Despite the many choices available to them, which often change year to year, 60% of older adults spend less than an hour choosing their Medicare coverage during Open Enrollment, a new poll finds. That includes 27% who said they didn’t take any time to review their options during last year's Open Enrollment, and 33% who reviewed them but spent less than an hour doing so. 

AUSTIN, Texas — [Thursday, October 15, 2026] — TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology) today announced that the late Pete Winstead and Winstead PC law firm have been selected as recipients of the 2027 Kay Bailey Hutchison Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes their extraordinary leadership, service and enduring contributions to research, discovery and innovation in Texas.

Even a local mRNA injection can produce unwanted expression in the liver. Researchers have redesigned the lipid nanoparticles that carry mRNA to reduce this spillover in mice while preserving expression in injected muscle. The formulation also supports repeated dosing and improves the confinement of expression after local brain and eye delivery.

Umbilical cord blood is more than a source of stem cells for transplantation. A review in Science China Life Sciences examines how its diverse cells and bioactive components are being explored for cancer immunotherapy, inherited disorders and tissue repair. The authors connect these opportunities with advances in cell expansion, gene engineering and manufacturing, while identifying barriers to clinical translation. They emphasize that many emerging applications still require further evidence of safety, effectiveness and durable benefit.

A team led by the University of Exeter and City St George’s, University of London, discovered that the fungus creates multiple versions of its entire genome, including mutating a gene which plays a role in cell wall integrity, called “Crazy-one” (CRZ1).