EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-Oct-2026 12:16 ET (31-Oct-2026 16:16 GMT/UTC)

31-Aug-2026

Individual breaths shape brain activity

Society for Neuroscience
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Each breath at rest corresponds to the shape of brain waves, suggesting that individual breaths may shape mental processes that influence the quality of life.

Journal: JNeurosci

31-Aug-2026

Every breath you take has a unique impact on the brain

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at the University of California San Diego shows that the brain does not simply respond to breathing as a steady rhythm. Instead, the detailed shape of each individual breath is closely linked to the shape of neural activity in brain regions involved in cognition, emotion and memory.

Journal: JNeurosci

31-Aug-2026

Every organ ages on its own schedule—and the schedules are in sync

Sanford Burnham Prebys
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study of aging in our organs found that each organ ages on its own schedule. Arteries remodel fastest from age 30-39 while reproductive organs do so at menopause.

Most of our body ages in two waves, and those who experience aging more rapidly in one organ also have accelerated aging in partner organs. The researchers built a map from analyzing 25,000 organ images that points to hormonal signaling as a possible conductor of this symphony of aging throughout the body.

Journal: Nature Aging

31-Aug-2026

The brain health movement just got bigger with BrainHealth.com

American Academy of Neurology
Business Announcement

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has launched BrainHealth.com, a new public resource offering expert-reviewed information, tools and stories to help people improve and protect their brain health. BrainHealth.com is designed for people living with neurological conditions, supporting a loved one or just looking for ways to embrace brain health in everyday life.

31-Aug-2026

Can robots really understand what nurses need? One researcher wants to find out

Binghamton University
Grant and Award Announcement

An assistant professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York has won an NSF CAREER award for cognitive modeling to help robots assist nurses.

31-Aug-2026

How much air conditioning usage actually prevents heat deaths?

Yale University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Yale researchers conducted the first nationwide study linking AC usage — not just ownership — to heat related mortality risks and found AC usage cut the amount of annual heat-related deaths by half in the U.S, saving more than 5,000 lives a year.

Journal: Nature Health

31-Aug-2026

Pennington Biomedical's Dr. Emily Flanagan awarded up to $3.55 million NIH grant to study infant energy balance and early-life growth

Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Grant and Award Announcement

Dr. Emily Flanagan, Assistant Professor and Director of the Developmental Physiology Laboratory at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, has been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health R01 grant totaling up to $3.55 million to investigate how energy intake and expenditure influence infant growth during the first year of life.

The five-year grant from the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases will support Flanagan’s project, “Characterization of Infant Energy Balance to Optimize Early Life Growth.” The study will examine the fundamental drivers of infant growth and could help improve how energy needs are estimated during a critical period of development.

31-Aug-2026

Managing chronic conditions together may be key to longer lifespan, canine study finds

Texas A&M University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As dogs age, many develop more than one chronic health condition. New research from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) shows those conditions can dramatically shorten a dog’s lifespan, highlighting the importance of managing multiple diseases together rather than individually.

In a recent study published in GeroScience, researchers with the Dog Aging Project found that dogs with five or more chronic diseases were more than twice as likely to die as dogs living with only one diagnosed condition, regardless of their age or size. The findings suggest that, as in humans, chronic diseases interact in ways that make their combined effects more harmful than each condition alone.

Journal: GeroScience
Funder: WoodNext Foundation

31-Aug-2026

Beyond trial and error: A more precise approach to psychiatry

Virginia Tech
Meeting Announcement

Scientists, clinicians, federal researchers and pharmaceutical leaders are gathering at Virginia Tech to consider whether psychiatry can move beyond trial-and-error treatment. The inaugural Precision Psychiatry Symposium will examine new schizophrenia medications, emerging biomarkers, artificial intelligence and advances in neuroscience that could help match patients with effective treatments sooner, while highlighting a research and clinical partnership in Roanoke, Virginia, in September.

Funder: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ovid Therapeutics, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute