Medical Science News

RSS

Opioids offer limited short-term relief for acute pain

The world's largest review of opioid pain relievers prescribed for acute pain found these medicines provide only small, short-term relief for some acute conditions and are ineffective for some others.

25 Feb 2026

Simple blood test measuring piRNAs may help better understand health and aging

Research in Aging Cell indicates that blood levels of particular small non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression, may influence how long a person lives.

25 Feb 2026

Muscles retain molecular memory of repeated inactivity

Muscle loss, or atrophy, due to inactivity is common after illness, injury, hospitalization or falls, and becomes increasingly frequent with aging.

25 Feb 2026

Small RNA molecules can accurately predict survival in older adults

As people age, it becomes harder to know who is on track for healthy years ahead and who may be at higher risk for serious decline.

25 Feb 2026

Easy-to-use blood test score can help identify alcohol-related fatty liver disease

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new, easy-to-use blood test score that can help identify when fatty liver disease is being driven by excessive alcohol use, an important distinction that often goes unrecognized in routine care.

25 Feb 2026

High-fat ketogenic diet improves exercise response in diabetic mice

To be healthy, conventional wisdom tells us to exercise and limit fatty foods. Exercise helps us lose weight and build muscle.

25 Feb 2026

Social deprivation tied to less diverse gut microbiome

Living in a poorer neighborhood in the UK could impact the make-up of your gut microbiome, potentially leading to worse health.

25 Feb 2026

Social media muscle content raises steroid use intentions in young men

A study links muscle-focused social media content to increased intentions to use anabolic steroids among young men, highlighting risks of body comparison.

25 Feb 2026

Lingering brain inflammation found after mild COVID infection

Even a mild case of COVID-19 or the flu can impact the body long after the fever and cough fade, according to new Tulane University research that may help explain why some people struggle to feel fully recovered weeks or months later.

25 Feb 2026

Nutri-Score labeling system fails to reflect nutritional complexity of cocoa

Researchers at the University of Granada have revealed that the Nutri-Score labeling system, commonly used in Europe to assess food quality, is unable to adequately reflect the nutritional and metabolic complexity of soluble cocoa sold in Spain.

24 Feb 2026

Barshop Institute at UT Health San Antonio secures major federal funding for longevity trial

Positioning The University of Texas at San Antonio as a national anchor for aging and longevity science, its Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies will receive up to $38 million in federal funding for the first nationwide clinical study in healthy longevity.

24 Feb 2026

Metabolite-driven AI model accurately estimates time of death

Artificial intelligence can be used to provide a more precise time of death, which can be crucial in e.g. murder investigations.

24 Feb 2026

Study identifies mitochondrial circular RNAs in aging and senescence

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on February 10, 2026, titled "Aging-associated mitochondrial circular RNAs."

24 Feb 2026

Study reframes amygdala as the sophisticated learning arbiter

A Dartmouth study challenges the conventional view that the amygdala-the two-sided structure deep in the brain involved in emotion, learning, and decision making-is simply the brain's primitive "fear center," reflexively driving us to avoid the things we fear, from high places and tight spaces to spiders and large crowds.

24 Feb 2026

Comparing denture cleansers for effectiveness against Candida biofilms

Candida species, particularly Candida albicans, are major contributors to denture-induced stomatitis because of their ability to form biofilms on removable dental prostheses.

24 Feb 2026

Automated platform finds unexpected enhancers for mRNA therapeutics

Integrating AI with advanced robotics to create self-driving labs (SDL) is a promising approach to tackling molecular discovery.

24 Feb 2026

Researchers uncover vulnerabilities in elusive HIV reservoir clones

A new study has overcome a long-standing challenge-how to isolate and study elusive HIV-infected cells called authentic reservoir clones (ARCs) that evade the immune system, making the disease difficult to cure.

24 Feb 2026

Study sheds light on behavior of yeast cells in the gut

A new study sheds light on the behavior of yeast cells in the gut, paving the way for new lines of yeast that more efficiently produce therapeutic drugs tailored to address specific diseases.

24 Feb 2026

Study reveals knowledge gaps about menstrual health in elite women’s football

Elite European women’s football players and staff show substantial knowledge gaps about menstrual health and hormonal contraception despite widespread openness to discussion. The study highlights the need for structured education to support informed health decisions while clarifying that perceived performance effects are not consistently supported by scientific evidence.

24 Feb 2026

ARPA-H-funded PROSPR program focuses on the biological hallmarks of aging

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health has received an award as part of the PROactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience (PROSPR) program within the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate research on the biological hallmarks of aging.

24 Feb 2026