EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jan-2026 09:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 14:11 GMT/UTC)

13-Jan-2026

Virtual Reality emerges as a supportive space for self-disclosure, with nature settings leading the way

Edith Cowan University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research suggests Virtual Reality (VR) may play a meaningful role in future mental-health support, and the design of the virtual space itself can make a surprising difference to how comfortable people feel opening up.

Journal: Applied Sciences

13-Jan-2026

While exploring the cosmos, astronauts also fuel explorations of the biology of aging and cellular resilience

Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When the four-member crew of Axiom-2 launched into space in May 2023 their 10-day mission was chock full of experiments aimed at understanding human physiology. Results from some of those experiments, now online at Aging Cell, highlight spaceflight as a unique model for studying aging as well as cellular resilience. The research sets the stage for testing potential anti-aging interventions for those of us who have no plans to travel in space.

Journal: Aging Cell

13-Jan-2026

Higher maternal blood pressure increases the risk of pregnancy complications, study concludes

University of Bristol
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Helping women to keep their blood pressure at normal levels could reduce their risk of experiencing pregnancy complications, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Bristol.

Journal: BMC Medicine
Funder: Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, British Heart Foundation, European Union, Research Council of Norway

13-Jan-2026

AI model identifies how every country can improve its cancer outcomes

European Society for Medical Oncology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For the first time, researchers have used machine learning – a type of artificial intelligence (AI) – to identify the most important drivers of cancer survival in nearly all the countries in the world. The study, which is published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology, provides information on which improvements or policy changes can be made in each country that would have the greatest impact on improving cancer survival. By going to the online tool created by the researchers, anyone can find their country and scroll down to see which factors, such as national wealth, access to radiotherapy and universal health coverage, are most associated with cancer outcomes.

Journal: Annals of Oncology
Funder: Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award, Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute

13-Jan-2026

Phone apps nearly 3 times as good as no/basic support for quitting smoking long term

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Smartphone apps—particularly those based on psychological theories—are three times as effective as no/minimal support at helping people who smoke stub out their tobacco use long term, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

Journal: BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine
Funder: China Association on Tobacco Control for Health

13-Jan-2026

Female sex and higher education linked to escalating prevalence of obesity and overweight in Africa

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Female sex and higher education are significantly linked to the escalating prevalence of obesity and overweight in Africa, finds one of the largest and most detailed analyses of body weight trends in the region, published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

Journal: BMJ Global Health

13-Jan-2026

THE LANCET + eCLINICALMEDICINE: Two studies on reductions in mortality from small changes lifestyle changes

The Lancet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Below, please find two summaries related to studies publishing in The Lancet and eClinicalMedicine (part of The Lancet Discovery Science suite of journals) sharing new research on how small increases in physical activity and other lifestyle changes can improve mortality rates.

Journal: The Lancet