Top Health News

December 21, 2025

Top Headlines

Deaths of Despair Were Rising Long Before Opioids

Dec. 20, 2025 Long before opioids flooded communities, something else was quietly changing—and it may have helped set the stage for today’s crisis. A new study finds that as church attendance dropped among middle-aged, less educated white Americans, deaths ...

Sugar-free Sweeteners May Still Be Harming Your Liver

Dec. 20, 2025 Sorbitol, a popular sugar-free sweetener, may not be as harmless as its label suggests. Researchers found it can be turned into fructose in the liver, triggering effects similar to regular sugar. Gut bacteria can neutralize some of it—but too much ...

Scientists Found a New Way to Slow Aging Inside Cells

Dec. 19, 2025 A small tweak to mitochondrial energy production led to big gains in health and longevity. Mice engineered to boost a protein that helps mitochondria work more efficiently lived longer and showed better metabolism, stronger muscles, and healthier ...

Neurons Aren’t Supposed to Regrow but These Ones Brought Back Vision

Dec. 19, 2025 After injury, the visual system can recover by growing new neural connections rather than replacing lost cells. Researchers found that surviving eye cells formed extra branches that restored communication with the brain. These new pathways worked ...

A Hidden T Cell Switch Could Make Cancer Immunotherapy Work for More People

Dec. 18, 2025 Scientists have discovered that T cell receptors activate through a hidden spring-like motion that had never been seen before. This breakthrough may help explain why immunotherapy works for some cancers and how it could be improved for ...

He Ate a Hamburger and Died Hours Later. Doctors Found a Shocking Cause

Dec. 17, 2025 A rare tick-borne allergy linked to red meat has now been confirmed as deadly for the first time. A healthy New Jersey man collapsed and died hours after eating beef, with later testing revealing a severe allergic reaction tied to alpha-gal, a sugar ...

A New Test Could Reveal Alzheimer’s Before Symptoms Appear

Dec. 17, 2025 Scientists at Northern Arizona University are developing a promising new way to detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier than ever before—by tracking how the brain uses sugar. Using tiny particles in the blood called microvesicles, researchers may ...

Anxiety and Insomnia Linked to Sharp Drops in Key Immune Cells

Dec. 15, 2025 Natural killer cells act as the immune system’s rapid-response team, but the stress of anxiety and insomnia may be quietly thinning their ranks. A study of young women in Saudi Arabia found that both conditions were linked to significantly fewer ...

Harvard Gut Discovery Could Change How We Treat Obesity and Diabetes

Dec. 14, 2025 Scientists found that certain molecules made by gut bacteria travel to the liver and help control how the body uses energy. These molecules change depending on diet, genetics, and shifts in the microbiome. Some even improved insulin response in ...

Natural Compound Supercharges Treatment for Aggressive Leukemia

Dec. 14, 2025 Forskolin, a plant-derived compound, shows surprising potential against one of the most aggressive forms of leukemia. Researchers discovered that it not only stops cancer cells from growing but also makes them far more vulnerable to chemotherapy by ...

Kids’ Anxiety and Depression Dropped Fast After COVID School Reopenings

Dec. 13, 2025 Researchers discovered that children who went back to school during COVID experienced far fewer mental health diagnoses than those who stayed remote. Anxiety, depression, and ADHD all declined as in-person learning resumed. Healthcare spending tied ...

Stressed Rats Keep Returning to Cannabis and Scientists Know Why

Dec. 11, 2025 Rats with naturally high stress levels were far more likely to self-administer cannabis when given access. Behavioral testing showed that baseline stress hormones were the strongest predictor of cannabis-seeking behavior. Lower cognitive flexibility ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:25am EST

A New Tool Is Revealing the Invisible Networks Inside Cancer

Dec. 21, 2025 Spanish researchers have created a powerful new open-source tool that helps uncover the hidden genetic networks driving cancer. Called RNACOREX, the software can analyze thousands of molecular ...

Is a Vegan Diet Safe for Kids? A Huge Study Has Answers

Dec. 21, 2025 A major new meta-analysis finds that vegetarian and vegan diets can support healthy growth in children when properly planned. Kids on plant-based diets often had better heart health markers, ...

An 11-Year-Old Needed Two New Organs and Doctors Made History

Dec. 19, 2025 In a rare and historic achievement, Children’s Hospital Colorado successfully completed its first dual heart and liver transplant in a pediatric patient. The life-saving surgery was performed on ...

Helping Others for a Few Hours a Week May Slow Brain Aging

Dec. 19, 2025 Spending a few hours a week helping others may slow the aging of the brain. Researchers found that both formal volunteering and informal acts, like helping neighbors or relatives, were linked to ...

The Gear Meant to Protect Firefighters May Carry Hidden Dangers

Dec. 18, 2025 Firefighter turnout gear is designed to shield first responders from extreme heat and danger, but new research suggests it may also introduce chemical exposures. A U.S. study found that brominated ...

Young Adults Are Using Cannabis to Sleep at Alarming Rates

Dec. 18, 2025 More than 20% of young adults say they use cannabis or alcohol to fall asleep, with cannabis leading by a wide margin. Researchers warn this strategy can backfire, disrupting sleep quality and ...

This Tiny Protein Helps Control How Hungry You Feel

Dec. 17, 2025 Researchers have identified a previously overlooked protein that helps regulate appetite and energy use in the body. This “helper” protein supports a key system that decides whether the body ...

Scientists Rewired Down Syndrome Brain Circuits by Restoring a Missing Molecule

Dec. 17, 2025 A missing brain molecule may be disrupting neural wiring in Down syndrome, according to new research. Replacing it in adult mice rewired brain ...

New Study Reveals How Kimchi Boosts the Immune System

Dec. 17, 2025 Kimchi may do far more than add flavor to meals—it could help fine-tune the human immune system. A clinical study using advanced single-cell genetic analysis found that regular kimchi consumption ...

Scientists Reveal Why Some Brains Stop Growing Too Soon

Dec. 17, 2025 Researchers used miniature human brains grown in the lab to uncover why certain genetic mutations lead to abnormally small brains. Changes in actin disrupted the orientation of early brain cell ...

Science Says We’ve Been Nurturing “gifted” Kids All Wrong

Dec. 21, 2025 A major international review has upended long-held ideas about how top performers are made. By analyzing nearly 35,000 elite achievers across science, music, chess, and sports, researchers found that ...

The 98% Mystery: Scientists Just Cracked the Code on “junk DNA” Linked to Alzheimer’s

Dec. 19, 2025 Researchers have revealed that so-called “junk DNA” contains powerful switches that help control brain cells linked to Alzheimer’s disease. By experimentally testing nearly 1,000 DNA switches ...

AI Detects Cancer but It’s Also Reading Who You Are

Dec. 17, 2025 AI tools designed to diagnose cancer from tissue samples are quietly learning more than just disease patterns. New research shows these systems can infer patient demographics from pathology slides, ...

AI Learns to Decode the Diseases Written in Your DNA

Dec. 16, 2025 A newly developed AI can predict which diseases specific genetic mutations are likely to cause, not just whether they are harmful. The breakthrough could speed up diagnoses and open new paths for ...

AI Found a Way to Stop a Virus Before It Enters Cells

Dec. 15, 2025 Researchers discovered a hidden molecular “switch” that herpes viruses rely on to invade cells. By combining AI, simulations, and lab experiments, they identified and altered a single amino acid ...

Cannabis Compounds Show Unexpected Power Against Ovarian Cancer

Dec. 15, 2025 Scientists have discovered that key compounds from cannabis—CBD and THC—show surprisingly strong effects against ovarian cancer cells. Used together, they slow cell growth, reduce colony ...

Glowing Neurons Let Scientists Watch the Brain Work in Real Time

Dec. 19, 2025 A new bioluminescent tool allows neurons to glow on their own, letting scientists track brain activity without harmful lasers or fading signals. The advance makes it possible to watch individual ...

Indoor Tanning Triples Melanoma Risk and Seeds Broad DNA Mutations

Dec. 15, 2025 Researchers discovered that tanning beds cause widespread, mutation-laden DNA damage across almost all skin, explaining the sharply increased melanoma risk. Single-cell genomic analysis revealed ...

Stem Cell Pain Sponge Soaks Up Osteoarthritis Joint Pain and Protects Cartilage

Dec. 15, 2025 SereNeuro Therapeutics revealed promising results for SN101, a first-in-class iPSC-derived therapy designed to treat chronic osteoarthritis pain while protecting joint tissue. Instead of blocking ...

Even Moderate Drinking Carries a Bigger Cancer Risk Than You Think

Dec. 11, 2025 Researchers found that both how often and how much someone drinks significantly shape their cancer risk, even at moderate levels. Vulnerability varies across groups, with genetics, socioeconomic ...

Scientists Find the Missing Links Between Genes and Disease

Dec. 16, 2025 A new genetic mapping strategy reveals how entire networks of genes work together to cause disease, filling in the missing links left by traditional genetic studies. The technique could transform how ...

Researchers Identify Viral Suspects That Could Be Fueling Long COVID

Dec. 14, 2025 Scientists are uncovering a new possibility behind long COVID’s stubborn symptoms: hidden infections that awaken or emerge alongside SARS-CoV-2. Evidence is mounting that viruses like Epstein-Barr ...

Ozempic May Offer a Surprising Bonus Benefit for Brain Health

Dec. 13, 2025 A new analysis suggests that people with type 2 diabetes who use GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Trulicity or Victoza may be less likely to develop epilepsy than those taking DPP-4 inhibitors. ...

Tea May Strengthen Bones in Older Women While Heavy Coffee Weakens Them

Dec. 13, 2025 A decade-long study of older women found that tea drinkers had slightly stronger bones, while moderate coffee drinking caused no harm. Heavy coffee intake—over five cups a day—was linked to lower ...

AI Finds a Surprising Monkeypox Weak Spot That Could Rewrite Vaccines

Dec. 12, 2025 Researchers used AI to pinpoint a little-known monkeypox protein that provokes strong protective antibodies. When the team tested this protein as a vaccine ingredient in mice, it produced a potent ...

New Discovery Offers Real Hope for Rare Genetic Disease

Dec. 12, 2025 Scientists discovered that certain gene changes allow cells to function even when frataxin, the protein lost in Friedreich’s ataxia, is missing. Experiments in worms, human cells, and mice revealed ...

Scientists Find Dark Chocolate Ingredient That Slows Aging

Dec. 12, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between dark chocolate and slower aging. A natural cocoa compound called theobromine was found in higher levels among people who appeared biologically ...

This 15 Minute Hepatitis C Test Could Change Everything

Dec. 11, 2025 Northwestern scientists have created the fastest-ever hepatitis C diagnostic, delivering accurate results in only 15 minutes. The test uses the DASH rapid PCR system, originally developed for COVID, ...

The Brain Switch That Could Rewrite How We Treat Mental Illness

Dec. 13, 2025 Scientists exploring how the brain responds to stress discovered molecular changes that can influence behavior long after an experience ends. They also identified natural resilience systems that help ...

New Research Reveals How Everyday Cues Secretly Shape Your Habits

Dec. 10, 2025 Researchers uncovered how shifting levels of a brain protein called KCC2 can reshape the way cues become linked with rewards, sometimes making habits form more quickly or more powerfully than ...