Lithium—a decades-old treatment for bipolar disorder—may hold potential neuroprotective benefits beyond mood stabilization. An exploratory clinical trial from the University of Pittsburgh suggests that low‑dose oral lithium may help slow the decline of verbal memory, or ability to remember and recall words and sentences, in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, particularly among those with evidence of amyloid beta—one of the hallmark biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, ...

Building functional human muscle in the laboratory has long been a goal of regenerative medicine, but one stubborn obstacle remains: real muscle is not just a mass of cells. Its strength and function depend on exquisitely ordered myofibers, all aligned in precise directions that vary from one muscle to another. Reproducing that internal order has proved far harder than shaping muscle tissue into the right external form. Published in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, a research team from Xi'an Jiaotong University has now found a way to solve both problems at once. By using electric forces during the ...

Some of the most revealing signals about human health are carried in fluids that are almost impossible to measure. Tears, cerebrospinal fluid, and prostate fluid appear only in tiny volumes, yet their chemical composition can reflect inflammation, hydration, or disease. For decades, engineers have struggled to analyze these fluids in real time, because most sensors require far more liquid than the body can easily provide. Researchers at Jilin University now report a way to measure the electrical conductivity of such fluids using volumes as small as 50 nanoliters. The device, reported in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, is an optical fiber probe no thicker than a human ...

SAN ANTONIO — March 2, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has created a magnetostrictive transducer (MST) probe that uses ultrasonic guided wave technology to detect corrosion in storage tanks, a process that normally requires emptying the tank and checking for corrosion manually. SwRI’s probe attaches to the outside of a storage tank, resulting in a more cost-effective and efficient method of corrosion detection. The SwRI MST 8x8 is a flexible strip of eight ultrasonic sensors that generate acoustic waves along a structure. The technique identifies anomalies when the waves are ...

To operate fusion systems safely and reliably, scientists need to monitor plasma fuel conditions and measure properties like temperature and density that can affect fusion reactions. Making these measurements requires specialized sensors known as diagnostics. A new report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recommends increased investment in America’s fusion diagnostic capabilities, a critical new technology that could provide DOE and Congress with information to speed up the delivery of commercial fusion power plants. The report was produced as part of the DOE’s ...

NEW YORK, NY (March 2, 2026)—What if doctors could tell you a disease was coming years before you felt a single symptom—and stop it in its tracks? That is the goal of a sweeping new research initiative launched by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in collaboration with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF). The project, called “ORIGIN: Omics to Characterize Preclinical Stages of Non-Infectious Diseases,” brings together 10 specialties across Mount Sinai Health ...

As children enter adolescence, peers become a dominant force in their lives. With adult supervision waning, teens look to agemates for guidance on how to act, think and fit in. But who matters most –friends or the popular classmates? A groundbreaking longitudinal study from Florida Atlantic University reveals that peer influence is not a monolithic process. Instead, different types of peers exert influence over entirely different domains of a child’s life. Researchers at FAU and collaborators at Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania) conducted a long-term study to directly compare these two sources of influence. The study, published in the journal Development ...

Anglers along the Gulf Coast have long prized the hard-fighting, mild-tasting gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), but some may have been surprised over the past few years by shortened seasons for this desirable reef fish. Due to concerns about the population of the species, the gag season lasted just 41 days in 2023, 15 days in 2024, and 14 days in 2025 — far shorter than the six-month seasons in previous years. A new paper by researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) may assist resource managers who make tough decisions about the lengths of fishing ...

International efforts to tackle climate change reached a major milestone with the Paris Agreement, adopted by more than 190 countries. The agreement aims to limit the average global temperature rise to well below 2 °C, preferably to 1.5 °C. However, questions remain as to whether current national climate pledges are sufficient to meet these goals. Against this backdrop, a new collaborative study by Assistant Professor Taeyoung Jin of Jeonbuk National University and researchers from Pusan National ...

Imagine an electronic material whose fundamental properties could be changed not by replacing atoms or fabricating new structures, but by applying light, a magnetic field, or an electric signal. A solar cell, for example, could temporarily reshape its energy bands under illumination to harvest light more efficiently. Such flexibility is not usually possible in conventional semiconductors, where external controls can only change how electrons occupy energy levels rather than the energy band structure itself. Now, a study published in Physical ...

Advances in cancer treatment mean that more people than ever are surviving the disease. However, some of the most effective anticancer drugs—a class of medicines called anthracyclines—can cause serious damage to the heart. In some patients, this cardiac damage appears months or even years after treatment and has a major impact on quality of life. Protecting the heart without compromising the effectiveness of chemotherapy is a major challenge in the field of cardio-oncology. Now, a team at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), led by Dr. ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic study found that a single 25 mg dose of a combination of amphetamine-dextroamphetamine salts (Adderall) can have measurable cardiovascular effects in healthy young adults. The study aimed to better understand how the stimulant affects those who use it without a medical prescription. "The primary objective of our study was to investigate how a single dose of Adderall acutely affects cardiovascular hemodynamics — blood pressure and heart rate — and sympathetic activity in young adults who do not have a medical indication for the medication," says Anna Svatikova, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — March 2, 2026 — A new study from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has identified a promising strategy to treat brain metastases, one of the most challenging and deadly complications of lung cancer.  The research team developed a highly specialized type of immune cell, called a CAR macrophage, or CARMA, designed to find and attack tumor cells that spread to the brain. These engineered macrophages were able to enter the brain, seek out cancer cells and slow tumor growth ...

Climate change was poised to create an interesting catch-22 for electric vehicles. Electrifying transportation can go a long way to reducing carbon emissions that are driving up global temperatures. But warmer temperatures also accelerate the degradation of batteries, whose performance can be a make-or-break factor for people considering an EV purchase. In a new study led by the University of Michigan, however, researchers have shown that batteries have gotten a lot better over the past several years. So much so, in fact, that their gains ...

New research warns that popular deep learning systems trained for cancer pathology may be relying on hidden shortcuts rather than genuine biological signals. Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being developed to predict cancer biology directly from microscope images, promising faster diagnoses, and cheaper testing. But new research from the University of Warwick, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, suggests that many of these systems may be using visual shortcuts rather than true biology — raising concerns that some AI pathology tools are currently too unreliable for real-world patient ...

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have developed the first bandage-like microneedle patch that can sample the body’s immune responses painlessly from the skin. The device detects inflammatory signals within minutes and collects specialized immune cells within hours without the need for blood draws or surgical biopsies. Already, the patch is helping researchers and clinicians study immune responses in aging and skin autoimmunity, including vitiligo and psoriasis. In the future, it could make it easier to track how people respond to vaccines, infections, and cancer therapies by complementing ...

A tooth cavity and bleeding gums is a common scenario among Danish children – and one that researchers now connect to health problems long after the last baby tooth has left the mouth. Children who have multiple tooth cavities or suffer from severe gingivitis show a markedly higher incidence of stroke, heart attack and coronary artery disease as adults. That’s the conclusion of a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. The researchers analysed data from 568,000 children born in the 1960s and 70s from the Danish Health ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2026 Highlights: For people with chronic migraine, starting GLP-1 drugs for conditions like diabetes may be associated with fewer emergency department visits. A preliminary study has found that people who started GLP-1 drugs were approximately 10% less likely than those who started topiramate to visit the emergency department over the following year. They were also about 14% less likely to be hospitalized for any reason during the year. This observational study does not prove that the drugs lower the need for emergency care for people with migraine. It only ...

Approximately 60,000 Danes live with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Some experience limited discomfort, while others go through a debilitating disease course involving surgery and a stoma. Add to this the fear of leaving home due to urgent toilet needs. One of the major challenges with the disease is that doctors cannot predict what kind of progression the individual is facing. Therefore, many of those affected are either over- or under-treated, and the opportunity to intervene in time, before the intestine is completely destroyed, is missed. Now, a new Danish study from the DNRF Center of Excellence PREDICT at Aalborg ...

Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland recently sparked a heated debate when he revealed that he drinks raw milk as part of a whole-food diet intended to maintain peak physical condition. The revelation drew criticism from health experts who warned that anyone emulating the professional footballer could be leaving themselves vulnerable to harmful bacteria that are normally destroyed by pasteurisation. US Secretary of Health and Social Services Robert F Kennedy Jr. is another high-profile advocate of raw milk who believes ...

Peer reviewed – experimental study - humans Research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) may finally explain why we still reach for the biscuit tin, even when we’re full. A new study reveals that the human brain continues to respond to tempting food cues even after we’ve eaten enough. In a world of endless adverts and snack cues on every corner, the team say their findings shed light on why so many of us struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Lead researcher Dr Thomas Sambrook, from UEA’s School of Psychology, said: “Obesity has become a major worldwide health crisis. But rising obesity isn’t simply about willpower ...

Boston - Patients with a common form of kidney cancer called clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who have a high risk of recurrence after surgery showed significantly improved disease-free survival when treated with an oral combination regimen that includes belzutifan, a HIF-2α inhibitor, given with standard immune therapy pembrolizumab. These findings, from the phase 3 LITESPARK-022 study, are presented today by Dr. Toni Choueiri of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) in San Francisco, California, from Feb. 26-28. Previous Dana-Farber research led by Dr. Choueiri ...

In recent decades, the excessive consumption of fossil fuels has significantly exacerbated environmental problems such as the greenhouse effect. Consequently, the development of efficient carbon dioxide capture and utilization technologies is particularly urgent. The electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (eCO2RR) has emerged as a highly promising strategy for converting CO2 into high-value chemicals. Alkali metal ions in the electrolyte play a pivotal role in this process, including enhancing catalytic activity and regulating product selectivity. However, the ...

Tokyo, Japan – Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have devised a rotating tabletop device to study wireless charging in electric vehicles. Testing on real tracks takes up vast areas at significant cost. The team not only built a prototype but used simulations to demonstrate safety and similar charging to a linear track. They successfully reproduced movement at 40 kilometers per hour, promising accelerated global research into next-gen charging for EVs.   Electric vehicles (EVs) are a cornerstone of global sustainability initiatives. Combined with renewable ...

Today, more than half of older Americans receive their Medicare coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans. In 2020, that program made a sweeping policy shift, allowing those plans to offer supplemental benefits beyond traditional medical care, including groceries, meal deliveries, utilities, transportation, pest control, and air filters.  Now, with an approximately $3 million R01 grant from the National Institute on Aging, George Mason University health economist Jeah Jung will lead a national study to evaluate whether those ...