EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Jun-2026 13:16 ET (21-Jun-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)

2-Feb-2026

Night owl or early bird? Study finds sleep categories aren’t that simple

McGill University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The familiar labels “night owl” and “early bird,” long used in sleep research, don’t fully capture the diversity of human internal clocks, a new study has found.

The McGill University-led study published in Nature Communications found the two sleep-wake patterns, called chronotypes, contain a total of five distinct biological subtypes, each associated with different patterns of behaviour and health.

Journal: Nature Communications

2-Feb-2026

Detecting early-stage cancers with a new blood test measuring epigenetic instability

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a novel liquid biopsy approach to identify early-stage cancers by measuring the random variation in DNA methylation patterns, rather than the absolute level of those patterns as in other liquid biopsies.

Journal: Clinical Cancer Research
Funder: National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation Collaboration for a Cure Grant, Commonwealth Foundation, Evelyn Grollman Glick Scholar Award, Evelyn GrollmanDr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation

2-Feb-2026

Exploring how age influences social preferences

Society for Neuroscience
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Some older male rats prefer familiarity over new social situations. Manipulating how their neurons communicate with a noninvasive technique promotes more extroverted behavior.

Journal: eNeuro

2-Feb-2026

Renowned cell therapy expert establishes new laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine
Business Announcement

Dr. George Coukos, a physician-scientist and international authority on tumor immunology and cellular immunotherapy, is joining Weill Cornell Medicine on Feb. 1 to lead the new Ludwig Laboratory for Cell Therapy. He previously was founding director of the Ludwig Lausanne Branch in Switzerland.

2-Feb-2026

MIT researchers develop a portable ultrasound sensor that may enable earlier detection of breast cancer

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

MIT researchers developed a miniaturized ultrasound system that could make it easier for ultrasounds to be performed more often, either at home or at a doctor’s office. The system could help more breast tumors to be diagnosed at earlier stages.

Journal: Advanced Healthcare Materials
Funder: National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, Lyda Hill Foundation, MIT Media Lab Consortium

2-Feb-2026

New study identifies key predictors of PFAS levels in US career firefighters

University of Arizona
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new University of Arizona study provides vital insights into the factors that influence PFAS body burdens in firefighters. Understanding the predictors of PFAS accumulation is a critical step toward protecting their long-term health.

Journal: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

2-Feb-2026

New genetic tools offer more accurate breast cancer prediction for women of African ancestry

University of Chicago Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine have developed a set of polygenic risk score (PRS) models that significantly improved the ability to predict breast cancer risk in women of African ancestry. Using genetic data from more than 36,000 women, the team created the most comprehensive breast cancer prediction tool for this historically underserved population.

Journal: Nature Genetics

2-Feb-2026

Opportunistic salpingectomy for prevention of tubo-ovarian carcinoma

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Existing evidence demonstrates that opportunistic salpingectomy (removal of the fallopian tubes during unrelated pelvic or abdominal surgery) is significantly associated with a lower risk of developing tubo-ovarian carcinoma. Clinicians should include this prevention intervention in preoperative counseling of eligible women.

Journal: JAMA

2-Feb-2026

Characterization of the international-born health care workforce in rural US communities

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Rural regions have benefited from immigration policies that direct international-born physicians to underserved areas; the Conrad 30 waiver enabled thousands of J-1 visa holders to remain in the U.S. in exchange for rural service, caring for approximately 44 million patients. H1-B visas are additional vehicles for immigrant clinicians.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine