Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a novel, highly potent opioid that shows potential as a therapy for both pain and opioid use disorder. In a study published in Nature, the team observed the new drug’s effect in laboratory animals. They showed that it has high pain-relieving effects without causing respiratory depression, tolerance or other indicators of potential for addiction in humans.

A large multi-site study published in JAMA found that AI-powered ambient documentation technologies, or AI scribes, were associated with modest reductions in clinicians’ EHR use (13 minutes/day) and documentation time (16 minutes/day, ~10%), along with a slight increase in productivity. The benefits were most evident in high-frequency users, and are unlikely to fully explain prior reported improvements in burnout, highlighting the need for further research on how these tools reshape clinical workflows.

Today's most advanced artificial intelligence systems lack such bodily mechanisms and a new study by UCLA Health argues that this has significant implications for how these models behave as well as how safe and trustworthy they can become.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded UC Davis Health a $15.85 million grant to support the next phase of a major national study on brain aging in Hispanic-Latino communities. The grant, led by UC Davis Distinguished Professor of Neurology Charles DeCarli, will support the creation of the most comprehensive long-term dataset on Hispanic and Latino brain aging to date.

Immunotherapies have transformed cancer treatment by helping the immune system recognize and attack tumors. They work for only about 20% of patients, though, and doctors still struggle to predict who will benefit.

 

A Rutgers Cancer Institute study in Cell Reports Medicine promises help with both those problems. It identifies a protein that appears to predict drug response, and it shows that pairing immunotherapy with a second type of drug dramatically improves survival in mice.

Fewer people in the United States can reach hospital-based obstetric care within a reasonable drive than a decade ago, according to a new national study led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. The study found that from 2010 to 2021, access to obstetric care declined across the country as hospitals closed labor and delivery units, forcing many pregnant people to travel farther for care.

(WASHINGTON — Apr. 1, 2026) — The American Society of Hematology (ASH) released guidelines on the diagnosis and management of severe acquired aplastic anemia, a rare and life-threatening bone marrow failure disorder. The guidelines, developed by a multidisciplinary expert panel including a patient with lived experience, outline evidence-based best practices to improve outcomes for individuals living with the disorder. They were published in Blood Advances.