The colorings, additives and preservatives added to food products, as well as food processing techniques, are a source of great concern in 2026 because they are ubiquitous worldwide, yet the effects of these items on metabolic health are not fully understood. In addition, researchers are increasingly investigating how these dietary items may also affect the brain as people age. Dr. Owen Carmichael of LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is helping advance that understanding through a new comprehensive look at the potential relationship between ultraprocessed foods – those featuring extensive processing and additives – and the aging brain.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida and Sage Bionetworks used artificial intelligence to identify about 200 FDA-approved drugs with potential to treat rare nerve tumors called schwannomas, narrowing the list to 10 promising candidates.

A landmark study, the largest combined bat genome and fossil study ever undertaken, finds that bats most likely originated in Europe around 65 million years ago, before spreading across the world. The work also reveals that echolocation, like flight, evolved near the dawn of bat evolution, and lays the groundwork for research into the genetic basis of bats' exceptional longevity and disease resistance, with potential relevance to human health.

The Earth’s magnetic field may influence how cells produce energy, physical performance and even lifespan, according to new research from the University of Nottingham.

In a study using fruit flies, researchers found that shielding flies from the Earth’s magnetic field altered mitochondrial function, lifespan and physical performance - with strikingly different effects depending on the health of the flies’ mitochondria.

UTHealth Houston researchers have found that Long COVID diagnoses varied significantly across populations and variant periods over a two-year period, revealing patterns that could help public health agencies and health systems better target follow-up and care, monitor long-term impacts, and allocate healthcare resources where they’re needed most.

A new study highlights the need to better define which patients benefit most from histotripsy as use of the scalpel-free procedure expands.

Researchers at the CNIC, in collaboration with the University of Pavia and IRCCS Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, have found that activation of the enzyme calpain contributes to the development of a severe inherited arrhythmia.