Day February 23, 2026

A comprehensive study analyzing data from nearly 240,000 women has found that estrogen-containing hormonal contraceptives are associated with a significantly lower risk of chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), while menopause status showed no significant association with the condition. The…

A novel vaccination approach developed by Vanderbilt Health researchers cleared the harmful gut bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) in an animal model of infection. An experimental vaccine administered to the mucosal lining of the colon protected against illness, death, tissue…

A research team from University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center has discovered that an experimental neuroprotective drug, P7C3-A20, could protect the brain from these harmful side effects of WBRT. Credit: University Hospitals…

The measles outbreak in South Carolina reached 876 cases on Feb. 3, 2026. That number surpasses the 2025 outbreak in Texas and hits the unfortunate milestone of being the largest outbreak in the U.S. since 2000, when the disease was…

Credit: Kampus Production from Pexels Eating is a social event. Whether it’s a night out with friends or an evening at home enjoying family dinner, conversation goes well with food. But what if, in the middle of laughter and big…

Credit: The Annals of Thoracic Surgery (2026). DOI: 10.1016 A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center finds that pleurectomy/decortication, a lung-sparing surgery, can be performed safely with low…

Intermittent fasting is unlikely to lead to greater weight loss in overweight or obese adults than traditional dietary advice or doing nothing, a new review appearing in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews finds. Obesity is a significant public health…

Concerns that chatbot use can cause mental and physical harm have prompted policies that require AI chatbots to deliver regular or constant reminders that they are not human. In an opinion appearing in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, researchers argue that…

A recent study has shown that self-esteem plays an important part in determining whether someone wishes to pursue a leadership role. The findings have implications for both organizational success and career development, underscoring, as they do, how self-esteem affects personal…

Trust and regulation in the RIT model. Credit: Regulation & Governance (2025). DOI: 10.1111 A new study shows that sustainable finance relies on trust, but that trust challenges are increasingly focused on ESG rating providers, creating both a solution to…

Advanced signal analysis. The MNE Python integration makes it possible to examine voltage maps and field development series for spikes and other waveforms in Epicurrents (screen capture from the Epicurrents software). Credit: Clinical Neurophysiology Practice (2026). DOI: 10.1016 Clinical neurophysiology…

Four-fifths of England’s integrated care boards (ICBs)—responsible for planning health services for their local population—would need to at least double their number of general practitioners to meet staffing standards considered safe for patients, finds an analysis of NHS workforce data.…

A histological section of human ovarian tissue shows hundreds of ovarian follicles—the functional units of the ovary capable of growing and secreting hormones. The new study in mice shows that when donor ovarian tissue is encapsulated in a gel that…

The profession of journalism is facing dual challenges of lost trust and relevance. A research project among educators, students, journalists and communities in six states has found that pairing student journalists with communities through structured conversation can help to rebuild…

Research from UVic reviews the current use and future potential of social, empathic humanoid robots. Credit: Simon Minshall. A child with a new cochlear implant works on auditory rehabilitation exercises at home in Toulouse, France, aided by Pepper, a human-looking…

Cash transfer programs, which provide money directly to recipients, are growing in the United States, but face significant scrutiny, with questions over their value. In addition, some contend that these payments can lead to harm—recipients, they claim, will use the…

A single podocyte was reconstructed in three dimensions based on serial glomerular section images obtained by array tomography. The three-dimensional reconstruction enabled quantitative volume measurement, revealing that podocytes undergo approximately 4.6-fold hypertrophy with aging. Credit: Takashi Amari from Juntendo University,…

Microtubules (yellow) and actin filaments (magenta) in nurse cells work together to transport cellular supplies to a developing egg cell. Credit: Gelfand laboratory A Northwestern Medicine study has shed light on one of the most intricate construction projects in biology: how…

The Hadza are increasingly integrated into Tanzania’s market economy and interact more and more with other tribes. Here, a group of Dataoga pastoralists walk past a motorcycle parked in a Hadza camp. Credit: Duncan N.E. Stibbard?Hawkes Hunter-gatherers like the Hadza…

Voters might think less taxes would equate to more money in their pockets, but a new study shows that at the local level, the opposite may actually be true. Economists and politicians have weighed the benefits of different theoretical models…

Effects of Katrina: The Gulf Coast Region (GCR) and the neighboring states. This figure presents U.S. states and two regions of interest. The blue region encompasses the five states in the GCR: Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Louisiana (LA), Mississippi (MS),…

Credit: cottonbro studio from Pexels Utilizing data from Stichting HIV monitoring (SHM) and Statistics Netherlands, a study published in the journal Nature Communications has compared labor market outcomes of 5,960 people diagnosed with HIV between 2010 and 2022 to a…

Evolution of acronyms from phase 1 to phase 3. Credit: Stroke (2026). DOI: 10.1161 The Spanish-language stroke-recognition acronym RÁPIDO, which was developed at UTHealth Houston, shows encouraging results in boosting early stroke awareness among Spanish-speaking adults. These results were recently…

The body changes, hormones surge, and the transition from child to teenager is well underway. But when puberty begins earlier than among peers, it may have consequences for young people—even when it falls within what medical science considers the normal…

A doctor performs an ultrasound scan on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago on Aug. 7, 2018. Credit: AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File Early prenatal care improves the chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby. But a new…

Ovarian cancer is still one of the deadliest gynecological cancers affecting women around the world, especially in East Asian countries, where the numbers keep rising year after year. A new nationwide study in South Korea analyzed more than 2 million…

Mold is a silent threat, often going unnoticed as it quietly harms health. What’s concerning is that exposure to mold during early childhood leaves its mark way into adolescence. In a study published in Environmental Research: Health, a team from…

Veronica Smedbäck, Ph.D. student at Linköping University and physician. Credit: Charlotte Perhammar/Linköping University Early hydrocortisone treatment of extremely premature babies increases their chances of survival without lung disease, according to a study led by Linköping University. The study also shows…

An evolutionary “arms race” for light and space led to the early domestication of wheat, according to new research that could offer fresh insights into crop design. The study led by Dr. Yixiang Shan and Professor Colin Osborne, in collaboration…

Canine cancer patients receiving a new form of immunotherapy lived longer or shorter depending on the composition of their microbiome, the community of organisms living in their gut. Results of the clinical trial led by Oregon State University scientists were…

Credit: iScience (2026). DOI: 10.1016 A team from the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona (UBneuro) has discovered that early and sustained cognitive stimulation can help preserve brain connectivity and memory in Alzheimer’s disease, even in advanced stages…

2026 College Hiring Outlook cover image. Credit: 2026 College Hiring Outlook cover image from the Center for Career Readiness in Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business The 2025 labor market was mixed, shaped by economic pressures such as inflation, interest…

Graphical abstract. Credit: Journal of Internal Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1111 Immunotherapy given before or after surgery is increasingly used across several cancer areas. In an article published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, researchers at Karolinska Institutet present a comprehensive…

Earbuds may be able to monitor people’s brains. Credit: University of Melbourne An international research team has uncovered the next frontier in monitoring brain health, and the key is in technology that millions of people are already using every day—earbuds.…

Led by Mathieu Beraneck, researchers at the University of Paris Cité/CNRS and the University of Barcelona explored the strength of the relationship between a type of inner hair cell in the ear and balance. Their work is published in eNeuro.…

Ear Exam in PNG. Credit: Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research The first-ever comprehensive study to estimate the prevalence of otitis media (OM) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has revealed some of the world’s highest rates of childhood middle…

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified the cellular mechanisms that cause immune cells to differentiate and ultimately lose function during viral infection, findings that could improve treatments to control chronic infections, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the…

It’s often touted as the “miracle tree” for its dense nutrient profile, but a popular moringa supplement is at the center of a superbug outbreak. Federal health officials announced Feb. 13 that a multistate outbreak of highly drug-resistant Salmonella has…

New research published in Operations Research shows that health care systems can substantially reduce overtime, idle time, and overall staffing costs by adopting a multilocation, dynamic staff-planning model for anesthesiologists. The study is based on the University of Pittsburgh Medical…

Cancer researchers including senior author Christopher Hourigan (left) and first author Rasha Al-Ali of Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute found that a highly sensitive DNA-based test may help doctors predict which patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are most…