Health & Medicine News

February 4, 2026

Top Headlines

Why Heart Disease Risk in Type 2 Diabetes Looks Different for Men and Women

Feb. 4, 2026 Scientists are digging into why heart disease risk in type 2 diabetes differs between men and women—and sex hormones may be part of the story. In a large Johns Hopkins study, men with higher testosterone had lower heart disease risk, while rising ...

Sound Machines Might Be Making Your Sleep Worse

Feb. 4, 2026 Sound machines may not be the sleep saviors many believe. Researchers found that pink noise significantly reduced REM sleep, while simple earplugs did a better job protecting deep, restorative sleep from traffic noise. When pink noise was combined ...

A Hidden Cellular Process May Drive Aging and Disease

Feb. 4, 2026 As we age, our cells don’t just wear down—they reorganize. Researchers found that cells actively remodel a key structure called the endoplasmic reticulum, reducing protein-producing regions while preserving fat-related ones. This process, driven ...

This Unexpected Plant Discovery Could Change How Drugs Are Made

Feb. 3, 2026 Plants make chemical weapons to protect themselves, and many of these compounds have become vital to human medicine. Researchers found that one powerful plant chemical is produced using a gene that looks surprisingly bacterial. This suggests plants ...

Scientists Discover Protein That Could Heal Leaky Gut and Ease Depression

Feb. 2, 2026 Chronic stress can damage the gut’s protective lining, triggering inflammation that may worsen depression. New research shows that stress lowers levels of a protein called Reelin, which plays a key role in both gut repair and brain health. ...

Scientists Warn: This “Miracle Cure” Works Only by Damaging Human Cells

Feb. 2, 2026 MMS has long been promoted as a miracle cure, but new research shows it’s essentially a toxic disinfectant. While it can kill bacteria, it only works at levels that also damage human cells and beneficial gut microbes. Scientists warn that homemade ...

A Silent Brain Disease Can Quadruple Dementia Risk

Feb. 1, 2026 Researchers studying nearly 2 million older adults found that cerebral amyloid angiopathy sharply raises the risk of developing dementia. Within five years, people with the condition were far more likely to be diagnosed than those without it. The ...

Alzheimer’s Scrambles Memories While the Brain Rests

Feb. 1, 2026 When the brain rests, it usually replays recent experiences to strengthen memory. Scientists found that in Alzheimer’s-like mice, this replay still occurs — but the signals are jumbled and poorly coordinated. As a result, memory-supporting brain ...

Middle Age Is Becoming a Breaking Point in the U.S.

Feb. 1, 2026 Middle age is becoming a tougher chapter for many Americans, especially those born in the 1960s and early 1970s. Compared with earlier generations, they report more loneliness and depression, along with weaker physical strength and declining memory. ...

Scientists Discover How to Turn Gut Bacteria Into Anti-aging Factories

Feb. 1, 2026 Researchers found that small doses of an antibiotic can coax gut bacteria into producing a life-extending compound. In worms, this led to longer lifespans, while mice showed healthier cholesterol and insulin changes. Because the drug stays in the ...

A Hidden Bat Virus Is Infecting Humans

Feb. 1, 2026 Researchers in Bangladesh have identified a bat-borne virus, Pteropine orthoreovirus, in patients who were initially suspected of having Nipah virus but tested negative. All had recently consumed raw date-palm sap, a known pathway for bat-related ...

Scientists Finally Explain Statin Muscle Pain

Jan. 31, 2026 Statins are a cornerstone of heart health, but muscle pain and weakness cause many patients to quit taking them. Scientists have now identified the precise molecular trigger behind these side effects. They found that statins jam open a critical ...

Latest Headlines

updated 7:45am EST

A Quiet Change in Everyday Foods Could Save Thousands of Lives

Jan. 31, 2026 Lowering salt in everyday foods could quietly save lives. Researchers found that modest sodium reductions in bread, packaged foods, and takeout meals could significantly reduce heart disease and ...

Late Bedtimes Are Linked to Higher Heart Disease Risk

Jan. 30, 2026 People who naturally stay up late may be putting their hearts under added strain as they age. A large study tracking more than 300,000 adults found that middle-aged and older night owls had poorer ...

The Early Turning Point When Men’s Heart Risk Accelerates

Jan. 30, 2026 Men start developing heart disease earlier than women, with risks rising faster beginning around age 35, according to long-term research. The difference is driven mainly by coronary heart disease, ...

Breakthrough Sepsis Drug Shows Promise in Human Trial

Jan. 30, 2026 A new drug developed by Australian researchers has shown promising results in reducing sepsis in a Phase II clinical trial involving 180 patients. The carbohydrate-based treatment works by calming a ...

Scientists Find Hidden Pathways Pancreatic Cancer Uses to Spread

Jan. 30, 2026 Researchers have discovered how pancreatic cancer reprograms its surroundings to spread quickly and stealthily. By using a protein called periostin, the tumor remodels nearby tissue and invades ...

A Fish That Ages in Months Reveals How Kidneys Grow Old

Jan. 30, 2026 A fast-aging fish is giving scientists a rare, accelerated look at how kidneys grow old—and how a common drug may slow that process down. Researchers found that SGLT2 inhibitors, widely used to ...

New Scan Spots Heart Disease Years Before Symptoms

Jan. 30, 2026 A new imaging technology called fast-RSOM lets researchers see the smallest blood vessels in the body without invasive procedures. It can detect early dysfunction in these vessels — a quiet warning ...

A 20-Year-Old Cancer Vaccine May Hold the Key to Long-Term Survival

Jan. 30, 2026 Two decades after a breast cancer vaccine trial, every participant is still alive—an astonishing result for metastatic disease. Scientists found their immune systems retained long-lasting memory ...

A Trojan Horse Cancer Therapy Shows Stunning Results

Jan. 30, 2026 Scientists at Mount Sinai have unveiled a bold new way to fight metastatic cancer by turning the tumor’s own defenses against it. Instead of attacking cancer cells head-on, the experimental ...

Dermatologists Say Collagen Supplements Aren’t the Skin Fix People Expect

Jan. 29, 2026 Collagen pills sound like a shortcut to younger skin, but solid evidence doesn’t back them up. Higher-quality studies show little benefit, and your body doesn’t absorb collagen in the way ads ...

A Simple Blood Test Could Spot Parkinson’s Years Before Symptoms

Jan. 29, 2026 Scientists in Sweden and Norway have uncovered a promising way to spot Parkinson’s disease years—possibly decades—before its most damaging symptoms appear. By detecting subtle biological ...

The Hidden Reason Cancer Immunotherapy Often Fails

Jan. 28, 2026 Cancer immunotherapy has been a game-changer, but many tumors still find ways to slip past the immune system. New research reveals a hidden trick: cancer cells can package the immune-blocking protein ...

Why Long COVID Brain Fog Seems So Much Worse in the U.S.

Jan. 28, 2026 A massive international study of more than 3,100 long COVID patients uncovered a striking divide in how brain-related symptoms are reported around the world. In the U.S., the vast majority of ...

The Fat You Can’t See Could Be Shrinking Your Brain

Jan. 28, 2026 Where your body stores fat may matter just as much as how much you carry—especially for your brain. Using advanced MRI scans and data from nearly 26,000 people, researchers identified two ...

New Review Finds Wild Blueberries Support Heart and Gut Health

Jan. 27, 2026 A sweeping scientific review highlights wild blueberries as a standout food for cardiometabolic health. The strongest evidence shows improvements in blood vessel function, with encouraging signs for ...

A Common Parasite in the Brain Is Far More Active Than We Thought

Jan. 27, 2026 A common parasite long thought to lie dormant is actually much more active and complex. Researchers found that Toxoplasma gondii cysts contain multiple parasite subtypes, not just one sleeping form. ...

Helping With Grandkids May Slow Cognitive Decline

Jan. 29, 2026 Helping care for grandchildren may offer an unexpected boost to brain health later in life. Researchers found that grandparents who provided childcare scored higher on memory and verbal skills than ...

Long-Term Alcohol Use Linked to a Sharp Rise in Rectal Cancer

Jan. 29, 2026 Drinking heavily over many years is linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer, especially rectal cancer, according to new research tracking U.S. adults for two decades. People who drank heavily ...

Your Fireplace May Be Doing More Harm Than You Think

Jan. 26, 2026 Home fireplaces and wood stoves are quietly driving a large share of winter air pollution, even though only a small number of households rely on wood heat. Researchers found that wood smoke accounts ...

Obesity and High Blood Pressure May Directly Cause Dementia

Jan. 26, 2026 A new genetic study suggests that obesity and high blood pressure may play a direct role in causing dementia, not just increasing the risk. By analyzing data from large populations in Denmark and the ...

Why Chronic Gut Inflammation Can Turn Into Colon Cancer

Jan. 25, 2026 A newly uncovered immune chain reaction in the gut may explain why people with inflammatory bowel disease face a much higher risk of colorectal cancer. Researchers found that a powerful inflammatory ...

A Lost Disease Emerges from 5,500-Year-Old Human Remains

Jan. 26, 2026 A 5,500-year-old skeleton from Colombia has revealed the oldest known genome of the bacterium linked to syphilis and related diseases. The ancient strain doesn’t fit neatly into modern categories, ...

Scientists Just Cracked the Hidden Rules of Cancer Evolution

Jan. 26, 2026 Cancer doesn’t evolve by pure chaos. Scientists have developed a powerful new method that reveals the hidden rules guiding how cancer cells gain and lose whole chromosomes—massive genetic shifts ...

Scientists Exposed How Cancer Hides in Plain Sight

Jan. 24, 2026 Pancreatic cancer may evade the immune system using a clever molecular trick. Researchers found that the cancer-driving protein MYC also suppresses immune alarm signals, allowing tumors to grow ...

Chemotherapy Rewires Gut Bacteria to Block Metastasis

Jan. 23, 2026 Chemotherapy’s gut damage turns out to have a surprising upside. By changing nutrient availability in the intestine, it alters gut bacteria and increases levels of a microbial molecule that travels ...

These Nanoparticles Could Destroy Disease Proteins Behind Dementia and Cancer

Jan. 28, 2026 Researchers have developed smart nanoparticles that can seek out and destroy disease-causing proteins the body can’t normally eliminate. Unlike traditional drugs, these particles can reach ...

The Hidden Health Impact of Growing Up With ADHD Traits

Jan. 24, 2026 A large, decades-long study suggests that signs of ADHD in childhood may have consequences that extend well beyond school and behavior. Researchers followed nearly 11,000 people from childhood into ...

Brain Waves Could Help Paralyzed Patients Move Again

Jan. 24, 2026 People with spinal cord injuries often lose movement even though their brains still send the right signals. Researchers tested whether EEG brain scans could capture those signals and reroute them to ...

A Common Vitamin Could Influence Bathroom Frequency

Jan. 22, 2026 Scientists studying genetic data from over a quarter million people have uncovered new clues about what controls how fast the gut moves. They identified multiple DNA regions linked to bowel movement ...

Finally Explained: Why Kidney Disease Is So Deadly for the Heart

Jan. 20, 2026 Scientists have uncovered why people with chronic kidney disease so often die from heart problems: damaged kidneys release tiny particles into the bloodstream that actively poison the heart. These ...