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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jan-2026 17:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 22:11 GMT/UTC)

Illinois family shares tragedy of losing son to necrotizing enterocolitis, as NEC Society prepares for the NEC Symposium in Chicago

Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Society
Meeting Announcement

The NEC Symposium is the world's largest meeting dedicated to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NEC is a devastating intestinal disease that can affect premature and medically fragile infants in their first weeks and months of life. Every year in the United States, thousands of babies are diagnosed with NEC, and at least one baby dies from NEC every day. The NEC Society's tireless work confronts this by advancing research, education, and advocacy for a world without NEC. Join us at NECsociety.org/NEC-symposium

Meeting: NEC Symposium

Only 37% of US states require sexual education in schools to be medically accurate

Boston University School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While 42 states require public school students to take a sexual education course that covers at least one topic within this subject between kindergarten and high school, only 19 states mandate that this instruction be medically accurate—and 5 of those states only require medical accuracy for specific topics, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health. The study also found that 34 states that mandate sexual education in public schools require instruction on abstinence, a method that has consistently proven to be ineffective or harmful to adolescent sexual health, but continues to be embraced and funded by the federal government. Thirty-four states also allow parents to opt their children out of receiving any sexual education instruction, while five states require parents to opt in for their children to receive this instruction.

Journal: American Journal of Public Health
Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

UMass Amherst kinesiologist receives $2 million ‘outstanding researcher’ award from NIH

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Grant and Award Announcement

A University of Massachusetts Amherst kinesiologist has received a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance his research on how myosin molecules—molecular motors crucial for muscle contraction— work together to drive different processes within cells.

Funder: NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences

AI in Agriculture Symposium, hackathon set for September in Fayetteville

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Meeting Announcement

The inaugural AI in Agriculture Symposium, hosted by the Center for Agricultural Data Analytics within the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, will highlight the latest in AI research and real-world applications for agriculture on Sept. 15. free event will be offered online and in-person at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, 1371 W. Altheimer Drive, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The event also features an AI in Ag Hackathon, which gives graduate students from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff a chance to address real-world scenarios commonly faced in the ag industry. The hackathon takes place Sept. 13-14 and winners will give presentations at the symposium on Sept. 15.

How a gift card could help speed up Alzheimer’s clinical research

University of Southern California
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Offering a small gift card boosted enrollment in a patient registry, though other approaches may be more cost-effective for engaging low-income patients.

Journal: JAMA Health Forum
Funder: American Heart Association

Depression and anxiety symptoms in adults displaced by natural disasters

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This study found that, in U.S. adults, disaster-induced displacement from home was associated with increased odds of depression and anxiety symptoms, with the highest odds among those who never returned home. There is an urgent need to address mental health care for populations displaced by natural disasters, particularly socially vulnerable populations.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Cardiovascular health at the intersection of race and gender in Medicare fee for service

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This cross-sectional study found that Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic transgender and gender diverse beneficiaries had a high prevalence of cardiovascular-related conditions and had an elevated prevalence of several conditions, attributable to the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity. Medicare should use the tools at its disposal to support the health of transgender and gender diverse beneficiaries.

Journal: JAMA Health Forum