoning capabilities.

13 Apr 2026

Categorization is fundamental and predictive across all brain processing

Challenging the classic view, two cognitive scientists argue in a new review that categorization is not a late, specialized stage of sensory processing.

13 Apr 2026

Alzheimer's risk gene APOE4 impacts bone health in females

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, along with collaborators at UC San Francisco, have discovered that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, causes bone quality deficits specifically in female mice, through a mechanism that is invisible to standard imaging and can emerge as early as midlife.

13 Apr 2026

Prenatal opioid exposure shows minimal effect on later academic performance

Every 25 minutes in the United States, a baby is diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a condition that occurs in newborns who have been exposed to opioids in the womb and develop withdrawal after birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

13 Apr 2026

Supportive neighborhoods linked to slower cognitive decline in older immigrants

Older Chinese immigrants living in neighborhoods with greater access to community amenities, services and supportive infrastructure experienced slower cognitive decline over time, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

13 Apr 2026

Postpartum Medicaid expansion improved coverage but showed limited care changes

The federal policy requiring states to keep Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic extended postpartum Medicaid coverage nationwide and sharply increased the number of individuals remaining insured after childbirth, according to a Rutgers Health researcher.

13 Apr 2026

Prostate cancer patients recover faster with TULSA than robotic surgery

A new randomized clinical trial found that men with localized, intermediate‑risk prostate cancer recovered faster and experienced less short‑term impact on their daily lives when treated with MRI‑guided, transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) compared with robotic prostate surgery.

13 Apr 2026

Vaping may raise cognitive impairment risk in young adults, study finds

A cross-sectional study of 232 young adults in Bangkok found that e-cigarette users were more likely than non-smokers to screen as at risk for cognitive impairment on the MoCA, while no significant differences were seen for ADHD symptom tendency or emotional intelligence. The authors say the findings raise neurocognitive concerns but do not prove causation, and they call for longitudinal research to clarify whether vaping contributes to later cognitive decline.

13 Apr 2026

Beetroot supplement raises nitric oxide markers in triathletes after one week

A randomized cross-over pilot study in 10 amateur male triathletes found that a beetroot-based multi-ingredient nitrate supplement increased nitric oxide-related and redox biomarkers over 7 days without evidence of lipid oxidative damage. The supplement was generally well tolerated, but the study did not measure whether these biochemical changes improved performance or recovery.

13 Apr 2026

Study shows why an apple a day may work differently for different people

A 12-week single-blind trial in 38 Japanese adults found that daily Fuji apple intake did not significantly change overall host metabolic markers, but responses differed by baseline gut enterotype. Participants in the Bacteroidaceae-dominant enterotype showed significant increases in fecal short-chain fatty acids after apple consumption, suggesting that gut microbiota structure may shape functional dietary responses.

13 Apr 2026

Parents’ intake of sugar substitutes may influence offspring gut biology, study finds

A mouse study in Frontiers in Nutrition found that parental sucralose and stevia intake altered gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, and gene expression across generations, with sucralose showing the stronger and more persistent effects. The changes were transmitted to offspring not directly exposed to the sweeteners, although several effects were attenuated by the F2 generation.

13 Apr 2026

Scientists use whole exome sequencing to discover a new rare genetic disease

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and an international team of collaborators used a genetic sequencing technique called whole exome sequencing to discover a new rare genetic disease.

13 Apr 2026

Targeted therapy treats mixed histiocytosis following multiple skull relapses

Mixed histiocytosis (Langerhans cell histiocytosis [LCH] / Erdheim-Chester disease [ECD]) developing after treatment for initial skull LCH is not well recognized.

13 Apr 2026