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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-Oct-2026 10:16 ET (31-Oct-2026 14:16 GMT/UTC)

No evidence that sugar substitutes harm weight, health, or sweet taste preferences

University of Leeds
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For immediate release. A new review in the journal Nutrients brings together findings from three large European research consortia — SWEET, SWITCH, and Sweet Tooth — to address longstanding questions about whether non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) and sweet-tasting foods in general affect body weight, metabolic health, and people's taste preferences over time.

Journal: Nutrients

Hormone therapy use for hot flashes and night sweats in peri- and early postmenopause linked to lower cardiovascular risk in women

Virginia Commonwealth University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The VCU and Pitt-led study is the first of its kind in the United States to assess the cardiovascular impact of hormone therapy during perimenopause.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

Mpox outbreak in 2022 caused by less severe form of the virus

University of Surrey
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The strain of Mpox behind the 2022 outbreak was a weakened form of the virus, which may have helped to spread it faster, a new study from the University of Surrey reports. The findings show that the virus acquired mutations before it spread globally. These mutations, which are absent in current circulating forms of the virus in parts of Africa, cause less severe symptoms in patients, who unknowingly may have spread the virus across borders.

Journal: Nature Communications

Chesapeake Bay underwater grasses increase 7%, buoyed by gains in salty waters

Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Reports and Proceedings

Submerged aquatic vegetation, one of the Chesapeake Bay’s most important indicators of ecosystem health, increased by 7% to 89,385 acres in 2025, according to researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Wyss awarded ARPA-H contract to end the guesswork in fetal distress

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard
Grant and Award Announcement

Clinicians ability to monitor oxygen support of fetuses during labor is extremely inadequate. This is critical because insufficient oxygen support of unborn babies significantly increases the risks for infant and maternal health. With support from a newly awarded contract from the ARPA-H MOCS program, researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University across several of its Technology Platforms and faculty labs join forces to address this critical unmet need in maternal and women’s health.

UofL study finds longer periods of air pollution exposure can stress the heart

University of Louisville
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Louisville researchers have discovered that longer periods of exposure to air pollution have measurable negative effects on the heart and overall health. Based on analysis of data from multiple studies of heart rate variability and pollution, researchers in UofL’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute determined that after about three hours of exposure to pollution, there is a small but significant decline in heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a key measure of the nervous system stress response and contributes to the regulation of the heart. Lower HRV has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and cardiac events.

High-dose flu vaccine beneficial for older people with lung disease

European Respiratory Society
Reports and Proceedings

The risk of being hospitalised for flu or pneumonia can be reduced with a high-dose flu vaccine for older people with chronic lung disease, according to the combined results of two large clinical trials presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Meeting: European Respiratory Society Congress 2026

Study finds common vaping additives disrupt lung-surfactant film in lab model

University of Kansas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study from the University of Kansas shows that additives common to commercially available vaping devices, vitamin E and CBD, soften a vital lung surfactant at high enough concentrations, at least in a simplified lab model.

Commonly used cancer drugs boost MRSA antibiotics – new research

University of Galway
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from University of Galway have uncovered a surprising link between commonly used anti-cancer drugs and antibiotics that could offer a potential new approach to tackling notorious superbug infections.

Journal: mBio