When you finish a run, your muscles may feel like they did all the work. But researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) have discovered that what happens in your brain after a run may determine whether you gain endurance over time. Specialized neurons in the brain’s hypothalamus spring into action after a bout of exercise, the team reported in Neuron. Without the activity of these neurons, mice fail to show endurance gains, no matter how hard they sprint on a treadmill. And when the researchers artificially activated the neurons ...

Munich, Germany – 19 February 2026: With careful selection, same-day hospital discharge was found to be feasible and safe in around one-fifth of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation in a study presented today at the EAPCI Summit 2026.1 The summit is a new event organised by the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), an association of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a minimally ...

In a 2023 paper on hypoxia and glucose metabolism, our lab showed how organisms rewire their metabolism to adapt to low oxygen levels—such as those found at high altitudes. One of the most striking observations from that work was a dramatic drop in circulating blood sugar.  That study focused on mice exposed to hypoxia. Looking at epidemiological data from the United States, people living at even modest elevations show the same pattern: lower blood glucose, better glucose tolerance, reduced diabetes risk.  It ...

SAN FRANCISCO—February 19, 2026—Scientists have long known that people living at high altitudes, where oxygen levels are low, have lower rates of diabetes than people living closer to sea level. But the mechanism of this protection has remained a mystery. Now, researchers at Gladstone Institutes have explained the roots of the phenomenon, discovering that red blood cells act as glucose sponges in low-oxygen conditions like those found on the world’s highest mountaintops. In a new study in the journal Cell Metabolism, the team showed how red blood cells can shift their metabolism to soak up sugar from the bloodstream. At high altitude, this adaptation fuels the cells’ ...

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a new gel electrolyte that both improves the lifetime and safety of anode-free lithium batteries, an emerging battery architecture that could dramatically boost energy density while simplifying manufacturing. Although such design promises higher energy density and lower cost, the approach has long been plagued by short battery life and safety concerns caused by unstable lithium plating and parasitic reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The Columbia team, led by Yuan Yang, associate professor of applied physics and applied mathematics ...

A plume of upper-atmospheric lithium pollution observed in February 2025 has been attributed to the re-entry of a specific rocket stage. The results, published in Communications Earth & Environment, are the first known direct detection of upper-atmospheric pollution from space debris re-entry. Defunct satellites and expended rocket stages are designed to break up during their atmospheric re-entry. Previous research has focused on the risks of debris reaching the ground, but little is known about the effects that disintegrating space debris might have on the mesosphere (between approximately ...

In a Phase 3 randomized trial, Mass General Brigham researchers found that stereotactic radiation targeting individual tumors led to lower symptom burden, better cognitive outcomes, and better day to day function when compared with whole brain radiation Researchers from Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute have found that using a form of radiation therapy that targets individual tumors rather than whole brain radiation is more optimal for patients with tumors that have spread to the brain (called brain metastases), even if a larger number of tumors are present. The finding could help improve quality of life and cognitive function for many patients diagnosed with brain metastases each ...

About The Study: This nationwide study demonstrated that adolescents and young adults with prior cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) faced increased cardiovascular disease risk and mortality compared with matched controls. These findings warrant further research. Meanwhile, they support heightened clinical awareness regarding cardiovascular risk evaluation and prevention in women with prior HSIL.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Laila Hubbert, MD, PhD, email laila.hubbert@liu.se. To access ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of 3,230 kidney transplant recipients, kidney transplant was associated with a reversal of declining employment income, indicating meaningful economic recovery. These findings highlight the broader socioeconomic value of transplantation and may inform policies that support patients during pretransplant vulnerability and facilitate successful return to work.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Karim S. Ladha, MD, MSc, email karim.ladha@mail.utoronto.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.60157) Editor’s ...

Imagine balancing a ruler vertically in the palm of your hand: you have to constantly pay attention to the angle of the ruler and make many small adjustments to make sure it doesn’t fall over. It takes practice to get good at this.  In engineering, this is called the “inverted pendulum” or “cart-pole” problem, in which a control system learns to balance an upright pole hinged to a moveable cart. This problem is used as a benchmark in fields like robotics, control theory, and artificial intelligence to gauge if ...

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 that the treatment is safe to give. The results are published in JAMA Network Open. More than half of babies born extremely prematurely – before 28 weeks of pregnancy – get a lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia, BPD, which often affects them for the rest of their lives. The disease occurs because very premature babies’ lungs are not fully developed. ...

Roberto Morandotti wins prestigious Max Born Award for pioneering research in quantum photonics  INRS professor becomes the first in Canada to receive this international honor  Professor Roberto Morandotti, a world‑renowned physicist at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), is the first researcher from Canada to receive the Max Born Award, one of the most prestigious distinctions in optics and photonics. Presented by Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America), the award honours outstanding contributions to physical optics and celebrates ...

Doctors usually focus on a person's average blood pressure, but research increasingly shows that how much blood pressure fluctuates from moment to moment is just as important. Excessive short-term variability is a strong and independent predictor of heart disease, stroke and brain injury. A group in University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology has identified a group of nerve cells in the brainstem – a region that controls vital automatic functions – that act as a stabilizing system for blood pressure. The new research suggests these ...

Munich, Germany – 19 February 2026: Preliminary results from an Italian registry describe the risk profile of women experiencing acute coronary syndromes and provide insights to improve management.1 These findings were presented today at the EAPCI Summit 2026, a new event organised by the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), an association of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Ischaemic heart disease is a common condition in which the coronary arteries become narrowed due to the build-up of fatty material. ...

Researchers from the Department of Computer Science at Bar-Ilan University and from NVIDIA’s AI research center in Israel have developed a new method that significantly improves how artificial intelligence models understand spatial instructions when generating images – without retraining or modifying the models themselves. Image-generation systems often struggle with simple prompts such as “a cat under the table” or “a chair to the right of the table,” frequently placing objects incorrectly or ignoring spatial relationships altogether. The Bar-Ilan research team has introduced a creative solution that allows AI models to follow such instructions ...

“These findings underscore the promise of single-cell transcriptomic biomarkers to disentangle the systemic and cell-intrinsic components of immune aging and to measure immune aging.” BUFFALO, NY — February 19, 2026 — A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on February 8, 2026, titled “Single-cell transcriptomics reveal intrinsic and systemic T cell aging in COVID-19 and HIV.” In this study, co-first authors Alan Tomusiak from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Southern California, and Sierra Lore from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and ...

Species numbers alone do not fully capture how ecosystems are changing. In a global study led by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, scientists analysed long-term data from nearly 15,000 marine and freshwater fish communities. They found that fish food webs have changed substantially over recent decades, even in places where the number of species (species richness) has remained stable. Published in Science Advances, the study shows consistent shifts in species composition, body size, and feeding ...

A study of over 50,000 pregnant women in Norway during the 2023/24 influenza season found that only 29.9% were vaccinated against influenza and 12.1% against COVID-19 during pregnancy, remaining far below recommended targets. The study was published on Eurosurveillance and conducted by Stecher et al. from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza are recommended during pregnancy by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Norway, as pregnant women and their newborns have an increased risk of severe outcomes from these diseases. For at-risk groups, the WHO recommends a vaccination target of 75% for both infections. These findings emphasise ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Past studies in animals have shown that a highly processed diet is linked to memory problems and inflammation in the aged brain – and the effect can happen fast, after just three days of poor eating. A new study suggests another dietary pitfall could have a similar damaging effect in a similarly short amount of time in older adults: a lack of fiber. The study in rats also points to the amygdala – the small structure governing emotional memories, especially related to bad experiences – as a brain region that is particularly sensitive ...

Miami (February 19, 2026) – Certain neighborhood characteristics, including higher poverty, more uninsured residents, and lower educational attainment, may lead to an increase in COPD-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations, according to a new study in the January 2026 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open access journal. COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, affects more than 30 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It can be caused by genetics and irritants like smoke ...

Food insecurity can increase anxiety and undermine employees at work, but workplace programs to address it can improve job outcomes, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “There is an implicit assumption that food insecurity primarily affects unemployed people, but it’s a pervasive issue that impacts a sizable portion of the workforce,” said lead researcher Jason Moy, MS, a doctoral student in organizational behavior at the University of Washington. “We hope business leaders can change their mindset and understand that supporting employees facing food insecurity extends beyond humanitarian concerns ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Exposure to infection and other immune stress in the womb increases the likelihood of alcohol misuse in adulthood, a risk that may be reduced through prenatal antioxidant treatment, a new Washington State University study shows. The findings, published in the journal Psychopharmacology, provide insight into how early biological stress shapes addictive behaviors and identifies a potential approach for lowering the risk of alcohol use disorder — a problem with massive social and financial costs.  “People ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — The urgent onset of “the munchies” after cannabis use isn’t imaginary – it’s a cognitive response that occurs regardless of sex, age, weight or recent food consumption and could offer clues to help people struggling with appetite loss. Those findings from a collaborative study, conducted by researchers at Washington State University and the University of Calgary, were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “There are a lot of different diseases, conditions and disorders associated with wasting syndromes ...

Pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) are among the ocean’s most enigmatic inhabitants – rarely seen and largely unstudied. They live far offshore in small groups, diving in search of squid and fish. Their quiet behavior and elusive nature have made it difficult to study them in the wild. Pygmy sperm whales are rarely encountered free-swimming. Most scientific knowledge about them has come from stranded individuals – especially along the southeastern coast of the United States, where these whales strand ...

Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm. In biology, AI tools called deep neural networks (DNNs) have proven invaluable for predicting the results of genomic experiments. Their usefulness has these tools poised to set the stage for efficient, AI-guided research and potentially lifesaving discoveries—if scientists can work out the kinks. “Right now, there are a lot of different AI tools where you’ll give an input, and they’ll give an output, but we don’t have a good way of assessing the certainty, or how confident they are, in their answers.” explains Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Associate Professor Peter ...