Oral GLP-1 pill cut body weight 12% in 36 weeks
The phase 2b ACCESS trial found that aleniglipron, a once-daily oral small-molecule GLP-1 drug, reduced body weight by 9.0% to 12.1% at 36 weeks compared with 0.8% on placebo.
Health News
Health News
The health headlines move fast and most coverage gets the science wrong. Every day, Dr. Ravi Kumar, MD, a board-certified neurosurgeon, cuts through the noise: what a new study or story actually says, what it doesn’t, and what it means for you. Researched, sourced, and reviewed before it’s published.
Heat linked to worse mental health in kids and teens
A global review of 23 studies found that hotter days track with more anxiety, depression and emergency visits in children, with the largest jump during heat waves.
Ultrasound sleep patch cut time to REM by 43 minutes
A University of Texas at Austin team reports that a wearable focused ultrasound patch shortened the time to REM sleep by 43 minutes and added about 16 minutes of REM in 28 volunteers, though every participant got the fake night first and the real night second.
Jalapeno salmonella outbreak: 345 sick in 27 states
The CDC has traced 345 Salmonella Javiana infections across 27 states to jalapeno peppers from Sinaloa, Mexico, and whole genome sequencing flagged drug resistance in two of the samples.
IVF steps and parental age linked to new mutations in babies
A whole-genome study of 24,030 people in 7,851 families found that specific fertility lab procedures, and the age of both parents, track with more brand new mutations in a child's DNA.
Red Cross blood crisis: under a one-day O-positive supply
The American Red Cross declared only the second national blood supply crisis in its history on July 27, 2026, and surgeons are being told the shortage could delay operations.
AI chatbots can reinforce harmful thinking, study finds
A new Nature Medicine audit ran 810 multi-turn conversations against nine frontier chatbots and found the biggest danger was not bad advice, it was agreement.
Stroke clot busters past 4.5 hours: gains and brain bleeds
A meta-analysis of 14 randomized trials and 4,174 patients found that clot busting drugs given 4.5 hours or more after stroke onset improved 90-day recovery, at the cost of a much higher rate of symptomatic bleeding into the brain.
Longer body cooling after cardiac arrest does not help
The ICECAP trial cooled 1,158 comatose cardiac arrest survivors for anywhere from 6 to 72 hours and found that the longer durations did not improve brain recovery at 90 days.
Prescription THC cut PTSD nightmares in a randomized trial
A 171-patient trial in Nature Medicine found that a nightly dose of prescription THC reduced trauma nightmares more than placebo over ten weeks, a moderate effect on nightmares specifically rather than on PTSD overall.
FDA approves first narcolepsy drug that targets the cause
Orzeyful is the first drug approved to restore the brain signal that narcolepsy type 1 destroys, and the first of a new class, but insomnia and bladder side effects were common in the trials.
FDA approves first mRNA flu shot, 65+ evidence thinner
The FDA licensed Moderna's mFlusiva for adults 50 and older on August 5, but only the 50 to 64 group has proof it prevents infections, and the comparison was against a standard-dose shot rather than the stronger vaccines already recommended for seniors.