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Global snakebite burden may be far higher than previously estimated

Venomous snake bites can cause illness, disability and death in tropical and subtropical regions. A study published on August 25th in PLOS Medicine by Dileepa Ediriweera and Anuradhani Kasturuiratne at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK, and the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and colleagues suggests that the incidence of snake envenoming and snakebite mortality is much higher than previously estimated.

25 Aug 2026

Emergency diagnoses of medical conditions predict worse patient survival

Patients diagnosed with conditions after an emergency hospital admission or an emergency room visit face a higher risk of death than those diagnosed in non-emergency settings, according to a large population-based study by Emma Whitfield and colleagues from University College London, UK, published August 25th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.

25 Aug 2026

Diabetes study reveals differing health risks for men and women

In the years following type 2 diabetes diagnosis, women are more likely to develop mental health conditions, while men are more likely to develop cardiovascular and renal complications, according to a study published August 25th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Fabiola Eto from Queen Mary University of London, UK, and colleagues.

25 Aug 2026

Anti-immigrant policies linked to rising HIV cases among Hispanic populations

Following the Trump administration's 2018 announcement of changes to the public charge rule that would penalize immigrants for using public benefit programs, antisanctuary counties in the US saw a 16.8-percent increase in HIV cases among Hispanic populations, compared to baseline counties.

25 Aug 2026

Scientists discover how neutrophils travel to infection sites without damaging healthy tissue

UMass Chan Medical School scientist Beth McCormick, PhD, and her team collaborated with researchers at the University of Bath to discover how neutrophils, the body's most abundant type of white blood cells, travel to infection sites without damaging healthy tissue.

25 Aug 2026

NIH grants support research on whether PFAS exposure increases risk of liver and endometrial cancers

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have received two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling $7.5 million to study whether exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the synthetic compounds known as "forever chemicals," increases the risk of liver cancer and endometrial cancer.

25 Aug 2026

SBRT improves bowel health related quality-of-life in patients with localized intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Results of the NRG Oncology NRG-GU005 clinical study comparing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to moderately hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (MH-IMRT) for patients with localized intermediate risk prostate cancer indicate that the use of SBRT improved bowel health related quality of life (HRQOL) in this patient population.

25 Aug 2026

Gene removal makes engineered immune cells more effective against osteosarcoma

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that removing the gene for Regnase-1 from engineered immune cells makes them more effective at treating relapsed osteosarcoma.

25 Aug 2026

Standard memory tests fail to detect post-chemotherapy brain fog

Standard memory tests such as word-pair or list-learning tests used in clinics may fail to detect the real-life memory problems reported by many female breast cancer survivors after chemotherapy.

25 Aug 2026

Consistent meal logging drives major weight loss in app users

The people who log their meals most days of the week lose the most weight. This is the central finding of a peer-reviewed study of 5132 MyNetDiary users, published on August 13, 2026, in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

25 Aug 2026

New molecular pathway explains why eye pressure rises at night

Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes progressive damage to the optic nerve, leading to loss of sight. One major risk factor is an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP), or the pressure inside the eye.

25 Aug 2026

Martha's Vineyard Hospital launches study to better understand alpha-gal syndrome

Martha's Vineyard Hospital, a member of Mass General Brigham, has begun recruiting participants for a research study designed to better understand alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a potentially serious allergic condition associated with lone star tick exposure.

25 Aug 2026

Nigerian COVID-19 response highlights cultural trust in ethnopharmacology

During COVID-19, ethnopharmacology became prominent in Nigeria due to affordability, accessibility, and cultural trust, but evidence for safety and efficacy remains limited.

25 Aug 2026

PAHO/WHO assists Colombia with recovery following major earthquake

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), is providing technical cooperation to Colombian authorities to support the health response following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10.

25 Aug 2026

Researchers find alarming rates of CTE in former football players

In a new study from Mass General Brigham, Boston University (BU), and the Concussion & CTE Foundation, researchers found evidence that at least 1-in-4 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of their death, a much higher prevalence compared to the general population.

25 Aug 2026

The certification illusion: Why safety seals miss hidden chemical hazards

None of the certification programs consumers rely on to find safer personal care products require laboratory testing of the products they certify, according to a new peer-reviewed analysis.

25 Aug 2026

Study finds distinct patterns of innate immune activity in mental disorders

The immune system may also play a role in mental disorders. Scientists are investigating these links with brain function in greater detail, and new findings show that immune changes may differ by disorder type.

25 Aug 2026

Novel blood-based method diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease with high accuracy

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for 60–80% of global dementia cases, with its core pathological feature being the misfolding and aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) proteins in the brain.

25 Aug 2026

New NATO guidelines aim to protect soldiers' brains from blast exposures

Two University of Virginia researchers helped develop new NATO guidelines for protecting soldiers' brains from blast exposures common in military combat and training.

25 Aug 2026

New discovery helps identify colorectal cancer patients at risk for metastasis

Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland and Gustave Roussy Institute in France have discovered a molecular mechanism that regulates whether the cells of an aggressive colorectal cancer are conventional or inverted when they spread in the body.

25 Aug 2026