EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Jun-2026 02:16 ET (9-Jun-2026 06:16 GMT/UTC)

21-Jan-2026

Non-monetary 'honor-based' incentives linked to increased blood donations

Offering non-monetary incentives such as free access to outpatient consultations to frequent blood donors is linked to an increase in donations without compromising blood safety, finds a study from China published by The BMJ today.

Journal: The BMJ
Funder: HORIZON EUROPE Health, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund

21-Jan-2026

Trees — not grass and other greenery — associated with lower heart disease risk in cities

University of California - Davis Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A multi-institutional study led by the University of California, Davis, finds that living in urban areas with a higher percentage of visible trees is associated with a 4% decrease in cardiovascular disease. By comparison, living in urban areas with a higher percentage of grass was associated with a 6% increase in cardiovascular disease. Likewise, a higher rate of other types of green space, like bushes or shrubs, was associated with a 3% increase in cardiovascular disease. The new research was published in Environmental Epidemiology.

Journal: Environmental Epidemiology

21-Jan-2026

Medical-grade near-infrared light therapy shows promise for protecting football players’ brains

University of Utah Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An unorthodox treatment called near-infrared light therapy, which shines powerful near-infrared light at the brain through the skull, may be able to prevent or reduce brain inflammation caused by repeated head impacts.

Journal: Journal of Neurotrauma
Funder: Brigham Young University

21-Jan-2026

Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

University of Colorado at Boulder
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new device, designed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Colorado Anschutz, jiggles red blood cells until they break apart—revealing valuable information about their quality.

Journal: Lab on a Chip

21-Jan-2026

Most would recommend RSV immunizations for older and pregnant people

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Reports and Proceedings

With RSV cases on the rise, an Annenberg survey finds most Americans would be likely to recommend the RSV vaccine to older adults and pregnant people and the monoclonal antibody injection for infants.

21-Jan-2026

UC Irvine receives its first ARPA-H award to advance lymphatic imaging, precision care

University of California - Irvine
Grant and Award Announcement

The University of California, Irvine has received its first award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, launching a major effort to improve how doctors detect and treat diseases of the lymphatic system.

21-Jan-2026

Rye pollen’s cancer-fighting structure revealed for first time

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rye pollen slows tumor growth in animal models of cancer. Chemists determined the 3D structure of the bioactive molecules in rye pollen. With new blueprint, researchers could develop strategies for cancer treatment.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

21-Jan-2026

LSU Health New Orleans researchers link obesity, estrogen use, and increased blood-clotting risk

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New Orleans, LA, (January 21, 2026) - A research team led by Dr. Rinku Majumder from LSU Health New Orleans has published a groundbreaking study in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation showing how obesity and estrogen-based medications (including hormonal therapies and oral contraceptives) act together to dramatically increase the thrombotic risk in premenopausal women.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation

21-Jan-2026

Medical LLMs may show real-world potential in identifying individuals with major depressive disorder using WhatsApp voice note recordings

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new medical large language model (LLM) achieved over 91 percent accuracy in identifying female participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder after analyzing a short WhatsApp audio recording where participants described their week, according to a study published January 21, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by Victor H. O. Otani, from Santa Casa de São Paulo School of Medical Sciences and Infinity Doctors Inc., Brazil, and colleagues.

Journal: PLOS Mental Health