Health

It's no accident that we spend a third of our lives asleep. It is essential to our health, and even animals for whom resting is complicated—such as aquatic mammals that need to surface to breathe, or birds that go up to 10 days without touching dry land—manage to sleep with surprising adaptations.

Tracking the brain's blood flow during neurosurgery represents one of the most critical and challenging parts of the operation. A brief interruption can mean the difference between permanent damage and full recovery, but it's difficult to track blood flow across the surgical field.

A group of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has recently developed a new stem cell therapy with a remarkable ability to reverse new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a mouse model of the disease. The work is published in the journal Molecular Therapy.

A novel PET radiotracer can accurately detect deep vein thrombosis in the legs and reveal whether clots have migrated to the lungs. By enabling whole-body imaging of blood clots in a single scan, the approach may support faster and more efficient diagnosis—particularly for patients who also require evaluation for potentially life-threatening pulmonary embolism. This research was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2026 Annual Meeting, and the collection of images showcasing the visualization of blood clots in the legs and in the lungs has been selected as the 2026 SNMMI Henry N. Wagner, Jr., Image of the Year.

A specific pattern of brain metabolism visualized with PET imaging can predict which patients are most likely to benefit from Alzheimer's disease therapy. In a retrospective study of patients who received Alzheimer's treatments, those with the identified pattern experienced stabilized cognitive performance, while patients with other patterns had significant cognitive decline. This study was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2026 Annual Meeting, where it received top recognition as the Abstract of the Year.

A suburban Chicago woman who feared she might never have another child is now celebrating a growing family after brain surgery at Northwestern Medicine.

"Every time you drink heavily, even if you do so infrequently, it can affect your role as a parent," says doctoral research fellow Barbara Carvalho. She led a comprehensive systematic review conducted by researchers at the University of Agder, in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University.

Researchers at Bradley Hospital found that a virtual reality (VR) training program can help therapists feel more confident using exposure therapy and reduce their negative beliefs about it—even more than traditional classroom-style training alone. The study, published in the journal JMIR Medical Education, is one of the first to test how the level of immersion in VR affects therapist training, and it uses a clear framework aimed at addressing a major reason exposure therapy is underused.

Creatine, the organic acid that is popularly taken as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders, supercharges a critical class of immune cells that activate and prepare the body's key cancer-fighters, according to new UCLA research.

Kimberley Wilson gives some tips on how to deal with feeling overwhelmed.

Ronan Keating talks about the mental toll of being in Boyzone.

A randomized clinical trial conducted across five countries in 47 pediatric emergency departments, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, established that both commonly used IV fluids for treating septic shock—balanced crystalloid fluid and 0.9% saline—are equally safe and effective. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A new study presented at ASM Microbe 2026 demonstrates that a valuable indigenous mushroom, Lentinus squarrosulus, can be cultivated under controlled conditions using locally available agricultural waste.

People who don't like to workout will sometimes joke that they're "allergic" to exercise. But what many don't realize is that an allergy to exercise is a real thing—and it can be dangerous if not caught in time.

As obesity rates rise across the U.S., new research from Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health at the University of California, Irvine scientists draws attention to an often-overlooked factor in children's long-term health: fathers.