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Scientists have long known that the human brain continues developing well beyond the teenage years, with important changes involving decision-making and emotional regulation extending into the mid- to late 20s. Now,...

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Jeans that fit perfectly. The ideal Netflix show for a Tuesday night. Your one and only soulmate. Modern life promises that with enough options, you will happily find the best of everything.

Women who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods face worse heart health and experience faster declines as they approach menopause, according to a long-term study led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

A Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.

Missouri health care advocate Leslie Ortbals and her husband want to start a family, but she worries they can't afford it. The 27-year-old said she takes 10 medications daily to manage multiple chronic illnesses.

New research presented at this year's International Congress on Obesity (ICO2026), hosted by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) in Mexico City, Mexico (July 15–17), reveals that few of the world's 21 largest food...

Loss of one copy of the DNA ligase I (LIG1) gene in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) with TP53 mutations confers resistance to chemotherapy, but researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating...

Exposure to wildfires during pregnancy has negative effects on infant health, according to a study recently published by the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) at the UAB in the journal Perspectives Demogràfiques....

Pregnancy puts higher oxygen demand on the body, so expectant mothers breathe significantly more air over the course of a day. When air quality is bad, they're also breathing in more harmful pollutants.

Public investment in liver transplants not only saves lives and substantially improves patients' survival and quality of life but also generates a positive long-term social and economic return. That is the finding of...

Researchers estimate that more than 80 million U.S. adults are living with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway during sleep. This...

One of the biggest challenges in cancer research has been linking the "big picture" seen in medical scans with the microscopic biology that drives tumor growth and dictates how patients respond to treatment. Now, by...

Researchers in the Neuromechatronics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University have already proven that spinal cord stimulation can help people regain movement after stroke, but until now they didn't quite know how.

Scientists have identified genetic changes in wild populations of the parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis that may reduce its response to praziquantel, the only available treatment. The study provides an early...

Alzheimer's disease and many other forms of neurodegeneration share a common culprit. In these diseases, tau proteins that normally stabilize neuronal microtubule filaments within our nervous system networks instead...

An international research team led by Dr. Frank Bosmans (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) has discovered a major genetic cause of hyperhidrosis (chronic and excessive sweating). The study, published in Science Advances,...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning people not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Scientists at National Taiwan University College of Medicine have discovered that cancer formation is not simply caused by gene mutations. Colorectal cancers primarily originate from epithelial cells that form...

While people explore the environment around them, their eyes constantly move between different objects, faces and other specific segments of a visual scene. This dynamic process allows them to prioritize visual...

The effect of obesity on unemployment is more than twice as large as previously thought, finds a UK Biobank study of genetic evidence.

Researchers at Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) have found that tau buildup in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) may affect brain networks involved in thinking and behavior. The...

An estimated 27% of U.S. adults with diabetes are using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs)—a type of medication that mimics the GLP-1 hormone—to lower blood sugar and support weight loss. Some...

A new study using Mongolian gerbils as an animal model demonstrated for the first time that trans-tympanic infrared laser stimulation of the cochlea evokes reliable auditory-guided behavior in awake animals without...

There's a small fire isolated in your kitchen. If you had the right tool, you might be able to put it out. But before you can, the sprinklers turn on and flood your entire house. An automatic response to an issue has...

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have reported results from a large international clinical trial showing that semaglutide, a medication in the GLP-1 class of drugs widely used...

A study by the University of Barcelona has identified nearly 20 genes that could contribute to some people being more susceptible to depression, anxiety and traits such as irritability and neuroticism. These genes are...

Branchlike structures called dendrites that extend from neurons appear to make their own computations independent of the cell body, helping individual brain cells store memories of the past, respond to the present and...

Sarah Urbut, MD, Ph.D., of the Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute, is the lead author of a paper published in Nature, "A Bayesian framework for longitudinal EHR and genetic discovery." Pradeep...

Wildfire smoke from fires burning in Canada and northern Minnesota has been pouring across the Great Lakes and northeastern U.S. states, turning skies an eerie shade of orange. In the West, smoke has also been...

Scientists at Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have discovered why babies born with a rare inborn error of metabolism called GPT2 deficiency suffer from severe neurological...

Warning symptoms, recurrent heart events may identify people at risk for this often-deadly event. Two studies from investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University move the medical field closer to solving a...

Electromagnetic waves are everywhere. They're the reason you can hear music when you turn on the radio, use Wi-Fi, find your way using satellite navigation, and make calls on a mobile phone. They are a form of...

Researchers have uncovered a novel biological pathway that can lead to seizures when disrupted. The findings also provide a new approach to improve the diagnosis of epilepsy, for which a genetic cause cannot be found...

Health economics and public health experts have sought to shine a spotlight on the financialization of health care in the 21st century, but most of the literature has focused on how private equity and other financial...

Despite the end of federal shortages of popular GLP-1 weight-loss medications, the market for compounded alternatives remains strong—and some patients may unknowingly be receiving products from pharmacies with...

Cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection causing "explosive diarrhea," is making headlines across the country. Dr. Stacey Rose, associate professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases at Baylor College of...

Researchers at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine have identified a potential pathway that could protect cardiac function in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a progressive and fatal genetic...

Faculty members at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine are working together across academic departments to learn more about how menopausal hormone therapy, sometimes referred to as hormone...

Parts of the U.S. are experiencing smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting down and rising summer temperatures, creating a potentially deadly situation, according to the American Heart Association, a relentless force...

Body Mass Index (BMI) has long been used in public health and clinical settings as a simple tool to classify an individual's physical status based on their height and weight. Originally developed in the 1830s by...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center identified an immune pathway that may promote the progression of oral precancerous lesions into head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. These results...

Recognizing that nurses are an untapped resource for health care solutions, Penn Nursing has released a comprehensive guide for institutions to build their own nurse-led innovation accelerators. The model, supported...

A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR) suggests that venture capital (VC) is playing a significant and growing role in driving innovation in radiology. The study, "Venture...

A research team at Fujita Health University led by Professor Tsuyoshi Miyakawa has uncovered a novel mechanism of cellular plasticity in which repeated neuronal stimulation can durably alter the identity of mature...

Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by dozens of insurers to improve prior authorization, which often requires patients to seek approval before treatments. But prior authorization remains...

KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell, the president and CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health, about systemic healthcare changes backed by large employers, which cover millions of...

For millions of stroke survivors, something as simple as picking up a glass of water or holding a sandwich is a daily challenge. Quentin Sanders wants to make those moments easier through wearable robotic technology...

As the Trump administration's January deadline looms for states to enforce new Medicaid work requirements, some state lawmakers are turning the tables by pushing to publicly name the largest companies that have...

Two papers by researchers and policy practitioners provide evidence-based suggestions to help Japan's health system continue to flourish, even as its population rapidly ages.

Breastfeeding is widely recognized for its important role in supporting a child's early growth and immune system development. Previous studies have found that exclusive breastfeeding for 4 to 6 months is associated...

For veterans with type 2 diabetes (T2D) receiving basal insulin therapy, the addition of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) does not increase the rate of insulin discontinuation compared with other...

Migraines, digestive problems, anxiety and depression can be part of endometriosis, although they are often interpreted as separate conditions. Research led by the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) and...

Researchers at Umeå University have identified changes in the body's major antioxidant systems in patients with hereditary transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis. The findings support the hypothesis that oxidative stress...

Being overweight and obesity may contribute to significantly more cancer cases than previously thought. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). Their analysis shows...

University of Manchester scientists have uncovered evidence that a buildup of a common body waste product in the brain could help drive two of the most devastating neurological diseases.

A study using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has found that patients with schizophrenia had significantly lower muscarinic acetylcholine M1 receptor availability (about 13%–19%) across multiple brain...

A new daily pill will give people with stubbornly high cholesterol a cheaper, needle-free way to lower their levels.

The sharp fall in EU nurses joining the NHS after the Brexit referendum may have contributed to more than 1,200 additional patient deaths each year in England, according to new research led by the University of Surrey...

Cancer develops when the body's systems for controlling cell growth break down, allowing cells to multiply unchecked. Texas A&M researchers have identified two naturally occurring molecules that appear to help restore...

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz, expressed support for vaccines, including covid shots, in her confirmation hearing. That contrasts with the...

Perimenopause uncertainty is prevalent among 34% of women aged 35 years or older, according to a study published online July 14 in Menopause.

By analyzing individual cancer cells, researchers from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) discovered the transcriptional regulators governing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumors and identified...

The popularity of GLP-1 drugs has created a new generation of body contouring patients and a new set of challenges for plastic surgeons.

A neuroprosthetic system has helped a man with paralysis move his hand and feel touch again following a spinal cord injury, reports research published in Nature Medicine. Some of the system's benefits continued even...

Do your hands hurt when you use your phone? All that texting and scrolling might be stressing out your fingers.

Scientists have, for the first time, mapped in exquisite three-dimensional detail six major conformations of a membrane in the brain related to learning, memory and fear-related behavior.

A low-cost antiseptic treatment routinely used in health care settings could help reduce the risk of life-threatening infections in newborn babies, according to new research led by scientists at City St George's.

When a dog smells of cigarette smoke, veterinarians immediately understand that the animal is breathing in secondhand smoke. Known as a "smoker's poodle," the pet "presumably sits on somebody's lap as they smoke, and...

From disease surveillance to clinical care, artificial intelligence is transforming health. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in decisions affecting population health, a new editorial argues that realizing AI's full...

Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and collaborators have identified the RNA-binding protein RBM5 as a potential vulnerability in a set of difficult-to-treat childhood leukemias. They characterized...

Why do some people lose substantial weight with GLP-1-based medications while others see more modest results? A Mayo Clinic study offers a potential answer by identifying a distinct biological subtype of obesity that...

A new Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered how a key immunoregulatory receptor plays an unexpected dual role in promoting T-cell exhaustion during chronic infection and cancer, according to findings published in...

Long before a baby's ears are functional, the brain is already building the circuitry needed for hearing, according to new research from Johns Hopkins University. Published in the journal Science Advances, the study...

Because living systems are dynamic, biomaterials should be dynamic in their mechanical properties, including stiffness. The bioelectronic conducting material PEDOT:PSS is often used in electronics and biomedical...

Melatonin is best known for helping us sleep. But a new study suggests it might have another surprising use: easing muscle and joint pain.

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified the immune cell that acts as the architect and coordinator of powerful immune hubs that form inside tumors and plays a key role in antitumor...

The official sum of opioid-related settlements between U.S. state and local governments and major pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers, marketers, distributors and retailers recently reached $58.58 billion. Stark...

Ever wondered how some people seem able to keep up with the conversation they're having while also noticing what's being said across the room? New research suggests this ability isn't simply good hearing but may...

We may age at different rates, but none of us escapes aging. A study in mice and human cells by Stanford Medicine researchers pins much of the blame on a particular type of immune cell's increasing inability, with...

The international guidelines for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), called the McDonald criteria, underwent their most significant overhaul in a decade in 2024. The internationally recognized framework is used to...

Patient trust in medical professionals might hinge on what artificial intelligence (AI) has to say, according to a team led by Penn State researchers.

A study by researchers at Kent has revealed that the narcotic analgesic tapentadol has performance-enhancing effects on cyclists, making this drug a candidate for addition to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list...

The World Health Organization warned Thursday that Ebola was spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo at a faster pace than during any previous outbreak of the deadly virus.

Smaller doses of COVID-19 booster vaccines can provide long-lasting immunity, helping reduce costs and improve access to vaccination, according to new research. The findings could also inform vaccine dosing and...

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide after Alzheimer's disease and, according to the World Health Organization, one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders. Yet...

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," during pregnancy and early life is associated...

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer that is often diagnosed at advanced stages and carries a low five-year survival rate. Approximately 10% of cases are associated with hereditary...

Crusty bread, fried meat and roasted coffee owe their characteristic taste and browning to chemical reactions that occur when foods are heated. In the so-called Maillard reaction, amino acids—the building blocks of...

Researchers at Kanazawa University report that blood-based gene expression tests may enable early pancreatic cancer screening and improve long-term survival.

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers led a first-of-a-kind clinical study showing that a cancer treatment known as FLASH, or ultra-high-dose-rate proton beam radiation therapy, safely and effectively...

New research published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine and presented at this year's International Congress on Obesity (ICO 2026), hosted by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) in Mexico City, Mexico...

Heat-related deaths in the U.S. have surged more than 50% since 2000 as the climate warms and temperatures rise to record-breaking levels. This July alone, more than half of Americans were exposed to extreme...

Whether we hold a warm mug or step onto a cool floor, specialized nerve cells in the skin constantly report temperature to the brain. Scientists have long assumed that separate groups of sensory cells detect...

Sugarcoating isn't just for making things taste or sound sweeter. In the brain, complex sugar molecules decorate key proteins and help them function.

An international team has succeeded in using a magnetic field to target structures deep within the brain. The researchers injected magnetic nanoplatelets into the relevant region. By doing so, they succeeded in...

The common rationale for drinking water at meals is that it physically stretches the stomach, triggering fullness so you don't eat too much. But a new Cornell study found no support for that idea in practice. The...

For women who underwent spinal surgery during adolescence, approaching pregnancy often brings unique questions about labor and delivery. A common concern is whether a spinal fusion affects the ability to have a...

As use of GLP-1s surged across the U.S., average total payments per user also climbed sharply, according to a new Northwestern University study that analyzed national trends in GLP-1 use and spending between 2017 and...

A meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials involving more than 23,000 participants, presented at the International Congress on Obesity (ICO 2026), hosted by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) in Mexico City,...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping nurses better predict health problems before they become emergencies, according to a new review of existing research published in JMIR Nursing. The study found that AI-based...

Pulmonary fibrosis is a deadly disease in which scar tissue grows in the lungs, making breathing more difficult. Approximately 2,170 Australians are diagnosed annually with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a form...

Sleep disorders may do more than leave people feeling tired. New research from Florida International University shows that sleep disorders are associated with structural changes in brain regions involved in attention,...

New research from The Kids Research Institute Australia suggests a simple dietary intervention during pregnancy could help protect against the increased risk of food allergies associated with antibiotics taken before...

Cambridge researchers have shown how commonly used sweeteners slow the growth of certain gut bacteria. One sweetener in particular—isosteviol—when combined with the antidepressant duloxetine, significantly impaired...

Researchers from Skoltech and co-authors from AIRI have, for the first time, quantitatively assessed how somatic mutations—random DNA changes that accumulate in cells with age—limit the maximum human lifespan. The...

A subset of cancers, known as microsatellite instability (MSI) and deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) cancers, are more visible to the immune system than others. Because their DNA repair systems are defective, these...

New research presented at the International Congress on Obesity (ICO2026), hosted by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) in Mexico City, Mexico, (15–17 July) asks what is driving the obesity pandemic.

About 9% of men of reproductive age in the United States experience fertility problems. One of the many causes of male infertility is a failure in germline development, the process by which embryonic cells develop...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a new way in which T cells attack acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, which may help explain why AML is particularly sensitive to...

A new study examining the impact of depression on all five senses could significantly improve how the condition is diagnosed and treated, opening the door to more targeted solutions for patients. Led by the University...

Synucleinopathies are a group of neurodegenerative disorders that include serious conditions such as Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. There are currently no cures for these disorders, and treatment...

Once upon a time, in Anywhere, U.S., there's a place called "Fable Hospital" where patients heal faster, staff stay longer and the building is designed to work with—not against—the people inside it. It's not a real...

The skull heals its cracks, the bruises fade, the swelling subsides and the bleeding stops. From the outside, a traumatic blow to the head, whether from a battlefield blast, car crash or even a tackle gone wrong, may...

Getting patients seen by community health teams within a day of leaving the hospital could slash emergency readmissions and emergency department visits, a new study by University of Manchester researchers suggests.

Birds possess a specialized organ called the bursa of Fabricius that mammals do not have. It has long been thought that B cells, part of the immune system, develop exclusively in this organ. However, researchers from...