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AI foundation model advances comprehensive brain MRI analysis

Mass General Brigham investigators have developed a robust new artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model that is capable of analyzing brain MRI datasets to perform numerous medical tasks, including identifying brain age, predicting dementia risk, detecting brain tumor mutations and predicting brain cancer survival.

5 Feb 2026

Air conditioning in nursing homes lowers heat-related risk

Air conditioning is linked to lower mortality rates in nursing homes during extreme heat, underscoring the importance of climate control for vulnerable seniors.

5 Feb 2026

Gut microbial butyrate enhances mucosal vaccine antibody responses

A research team from POSTECH and ImmunoBiome in Korea, led by Professor Sin-Hyeog Im, has uncovered a new mechanism showing how butyrate-a short-chain fatty acid produced by gut commensal bacteria-enhances T follicular helper (Tfh) cell activity to promote antibody production and strengthen mucosal vaccine efficacy.

4 Feb 2026

Sub-terahertz biosensors enable label-free cancer cell identification

Early detection and accurate typing of cancer are critical for improving patient survival rates. While traditional pathology remains the gold standard, it often requires complex sample processing and chemical staining.

4 Feb 2026

Therapeutic potential of engineered extracellular vesicles in osteoarthritis

Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound nanoparticles secreted by cells and have emerged as promising therapeutic agents for osteoarthritis (OA).

4 Feb 2026

Too many antioxidants may negatively affect future offspring

Antioxidants have been marketed as miracle supplements, touted for preventing chronic diseases and cancers; treating COPD and dementia; and slowing aging.

4 Feb 2026

Study reveals what drives PFAS exposure in firefighters and how risks may be reduced

A large U.S. firefighter cohort study identified personal, occupational, and department-level predictors of serum PFAS concentrations, highlighting both modifiable exposures and persistent background sources. Some protective practices, blood or plasma donation, and drinking water sources were associated with differences in specific PFAS analytes, although causal relationships require further longitudinal study.

4 Feb 2026

Breakthrough enables continuous laboratory growth of human norovirus

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report in Science Advances a breakthrough in human norovirus (HuNoV) research.

4 Feb 2026

DNA marker reveals pyrethroid resistance in malaria mosquitoes

A new study, jointly led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID) in Cameroon, has detected a DNA marker in a gene encoding for a key enzyme, known as cytochrome P450, that helps mosquitoes to break down and survive exposure to pyrethroids, the main insecticides used for treating bed nets.

4 Feb 2026

Optically invisible culture dishes improve embryo imaging in IVF

Selecting the healthiest embryo is one of the most important steps in in‑vitro fertilization (IVF), yet it remains one of the most uncertain.

4 Feb 2026

Study identifies genetic fingerprint of neuropathic pain neurons

Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and their international colleagues have determined the molecular signature of human sleeping - or silent - nociceptors: sensory neurons that are unresponsive to touch or pressure yet are key culprits in neuropathic pain.

4 Feb 2026

Menstrual blood testing shows promise for HPV screening

Testing menstrual blood for human papillomavirus (HPV) could be a "robust alternative or replacement" for current cervical cancer screening by a clinician, finds a study from China published by The BMJ today.

4 Feb 2026

Burn injuries may have driven key human evolutionary traits

Humans' exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping how our bodies heal, fight infection, and sometimes fail under extreme injury, according to new research.

4 Feb 2026

Molecular signature of sleeping nociceptors offers new pain targets

Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute of Neurophysiology at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen in Germany have deciphered the molecular signature of so-called sleeping nociceptors-a type of pain-sensing nerve cell that normally remains quiet and does not respond to touch or pressure, but can become overactive and drive chronic pain.

4 Feb 2026

Pigs and grizzly bears may reveal secrets of youthful skin

The secret to youthful appearance and repairing scars may lie in a microscopic skin structure humans share with pigs and grizzly bears - but, surprisingly, not monkeys.

4 Feb 2026

Brain computer interfaces decode imagined speech in paralyzed patients

Last summer, a team of researchers reported using a brain-computer interface to detect words people with paralysis imagined saying, even without them physically attempting to speak.

4 Feb 2026

Study identifies brain region driving one-shot visual learning

Despite decades of research, the mechanisms behind fast flashes of insight that change how a person perceives their world, termed "one-shot learning," have remained unknown.

4 Feb 2026

Hormone therapy reduces abnormal nerve growth in chronic back pain

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common health problems worldwide, affecting people of all ages and placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems. Many patients experience persistent discomfort that interferes with work, sleep, and daily activities.

4 Feb 2026

Small molecule targets glioblastoma oncogene in preclinical studies

UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have identified a molecule that blocks the gene responsible for glioblastoma, raising hopes that the molecule could become a much-needed new treatment for the deadliest brain cancer.

4 Feb 2026

New compound advances body clock independent of dosing time

A collaborative team including Emeritus Professor Tei H. (Kanazawa University), Associate Professor Takahata Y. (Osaka University), Professor Numano R. (Toyohashi University of Technology), and Associate Professor Uriu K. (Institute of Science Tokyo) discovered that Mic-628 selectively induces the mammalian clock gene Per1.

4 Feb 2026