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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Jun-2026 13:16 ET (9-Jun-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)

As nights warm, study flags possible prenatal link to autism risk

Tulane University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Children of mothers exposed to higher than typical nighttime temperatures during weeks 1-10 of pregnancy had a 15% higher risk of being diagnosed with autism. Exposure during weeks 30-37 was associated with a 13% higher risk. The findings add to a growing body of research exploring how environmental factors — including air pollution and wildfire smoke — may influence fetal neurodevelopment, and as global temperatures rise, this study is the first to examine how temperature can impact that development.

Journal: Science of The Total Environment
Funder: Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Environmental Protection Agency

RESEARCH: New sound-based 3D-printing method enables finer, faster microdevices

Concordia University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Concordia researchers have advanced their earlier 3D sound printing breakthrough with a new proximal sound printing technique that places the sound source closer to the material, enabling 10× finer, faster microscale structures. Using focused ultrasound, it improves precision, repeatability and power efficiency for microdevices in healthcare and sensing.

Journal: Microsystems & Nanoengineering
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Exercise trains a mouse's brain to build endurance

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Exercise does more than strengthen muscles; it also rewires the brain. In a study publishing February 12 in the Cell Press journal Neuron, researchers reveal that the lasting gain in endurance from repeated exercise—such as the ability to run farther and faster over time—involves changes in brain activity that help muscles and hearts to become stronger.

Journal: Neuron
Funder: University of Pennsylvania, National Science Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea, Rhode Island Institutional Development Award, Rhode Island Foundation, Providence College

New-onset nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and initiators of semaglutide in US veterans with type 2 diabetes

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this nationwide cohort of U.S. veterans with type 2 diabetes, semaglutide initiators had a 2-fold nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) risk than sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor initiators, while the absolute risk was low. Clinicians and patients should be counseled on the rare but evident increased risk of NAION after semaglutide initiation.

Journal: JAMA Ophthalmology

Availability of higher-level neonatal care in rural and urban US hospitals

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: The findings of this cohort study suggest that access to higher-level neonatal care is limited at rural birth hospitals, as less than 20% offered this care in 2022 vs 74% of urban hospitals. While rural hospitals are losing childbirth care capacity, urban birth hospitals are expanding higher-level neonatal care, accentuating geographic discrepancies in access to care for high-risk infants.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

UT Health San Antonio announces $5 million gift to the Biggs Institute from longtime supporters Bill and Rebecca Reed

The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center
Grant and Award Announcement

The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio received a $5 million gift from longtime supporters Bill and Rebecca Reed, and re-established an existing dementia precision therapy center in their name.

GSA video series guides primary care teams to implement comprehensive dementia care

The Gerontological Society of America
Business Announcement

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has released a new four-video series highlighting how The GSA KAER Toolkit for Brain Health supports primary care teams to improve timely detection of cognitive impairment, care, and outcomes for people with dementia.

Mount Sinai study strengthens landmark evidence supporting lung-sparing surgery, offering hope for mesothelioma patients

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center finds that pleurectomy/decortication, a lung-sparing surgery, can be performed safely with low mortality in carefully selected patients with pleural mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer most often caused by asbestos exposure.

Journal: The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

Cumulative lead exposure linked to increased Alzheimer’s and dementia risk, University of Michigan study finds

University of Michigan School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New University of Michigan research reveals older adults with high cumulative lead exposure face nearly triple the Alzheimer's risk. The study suggests reducing population lead levels could prevent thousands of dementia cases annually.

Journal: Alzheimer’s & Dementia
Funder: National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences