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Six years after COVID-19: Lessons learned and pandemic preparedness

Six years ago, the Director-General of the World Health Organization sounded the highest global alarm available under international law at the time, declaring the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease (later known as COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

3 Feb 2026

If you’re pregnant and uninsured, Medicaid might be your answer

When she noticed an unusual craving for hot dogs, Matte'a Brooks suspected her body was telling her something, so she decided to take a pregnancy test. She took two just to be sure. Both were positive.

3 Feb 2026

New guidance on diagnosing UTIs without an in-person exam

Researchers developed criteria for triaging suspected UTIs, focusing on antibiotic use and urine testing to improve outpatient care and telehealth efficiency.

3 Feb 2026

How conflicting MIC breakpoints distort antimicrobial resistance data

The review emphasizes that differing CLSI and EUCAST breakpoints complicate AMR tracking, calling for standardized criteria to enhance global health security.

3 Feb 2026

Aging alters social preferences through distinct brain mechanisms

The loss of social connectedness as people age increases the odds of cognitive-related disorders and can worsen health outcomes in older populations. But is there a direct relationship between social behavior and cognition? Subhadeep Dutta Gupta, Peter Rapp, and colleagues, from the National Institute on Aging, developed a rat model to probe social cognition in the aging brain.

2 Feb 2026

Hopeful climate engagement may reduce mental health distress

Climate worry is associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms among Finns of all ages. However, these symptoms are less common among individuals whose climate-related hope is combined with various forms of action, such as volunteering, following a plant‑based diet or avoiding air travel.

2 Feb 2026

One-third of adolescents report aggression toward parents

Physical aggression by young people toward their parents occurs quite frequently – yet the subject remains taboo.

2 Feb 2026

Study tests digital energy management tool for Long COVID

The first study to test a digital tool designed to help people with Long COVID manage their energy levels has been developed by a team of researchers.

2 Feb 2026

Most commercially insured patients live with chronic conditions

The majority (57.5 percent) of commercially insured patients had at least one chronic condition in 2024. The average allowed amount for a patient with no chronic conditions was $1,590, while the average allowed amount for a patient with one chronic condition was nearly double ($3,039).

2 Feb 2026

New liquid biopsy detects early cancers through epigenetic instability

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a novel liquid biopsy approach to identify early-stage cancers by measuring the random variation in DNA methylation patterns, rather than the absolute level of those patterns as in other liquid biopsies.

2 Feb 2026

Study finds five distinct human sleep chronotypes

The familiar labels "night owl" and "early bird," long used in sleep research, don't fully capture the diversity of human internal clocks, a new study has found.

2 Feb 2026

Aging brains struggle to recycle synaptic proteins

As we age, we begin to lose the connections that wire up our brains-and neuroscientists aren't sure why.

2 Feb 2026

Diabetes drug use linked to fewer gout treatments

Natalie McCormick, PhD, of the Rheumatology and Allergy Clinical Epidemiology Research (RACER) Center within the Division of Rheumatology in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine, is the lead author of a paper published in Diabetes Care, "Gout-Related Medication Use After Initiating Sodium–Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Patients With Gout and Type 2 Diabetes: Population-Based Target Trial Emulation Studies."

2 Feb 2026

Mouse study reveals mechanism driving first night insomnia

You check into a hotel and toss and turn all night, but your sleep improves the following night. Scientists at Nagoya University wanted to understand why this happens.

2 Feb 2026

Clinical trial launched to test experimental intranasal spray against respiratory viruses

Last year, at least one million people in the U.S. were hospitalized for respiratory virus illnesses like the flu or COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 Feb 2026

Novel RNA molecule may influence patient survival in certain blood cancers

In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) identify a novel RNA molecule that plays a crucial role in preserving the integrity of a key cellular structure, nucleolus (a dense region of the cell containing a subset of crucial genetic material).

2 Feb 2026

Large gaps exist between Medicaid enrollment and actual care

Almost one-third of physicians who are enrolled in Medicaid don't actually care for a single patient covered by Medicaid insurance, according to new research led by Oregon Health & Science University.

2 Feb 2026

Miniaturized ultrasound system may enable earlier detection of breast cancer

For people who are at high risk of developing breast cancer, frequent screenings with ultrasound can help detect tumors early. MIT researchers have now developed a miniaturized ultrasound system that could make it easier for breast ultrasounds to be performed more often, either at home or at a doctor's office.

2 Feb 2026

Study provides insights into key factors driving PFAS body burdens in firefighters

A new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has identified clear occupational factors and demographic indicators associated with elevated serum levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances among U.S. career firefighters.

2 Feb 2026

Exploring how prenatal alcohol and stress affect rhesus monkey offspring in adulthood

New in JNeurosci, Mary Schneider and Alexander Converse, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led an interdisciplinary study to explore how prenatal alcohol and stress exposure affect rhesus monkey offspring in adulthood.

2 Feb 2026