Healthcare News

RSS

Andes hantavirus outbreak highlights global spillover and transmission risks

A Virginia Tech disease ecologist said the outbreak of Andes hantavirus aboard the international MV Hondius cruise ship underscores how little scientists still know about the viruses circulating silently in wild rodent populations before they spill into humans.

11 May 2026

Semaglutide shows sustained weight loss benefits in older adults

A new analysis of the STEP trails carried out by semaglutide manufacturer Novo Nordisk has analysed various trials to show the safety and efficacy of the obesity drug semaglutide in older adults (over 65 years), and found similar efficacy and safety as in the general trial populations .

11 May 2026

Children frequently pressure parents to buy unhealthy foods during shopping

A study using a nationally representative survey of parents in England, to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 May), reveals that over half (58%) of parents are frequently pestered by their children or teens to purchase products high in fats, salts and/or sugar (HFSS) when food shopping in stores or online, and almost three-quarters (72%) reported often buying the requested item.

10 May 2026

Walking 8,500 steps daily may help prevent weight regain

New research being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May) and published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health shows that doing around 8,500 steps a day can help people keep weight off after dieting.

10 May 2026

Non-invasive swab test offers fast, accurate tuberculosis detection worldwide

A portable molecular test, MiniDock MTB, detected pulmonary tuberculosis rapidly and accurately across seven high-burden countries, using sputum or tongue swab samples. The study suggests the low-cost, battery-operated platform could expand near-point-of-care TB diagnosis in low-resource settings, although real-world implementation and drug-resistance integration still need evaluation.

10 May 2026

NIH funding terminations disproportionately affect marginalized health equity researchers

Researchers from University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science have found that recent federal grant terminations targeting research on health equity and gender identity have disproportionately affected scientists from the very communities those studies aim to support.

8 May 2026

Online friendships with strangers linked to greater adult loneliness

A first-of-its-kind study of U.S. adults suggests that all of those strangers you're friends with on social media are not helping you to feel less lonely.

8 May 2026

Informal networks and professional culture shape advancement in UK surgical careers

While entry into medicine and surgery has become more diverse, why does that diversity disappear at senior levels? A new study from the University of Surrey argues that the answer lies in how careers are judged day-to-day.

8 May 2026

Andes hantavirus outbreak confirmed on Atlantic cruise ship

The Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases of the Geneva University Hospital (HUG), a WHO collaborating center, has just identified the strain of hantavirus that caused three deaths on a cruise ship in the Atlantic ocean.

8 May 2026

Cardiometabolic diseases remain leading cause of excess American mortality

Between 1999 and 2022, the US had substantially higher death rates than other wealthy nations, largely due to cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases (including diabetes), Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and drug and alcohol complications.

8 May 2026

Older adults increasingly use cannabis for pain and sleep relief

For adults over 60, cannabis use is increasing faster than in any other demographic.

8 May 2026

Eight hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius cruise ship

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, briefed media today on a cluster of hantavirus cases linked to a cruise ship, the MV Hondius.

8 May 2026

Wearable devices track real-time health effects of pollution and heat

As climate change drives more frequent extreme heat and worsening air pollution, researchers are seeking better ways to understand how these exposures affect health in real time.

8 May 2026

Immigrant workers face barriers translating skills into meaningful employment

From seasonal farmhands to health care workers to high-level software analysts, immigrant workers play a significant role in companies and industries across Canada and around the globe.

8 May 2026

Short bouts of exercise help smokers manage immediate nicotine cravings

Exercise may offer smokers a simple but effective additional tool when trying to quit, according to a new systematic review led by researchers from the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA) at Adelaide University.

8 May 2026

Socioeconomic inequality significantly influences temperature-related mortality across Europe

Regions with greater socioeconomic inequalities are more affected by cold weather, whereas areas with higher levels of wealth and urbanization are at greater risk during heatwaves and lower risk during cold spells.

8 May 2026

Clinicians find evolutionary explanations for anxiety more helpful than genetics

Mental health clinicians are over five times more likely to see evolutionary explanations of anxiety as helpful for their patients, rather than the genetic approaches currently taught to trainee doctors and psychiatrists in the UK and US, a new study shows.

8 May 2026

AI diagnostic reasoning nears physician performance

Advanced AI systems are approaching physicial-level reasoning in diagnostic tasks.

8 May 2026

Study warns of rising severe malaria risk due to testing delays

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in collaboration with colleagues across the country, found that more than one in four pediatric patients treated for malaria in the United States had a delay in their initial diagnosis, increasing the risk of more severe infection.

8 May 2026

Cash prescription program associated with fewer infant maltreatment investigations

A new peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Pediatrics provides rigorous, population-level evidence that Michigan State University's Rx Kids program, the nation's first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, is associated with substantial reductions in child maltreatment investigations among infants.

8 May 2026