Health & Science

The disability community has long worried about what would happen if special education oversight moved from the Education Department to another agency. Now, those moves are becoming more real.

To clean animal skeletons used for research and education, scientists are turning to a new type of beetle larva. These "superworms" provide an efficient solution to a difficult challenge.

The brain's waste clearance system is impaired in people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which can lead to various symptoms, including brain fog, Griffith University researchers have discovered.

As the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, Penn Nursing leaders are issuing a joint call to action for the nursing profession. In separate commentaries published in the July 2026 issue of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing, and J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, urge nurses to reclaim their foundational role in Amer

A new study by University of Manchester researchers has linked a digital platform helping people manage type 2 diabetes to better blood sugar control, improved health and potential long-term NHS cost savings. MyWay Diabetes, an NHS-supported online platform and app—which lets users view their diabetes health records, track results and access simple education courses and advice—was rolled out across Greater Manchester during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tonight, as you close your eyes in bed, something strange will happen to you: Your mind will drift from an ordinary thought to a dream, but it will be impossible to say exactly when it happened. We tend to imagine that the boundary between being asleep and awake is clear: When we are awake, we think; when we are asleep, we dream. Yet, in our study, published in Cell Reports, we show that this boundary is more porous than you think. You can dream before falling asleep and plan your day ahead afte

Childhood vaccination rates have slumped globally. In several countries, people are more hesitant about getting vaccinated. Populist political actors promote distrust of government and scientific institutions. And the disinformation economy means we can't agree on the facts behind policy debates.

Children growing up in a low-income urban community in Vellore are now facing two seemingly opposite forms of malnutrition simultaneously: persistent thinness and rising obesity by the time they reach primary school age. A longitudinal birth cohort study of 251 children found that while thinness remained common, the prevalence of overweight and obesity nearly tripled between ages 7 and 9, underscoring the country's growing "double burden of malnutrition."

Promising health tools that seek to predict a person's risk of serious health problems before they happen are rarely being used in everyday health care, according to new Curtin University research. The review, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, found Australia has developed a growing number of tools that can identify people at risk of conditions such as heart disease, falls, frailty and diabetes complications, but very few are being routinely used by health services.

It's a tick that hunts you down and transmits a potentially dangerous allergy to red meat. The New Yorker writer Burkhard Bilger discusses the lone star tick and the risks of alpha-gal syndrome.

Volunteer scientist spend their time tracking living things in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's all part of an important science project.

Scientists have created the most advanced synthetic cell yet made in a laboratory. They've dubbed it "Spudcell," echoing Sputnik, the first artificial satellite.

Tiny, tooth-sized fossils have just reshaped the story of our deepest ancestry. Paleontologists have discovered the southernmost remains ever found of Purgatorius—the earliest-known relative of all primates, including humans—in Colorado’s Denver Basin. Previously thought to be confined to Montana and parts of Canada, this shrew-sized, tree-dwelling mammal now appears to have spread southward soon after the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

A team of researchers recreated a life-size oviraptor nest to investigate how these bird-like dinosaurs incubated their eggs millions of years ago. By combining physical experiments with heat transfer simulations, they discovered that oviraptors likely relied on both their own body heat and warmth from the sun.

Scientists at UCLA discovered a surprising reason aging muscles heal more slowly. In older muscle stem cells, a protein called NDRG1 builds up and acts like a brake, slowing the cells’ ability to jump into repair mode after injury. But there’s a twist: that same protein helps the cells survive the stresses of aging, allowing them to stick around longer.

In cases of serious aortic valve disease, choosing a new heart valve is particularly difficult for young women who wish to become pregnant. A new Swedish registry study from Karolinska Institutet shows that a biological aortic valve provides good pregnancy and birth outcomes, even though the need for reoperation is more common than with a mechanical valve. The study is published in the JACC.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center found that at least $230 million was spent on cancer care delivered outside Hawaiʻi between 2021 and 2023, highlighting the significant financial impact of geographic isolation on patients and the health care system.

For most women, the body begins to change dramatically in their 40s or 50s. This transition, known as menopause, is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, marking the end of the reproductive years. While researchers are aware of the functions the ovaries perform during active reproductive years, what happens to the organ after menopause is largely a mystery.

Globally, nearly 1 in 3 pregnant women experience depression, with most receiving no treatment. When they do get support, they're often steered toward talking therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or mindfulness as the default option. A comprehensive review of different options to help pregnant women with depression has shown that approaches such as yoga and omega-3 supplementation are as effective as psychological therapies.

Children who have been in contact with dogs in early childhood are, on average, healthier and require fewer courses of antibiotics than children without such contact. The protective association is explained, at least in part, by the spread of dog-associated microbes in the home.