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Study finds more than half of mapped US parks lie near toxic chemical-reporting facilities

A nationwide geospatial analysis of 151,366 publicly accessible parks found that 52.6% lay within two miles of at least one industrial facility reporting toxic chemical management to the EPA, while 17.7% had parkland within two miles of a current or former Superfund site. The study mapped proximity rather than contamination or exposure, highlighting locations where targeted environmental assessment and healthier urban planning may be warranted.

9 Aug 2026

Explainable AI helps predict dangerous bleeding after severe heart attacks

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have developed and tested a six-point scoring system that can help identify patients at high risk of internal bleeding in damaged heart muscle after a severe heart attack using explainable artificial intelligence (XAI).

9 Aug 2026

Study identifies barriers to equitable pediatric cancer trial participation

While Black and Hispanic families are enthusiastic about research participation, other provider- and systems-focused factors may influence their involvement in pediatric oncology clinical trials, a UT Southwestern Medical Center-led study has found.

9 Aug 2026

Integrated nanomaterials offer new strategies for cancer immunotherapy

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines and cellular therapies have reshaped oncology, yet most patients still do not achieve lasting benefit.

9 Aug 2026

Single-use endoscope aims to improve gastric cancer screening

Gastric cancer screening in Japan still relies heavily on double-contrast X-ray imaging, commonly known as the barium test.

9 Aug 2026

PRDM16 regulates the balance between proliferation and maturation in human cardiomyocytes

Understanding how heart muscle cells stop dividing and acquire the characteristics needed to sustain lifelong cardiac function remains one of the greatest challenges in cardiovascular biology.

7 Aug 2026

New USC center seeks answers to sex differences in aging

Women live longer than men in nearly every country in the world, yet they experience higher rates of disability, dementia and many other age-related conditions.

7 Aug 2026

Machine learning predicts pathogen risks in drinking water sources

Safe drinking water depends not only on treatment, but also on knowing when harmful microorganisms may be present in source waters.

7 Aug 2026

Silencing prefrontal cortex helps mice adopt better strategies

The prefrontal cortex, a brain region long associated with learning more flexible behaviors, can sometimes block the ability to think outside the box, a new study in mice shows.

7 Aug 2026

Targeting small group of brain cells may reduce opioid addiction risk

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are investigating how to keep opioids' pain-relieving benefits while reducing their addictive potential. In a study published in Nature, they report a step toward that goal.

7 Aug 2026

New vaccine strategy targets overlooked regions of malaria parasite

Malaria kills more than half a million people a year, most of them young children in Africa. Two vaccines are now recommended by the World Health Organization, RTS,S and R21.

7 Aug 2026

Study uncovers molecular trigger behind pyrin inflammation in familial Mediterranean fever

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease in which the body's own immune system overreacts to minimal or inappropriate stimuli, producing recurrent attacks of fever and painful inflammation.

7 Aug 2026

Thinning cancer cells' sugar coating could expose tumors to immune attack

Like spies evading detection through being masters of disguise, many cancer cells are adorned with a copious coat of sugar-derived molecules that throws the proverbial hounds of our immune systems off the scent.

7 Aug 2026

Using AI to improve precision of visual cortical prostheses

Researchers from three institutions, including UC Santa Barbara, have demonstrated that artificial intelligence has the potential to make future visual prostheses, like a bionic eye, more precise, predictable and responsive to an individual user.

7 Aug 2026

Two-gene interaction reveals metastatic risk in breast cancer

Why do some breast cancer patients face a much higher risk of distant metastasis, while others with seemingly similar disease experience far better outcomes?

7 Aug 2026

Combination therapy overcomes ferroptosis resistance in β-catenin-mutant hepatocellular carcinoma

The aberrant activation of the mTOR pathway and its crosstalk with other signaling cascades represent key drivers of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. mTOR-mediated ferroptosis suppression has been implicated in HCC resistance to chemotherapy.

7 Aug 2026

Human skin chemistry shapes species-specific mosquito attraction patterns

There is no such thing as a universal mosquito magnet. In a new study published in iScience, Florida International University (FIU) researchers pitted 119 human volunteers against three of the world's most dangerous mosquito species and found that not one person was attractive to all three.

7 Aug 2026

Artificial intelligence may enhance implementation of health policy

Complex healthcare policies are often challenging to implement. That's a reality states across the country will deal with as new Medicaid work requirements get rolled out next year.

7 Aug 2026

New computer model connects brain chemistry to neural activity patterns

Researchers have developed a computer model of the human cortex that links its microscopic chemistry to its brain-wide patterns of activity, providing new evidence that regional differences in receptor density help shape how activity and information move across the brain.

7 Aug 2026

Growth hormone therapy improves height after childhood stem cell transplants

Growth impairment is a common late effect of childhood stem cell transplantation. A Japan-wide study found that growth hormone therapy improves adult height, but prior radiation therapy and transplant-related complications negatively affect how much children benefit.

7 Aug 2026