Sports Medicine News

February 15, 2026

Top Headlines

Scientists Discover Hidden Brain Cells That Help Heal Spinal Cord Injuries

Feb. 13, 2026 Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have uncovered a surprising repair system in the spinal cord that could open new doors for treating paralysis, stroke, and diseases like multiple sclerosis. They found that special support cells called astrocytes—located ...

Scientists Discover Hidden Trigger Behind Achilles Pain and Tennis Elbow

Feb. 12, 2026 A protein called HIF1 may be the missing link behind painful tendon injuries like jumper’s knee and tennis elbow. Researchers showed that high levels of HIF1 actually cause harmful changes that make tendons brittle and prone to pain. In ...

Scientists Discover Protein That Rejuvenates Aging Brain Cells

Feb. 12, 2026 A newly identified protein may hold the key to rejuvenating aging brain cells. Researchers found that boosting DMTF1 can restore the ability of neural stem cells to regenerate, even when age-related damage has set in. Without it, these cells ...

One Simple Daily Change That Could Slash Depression Risk

Feb. 12, 2026 Swapping just an hour of TV a day for something more active could significantly lower the risk of developing major depression—especially in middle age. A large Dutch study tracking more than 65,000 adults over four years found that replacing 60 ...

Blockbuster Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic Deliver Big Results but Face Big Questions

Feb. 11, 2026 Three major reviews commissioned by the World Health Organization find that GLP-1 drugs including tirzepatide (sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound), semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), and liraglutide ...

Menopause Linked to Grey Matter Loss in Key Brain Regions

Feb. 7, 2026 A major study suggests menopause is linked to changes in brain structure, mental health, and sleep. Brain scans revealed grey matter loss in areas tied to memory and emotional regulation, while many women reported increased anxiety, depression, and ...

The Overlooked Nutrition Risk of Ozempic and Wegovy

Feb. 4, 2026 Popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy can dramatically curb appetite, but experts warn many users are flying blind when it comes to nutrition. New research suggests people taking these medications may not be getting enough guidance on ...

Study Raises Red Flags over Long-term Effectiveness of Popular Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic

Jan. 29, 2026 Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Zepbound can drive impressive weight loss, but stopping them is often followed by rapid weight regain. Researchers found that people regain weight faster after quitting these ...

This Discovery Could Let Bones Benefit from Exercise Without Moving

Jan. 27, 2026 Researchers have discovered a biological switch that explains why movement keeps bones strong. The protein senses physical activity and pushes bone marrow stem cells to build bone instead of storing fat, slowing age-related bone loss. By targeting ...

Keto Diet Weight Loss May Come with a Hidden Cost

Jan. 27, 2026 A long-term study found that while a ketogenic diet prevented weight gain, it also triggered major metabolic problems. Mice developed fatty liver disease, abnormal blood fats, and an impaired ability to control blood sugar—especially after ...

Scientists Found a Survival Switch Inside Brain Cells

Jan. 27, 2026 Findings could create new opportunities to treat and study neurodegenerative diseasesScientists discovered that sugar metabolism plays a surprising role in whether injured neurons collapse or cling to life. By activating internal protective ...

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 spinal stimulators. The system can detect when a ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:07am EST

MRI Scans Show Exercise Can Make the Brain Look Younger

Jan. 22, 2026 New research suggests that consistent aerobic exercise can help keep your brain biologically younger. Adults who exercised regularly for a year showed brains that appeared nearly a year younger than ...

Stanford Scientists Found a Way to Regrow Cartilage and Stop Arthritis

Jan. 20, 2026 Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the ...

AI Maps the Hidden Forces Shaping Cancer Survival Worldwide

Jan. 17, 2026 Researchers have turned artificial intelligence into a powerful new lens for understanding why cancer survival rates differ so dramatically around the world. By analyzing cancer data and health ...

An Endocrinologist Tried a New Weight Loss Approach and It Worked

Jan. 17, 2026 A simple change in how primary care clinics approach weight management is delivering big public health wins. PATHWEIGH lets patients openly request help and gives doctors the tools to focus entire ...

A Little-Known Health Syndrome May Affect Nearly Everyone

Jan. 12, 2026 Most U.S. adults have risk factors tied to a little-known condition called CKM syndrome, which connects heart disease, kidney problems, diabetes, and obesity into one powerful health threat. When ...

This Brain Trick Makes Exercise Feel Easier

Jan. 8, 2026 Exercise doesn’t just challenge the body; it challenges how the brain interprets effort. Scientists discovered that vibrating tendons before cycling allowed people to push harder without feeling ...

Why Multiple Sclerosis Slowly Steals Balance and Movement

Jan. 6, 2026 Many people with multiple sclerosis struggle with balance and coordination, and this study uncovers a hidden reason why. Researchers found that inflammation in the brain disrupts the energy supply of ...

Age Does Not Stop Nerve Healing After Spinal Cord Injury

Jan. 3, 2026 As spinal cord injuries increasingly affect older adults, new research reveals a surprising pattern in recovery. The study shows that aging does not appear to slow the healing of nerves themselves, ...

Menopause Symptoms Are Common Even in Elite Endurance Athletes

Jan. 2, 2026 Menopause symptoms are common among female endurance athletes and often interfere with training and performance. A survey of women aged 40–60 who train regularly found high rates of sleep problems, ...

Myth Busted: Your Body Isn’t Canceling out Your Workout

Jan. 1, 2026 Being active boosts your daily calorie burn more than previously thought. Researchers found that increased physical activity raises total energy use without triggering the body to conserve energy ...

Parkinson’s Breakthrough Changes What We Know About Dopamine

Dec. 22, 2025 A new study shows dopamine isn’t the brain’s movement “gas pedal” after all. Instead of setting speed or strength, it quietly enables movement in the background, much like oil in an engine. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Stanford Scientists Uncover Why mRNA COVID Vaccines Can Trigger Heart Inflammation

Dec. 27, 2025 Stanford scientists have uncovered how mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can very rarely trigger heart inflammation in young men — and how that risk might be reduced. They found that the vaccines can spark a ...

Gene-Edited CAR-T Cells Erase Aggressive T-Cell Leukemia

Dec. 11, 2025 A cutting-edge therapy using base-edited immune cells is offering a major breakthrough for patients with one of the toughest forms of blood cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. By precisely ...

Scientists Reveal a Tiny Brain Chip That Streams Thoughts in Real Time

Dec. 9, 2025 BISC is an ultra-thin neural implant that creates a high-bandwidth wireless link between the brain and computers. Its tiny single-chip design packs tens of thousands of electrodes and supports ...

Blood Tests Reveal Obesity Rapidly Accelerates Alzheimer’s Progression

Dec. 10, 2025 Obesity accelerates the rise of Alzheimer’s-related blood biomarkers far more rapidly than previously recognized. Long-term imaging and plasma data show that obese individuals experience much ...

Polluted Air Quietly Erases the Benefits of Exercise

Nov. 28, 2025 Long-term inhalation of toxic air appears to dull the protective power of regular workouts, according to a massive global study spanning more than a decade and over a million adults. While exercise ...

Repeated Head Impacts May Quietly Break the Brain’s Cleanup System

Nov. 28, 2025 Researchers found that repeated head impacts can disrupt a key system that helps the brain wash away waste. In professional fighters, this system initially seems to work harder after trauma, then ...

AI Finds a Hidden Stress Signal Inside Routine CT Scans

Dec. 14, 2025 Researchers used a deep learning AI model to uncover the first imaging-based biomarker of chronic stress by measuring adrenal gland volume on routine CT scans. This new metric, the Adrenal Volume ...

A Common Nutrient Deficiency May Be Silently Harming Young Brains

Nov. 27, 2025 Scientists studying young adults with obesity discovered early indicators of brain stress that resemble patterns seen in cognitive impairment. The group showed higher inflammation, signs of liver ...

Immune Cells Use a Surprising Trick to Heal Muscle Faster

Nov. 24, 2025 A research team has found that specific immune cells can connect with muscle fibers in a lightning-fast, neuron-like way to promote healing. These cells deliver quick pulses of calcium, triggering ...

Why Ultra-Processed Foods Make Teens Eat More When They Aren’t Hungry

Dec. 10, 2025 A Virginia Tech study shows that ultra-processed foods may influence adolescents differently from slightly older young adults. Participants aged 18 to 21 ate more at a buffet and snacked even when ...

Losing Weight in Midlife May Have a Hidden Brain Cost

Dec. 28, 2025 Weight loss restored healthy metabolism in both young and mid-aged mice, but the brain told a different story. In mid-aged animals, slimming down actually worsened inflammation in a brain region tied ...

How to Keep Ozempic/Wegovy Weight Loss Without the Nausea

Nov. 18, 2025 Scientists are uncovering how GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy act on brain regions that control hunger, nausea, pleasure-based eating, and thirst. These discoveries may help create treatments ...

Her Food Cravings Vanished on Mounjaro Then Roared Back

Dec. 8, 2025 Deep-brain recordings showed that Mounjaro and Zepbound briefly shut down the craving circuits linked to food noise in a patient with severe obesity. Her obsessive thoughts about food disappeared as ...

Chronic Pain May Dramatically Raise Your Blood Pressure

Nov. 17, 2025 Chronic pain might quietly push people toward developing high blood pressure—and the more widespread the pain, the greater the danger. A massive analysis of over 200,000 adults uncovered strong ...

Scientists Reverse Kidney Damage in Mice, Hope for Humans Next

Nov. 14, 2025 Researchers uncovered how fatty molecules called ceramides trigger acute kidney injury by damaging the mitochondria that power kidney cells. By altering ceramide metabolism or using a new drug ...

Running on Little Sleep? You’re Twice as Likely to Get Hurt

Nov. 11, 2025 Researchers found that runners who sleep poorly face nearly double the injury risk compared to those who rest well. The study highlights that sleep is not just recovery—it’s a key factor in ...

A Hidden Breathing Problem May Be Behind Chronic Fatigue’s Crushing Exhaustion

Nov. 10, 2025 Scientists have discovered that most chronic fatigue patients experience dysfunctional breathing, which may worsen their symptoms. The likely culprit is dysautonomia, a disruption in how the body ...