When outdoor temperatures spike to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius), or drop to -9 F (-23 C), like they did across Pennsylvania last year, people locked up in jails and prisons cannot simply turn on the air conditioning or find a public warming center.

Among cancer patients, the high financial cost of cancer care is a prevalent problem. This financial burden is also associated with potentially harmful behavioral strategies that patients might use to cope with costs, such as delaying or forgoing treatment and skipping medications. Collectively, researchers refer to this impact as financial toxicity.

Ketamine, a medication used in operating rooms for anesthesia and pain control, may offer another benefit for some new mothers: easing early symptoms of postpartum depression after cesarean delivery (C-section), according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2026 annual meeting.

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) could transform diabetes management for millions of Americans with type 2 diabetes who don't take insulin, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients who wore noise-canceling headphones during minimally invasive gynecological surgery were significantly less likely to experience postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), suggest findings from a randomized clinical trial presented at the Anesthesiology 2026 annual meeting.

New mothers with limited English proficiency are less likely to receive the standard treatment for painful and debilitating headaches that can occur if the membrane surrounding the spinal cord is accidentally punctured during an epidural for childbirth, according to a study presented at the Anesthesiology 2026 annual meeting.

Over 50 experts—clinicians, researchers, policymakers, first responders and representatives from agencies that employ and advocate for them—have reached consensus on the first recommendations for the recognition, diagnosis and management of traumatic brain injury in first responders. Publishing today (Oct. 16, 2026) in The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, the 52 authors agreed to 28 recommendations designed to help first responders, health care professionals and agencies work toward five primary goals: timely recognition of traumatic brain injury (TBI), safe recovery, operational readiness, reduced stigma and first responder–centered care.

While doctors fight to save the lives of cancer patients in intensive care, family members, partners and friends are often left carrying a heavy burden of their own, with research revealing widespread anxiety, depression, exhaustion and declining well-being among those supporting a loved one through a critical illness.

A research team led by the Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology group at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), in collaboration with Míriam Royo's laboratory at the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), has identified a synthetic peptide that reduces the production of amyloid beta (Aβ).

Some people who suffer a concussion struggle with headaches and fatigue afterward. These symptoms follow a consistent pattern that could be used to warn the patient a full day before they set in.

To understand what goes wrong in the body, scientists must first know what right looks like. Salk Institute researchers are building a scientific reference, piece by piece, for what makes a body healthy. Their latest effort maps how exercise reshapes the body at the molecular level, examining responses across organs, cell types, sexes and circadian phases in mice.

Americans with commercial insurance are generally told they have access to a strong network of mental health providers. But when researchers called providers listed in those networks, securing an appointment was usually difficult or impossible, according to a new study.

Why do some prostate cancers grow slowly for years, while others progress quickly to life-threatening metastatic disease? An international team of researchers co-led by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) and the University of Copenhagen has uncovered new clues in the genomes of prostate cancers.

Hormone therapy should be a first choice for easing hot flashes, night sweats and the sleep problems they cause, a leading U.S. doctors' group says.

Learning new eating habits isn't simple. Our preexisting feelings around food—whether it's a distaste for olives or a love of pastries—could make it harder to learn new eating habits, according to new research from Yale School of Medicine.

Molecular imaging with ⁶⁸Ga-HER2 PET/CT may provide an early, targeted measure of how well treatment is working in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Tumors possess myriad mechanisms to ensure their survival even at the peril of the host. Now scientists are delving deeper into how cancer cells alter the metabolism of specific amino acids to support the malignancy's growth while simultaneously evading the antitumor activity of the host's immune system.

Despite gradual progress in insurance policies requiring hearing aid coverage, many Americans still lack guaranteed access to these essential devices, according to a new study published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.

A lung affected by deadly forms of COVID-19 not only loses essential cells for breathing but also undergoes profound changes in its internal organization and the way its cells communicate with each other. A study involving the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau), published in Nature Communications, has created a spatial map of this transformation and identified some of the molecular mechanisms that accompany the progression of lung damage and fibrosis.

Exposure to common chemicals may alter how normal human breast tissue develops, according to a new study from researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and Boston University. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that exposure to some chemicals—particularly multiple bisphenols at once—may create molecular changes in breast tissue that could influence susceptibility to breast disease later in life.

FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase (FAST) demonstrated the highest sensitivity for ruling out at-risk metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Intermittent hemodialysis as an initial treatment approach is not noninferior to continuous renal-replacement therapy (CRRT) among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) with indications for renal replacement therapy, according to a study published online Oct. 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

For patients battling neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other dementias, delivering disease-fighting antibody drugs directly to the brain has proven to be a difficult task. Our bodies set up tight walls to prevent infections from spreading to the brain, where they often become fatal.

Psychological stress has long been associated with worsening symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the underlying mechanism connecting psychological stress to the occurrence of joint inflammation has remained poorly understood. In particular, how psychological stress can trigger inflammation in joints that were previously affected, even after the disease has gone into remission, remains an important unanswered question.

Survivors of major trauma can achieve a remarkable rate of recovery when given the right support, according to a new University of Manchester–led study examining a pioneering rehabilitation program developed in response to the needs arising from the Manchester Arena bombing.

A study by Australian researchers compared three mRNA-LNP vaccine platforms in human blood samples, generating findings that could advance cancer treatment and vaccine design.

Some of nature's healthful benefits might be possible through well-curated ornamental spaces, suggests a brain activity study recently published in the October issue of Building and Environment from researchers at Drexel's Nick Howley College of Engineering and Computing. The findings, which reveal new insights into how humans experience nature, may lead to scalable, evidence-based ways to design spaces to produce restorative benefits, which could be especially helpful for those who do not have convenient access to plants outdoors.

Respiratory disease in children is a major global concern. Clinicians traditionally rely on stethoscopes to detect abnormal lung sounds, but access to auscultation can be limited by the need for in-person visits.

New University of Cincinnati research found participants in stroke rehabilitation research prefer an approach that prioritizes shared decision-making, peer relationships and a focus on what they can accomplish over one that emphasizes their deficits.

Ever catch someone looking your way and wonder what they're thinking? For people with social anxiety, that moment may trigger a heightened response in the brain, even though it does not improve their later judgments about what the gaze means.

One of the most contentious issues in health care today is private equity investment. Over the past two decades, private equity firms have acquired hundreds of U.S. hospitals, leading to concerns about how these ownership structures affect patient care, staffing levels, access to care and long-term stability. Recently, Democratic lawmakers introduced the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act, which would prohibit private equity firms, health insurance companies and other for-profit corporations from owning medical practices, among other things.

The human brain is constantly taking in information about the world through sight, touch, hearing and the other senses. Influential theories in neuroscience and psychology suggest that it also anticipates incoming sensory information, preparing to process what we are likely to see or feel in specific scenarios.

A recently published study by University of New Mexico researchers looks at how intense exercise affects the body. Michael Deyhle, an associate professor in the Department of Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences, oversaw the study led by doctoral students Jonathan Specht, Jeremy Ducharme and Alyssa Bailly. The findings are published in the journal Physiological Reports.

An AI system trained on photographs of the face and tongue correctly identified every patient with coronary heart disease (CHD) in a small test, according to a new study from China.

Treating pregnant women's depression with a short course of talk therapy doesn't just improve their health—it can also shape how their babies' brains develop before birth. That's the finding of a new study we co-authored, published in the journal Nature Communications.

Environmental sensitivity may be a misleading name for a personality trait that appears to have less to do with how people respond to their physical environments and more to do with how they are affected by social experiences and perceived threats.

New UVA Health Children's asthma research could improve care for children—especially Black children—with severe symptoms that require targeted treatment.

Three measles-related deaths have been reported in England in 2026. One child died from an acute infection, another from the long-term effects of measles, and an adult with an underlying immune condition also died.

If you've ever had a mouth ulcer, you'll know even the smallest sore on your lips, gum, tongue or inside cheek can make eating and talking extremely painful.

For patients with EGFR PACC-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the targeted therapy firmonertinib achieved durable antitumor activity in a Phase Ib trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, supporting an approach to selecting treatments based on the structural features of uncommon EGFR mutations.

It took just one class period to change how a group of college students view mental illness.

When someone has a cardiac arrest, the actions of people nearby can make the difference between life and death. For years, the message has been clear: start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as quickly as possible, even if you've never been trained.

Researchers were able to restore the function of neurons linked to cognitive function and information processing in mice that mimic key features of Alzheimer's disease, showing early promise for the development of a similar targeted therapy in humans. The findings are published in Neuron.

Most of us know what it feels like to be ill and frightened. Now imagine being held down by the very people responsible for your care.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed an AI model that analyzes a person's DNA to better identify genetic risk factors for stroke, paving the way for more personalized risk assessments.

Some of the most popular travel destinations for Australians are also places where dengue is common.

Infants whose mothers smoked cannabis while breastfeeding had volatile organic compounds in their urine, a recent study shows.

Two identical sisters came into the world carrying the same rare cancer. They lost their lives to an undifferentiated sarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer driven by a unique gene fusion (MN1::ZNF341). The story began before they were born, when pregnancy imaging picked up a tumor on Twin A's face. Then came the birth, when cancer deposits were found in both Twin A and Twin B. Researchers now had to work out how the cancer reached both girls. Did the cancer start on its own in each sister, or did it begin in one and pass to the other while they were still in the womb?

Newborn babies are naturally drawn to faces, a trait that helps them bond with their mothers and other caregivers. New Yale research has now found that the functional brain network involved in processing dynamic faces in adults can be observed as early as the third trimester of pregnancy.

Researchers at Kanazawa University analyzed data from 16,296 adults affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and the subsequent heavy rainfall disaster to examine factors associated with psychological distress and the relationships among social networks, loneliness and purpose in life.