Section
Health
Evidence-backed approaches to longevity, prevention, and recovery.
Health · 4 min read
I Sat in 19 Years of Meetings About Your Lungs. One Word Was Never Allowed to Leave the Room.
After nineteen years bringing respiratory drugs to market, a researcher names the hardened coating at the base of the lungs that inhalers and prescriptions are not built to clear — and the wild-crafted mullein extract that finally moves it.
May 19, 2026
Health · 4 min read
Researcher Who Spent 19 Years Inside the Inhaler Industry Breaks His Silence on the Hardened Coating Doctors Are Paid to Manage, Never Clear
After nineteen years bringing respiratory drugs to market, a researcher explains the hardened coating at the base of the lungs that inhalers are not built to remove — and the wild-crafted mullein extract helping lifelong smokers break it down.
May 19, 2026
Health · 5 min read
A rare cancer-fighting plant compound has been decoded
Scientists at UBC Okanagan have uncovered how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare natural compound with promising anti cancer potential. The team identified two enzymes that work together to build the molecule’s unusual twisted structure, solving a mystery that had puzzled researchers for years. Because mitraphylline
May 13, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists discover a weak spot shared by polio and common cold viruses
Scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, have uncovered a crucial trick used by enteroviruses—the group behind diseases like polio, myocarditis, encephalitis, and even the common cold—to reproduce inside human cells. The team captured, in unprecedented detail, how viral RNA recruits both viral and hu
May 13, 2026
Health · 5 min read
New drugs could wipe out the “zombie cells” linked to cancer and aging
Researchers found a new way to kill harmful “zombie” cells that linger after chemotherapy and help cancers become more aggressive. These senescent cells survive by relying on a protective protein called GPX4, even while sitting on the edge of a deadly iron-triggered collapse. New drugs remove that protection, causing t
May 13, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists make old blood stem cells young again in major anti-aging breakthrough
As blood stem cells age, their lysosomes become overactive and damaged, triggering inflammation and weakening the body’s ability to regenerate healthy blood and immune cells. By calming this cellular “overdrive,” researchers restored the stem cells’ youthful function, dramatically boosting their ability to regenerate a
May 12, 2026
Health · 3 min read
About 7 million kids live in a home with a loaded and unlocked gun, a study finds
The new study in JAMA Network Open also finds that more parents leave their guns loaded and unlocked when they have teenagers, despite the fact that suicide risk goes up for this age group.
May 12, 2026
Health · 3 min read
FDA commissioner resigns after tumultuous tenure
The resignation ends Dr. Marty Makary's management of the Food and Drug Administration, which was marked by turmoil and controversy.
May 12, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists reversed biological age in older adults with a 4-week diet change
A four-week diet change was enough to make some older adults appear biologically younger in a new University of Sydney study. Participants who reduced fat intake or shifted toward more plant-based protein showed improvements in key health biomarkers tied to aging. The strongest results came from a lower-fat, higher-car
May 12, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists discover hidden fat-burning switch that could strengthen bones
Scientists at McGill University have uncovered a hidden molecular “switch” that turns on a powerful calorie-burning system in brown fat — the body’s heat-generating fat linked to metabolism and weight control. The breakthrough centers on glycerol, a molecule released when fat is broken down in the cold, which activates
May 12, 2026
Health · 3 min read
She's trying to outrun pancreatic cancer. Breakthrough treatments give her hope
Pancreatic cancer is notoriously lethal. But new treatments mean that may be changing, and people with the disease now have more reason to hope than ever before.
May 12, 2026
Health · 3 min read
Health experts say cruise ship hantavirus outbreak isn't a risk to public at large
Passengers who were potentially exposed to hantavirus on a cruise are back home and being monitored for symptoms, as scientists maintain that risk to the public is low.
May 12, 2026
Health · 3 min read
Former CDC official on agency's role in cruise ship hantavirus outbreak
NPR's Michel Martin speaks with former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry about what role the CDC should play in helping Americans exposed to hantavirus.
May 12, 2026
Health · 5 min read
This simple strength test could predict how long you live
Staying strong may be one of the biggest secrets to living longer — especially for older women. A major study of more than 5,000 women found that simple signs of muscle strength, like a firm hand grip or the ability to quickly stand up from a chair, were strongly linked to lower risk of death over the next eight years.
May 12, 2026
Health · 3 min read
New research may lead to hearing aids with the ability to select one voice among many
Scientists have developed an artificial hearing system that harnesses the brain's ability to amplify certain sounds while suppressing others. It could lead to better hearing aids.
May 11, 2026
Health · 3 min read
Forest therapy: Why a physician wants more doctors to train in nature-based medicine
A Boston hospital fights staff burnout and boosts patient morale with forest bathing — getting people outside for some time in nature.
May 11, 2026
Health · 3 min read
Why cruise ship passengers with possible hantavirus exposure went to Nebraska
The University of Nebraska is home to the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S. and a separate biocontainment unit that can treat people exposed to infectious diseases.
May 11, 2026
Health · 3 min read
18 passengers return to U.S. after weeks on cruise ship hit with hantavirus outbreak
Eighteen U.S. passengers have returned stateside after weeks on the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak. They're being monitored at specialized medical facilities.
May 11, 2026
Health · 3 min read
Abortion pill by mail allowed for at least 3 more days, the Supreme Court says
Full access to the abortion pill mifepristone, including through telemedicine and the mail, will continue for at least three more days, the high court said on Monday.
May 11, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists say this common sweetener may be quietly rewiring your metabolism
Researchers say fructose is not just “empty calories” — it may actively push the body toward fat storage and metabolic disease. A new review found that fructose affects the body differently from glucose, disrupting normal energy regulation and promoting processes linked to obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascula
May 11, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Ozempic delivers major weight loss in adults over 65, study finds
A major new analysis suggests semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) works remarkably well in adults over 65, helping many lose substantial amounts of weight while improving heart and metabolic health. Participants taking the drug lost over 15% of their body weight on average — far more than those receiving placebo treatment. M
May 11, 2026
Health · 5 min read
This 800-year-old Chinese exercise helps lower blood pressure naturally
An ancient Chinese exercise routine may be just as powerful as a daily brisk walk for lowering blood pressure — without equipment, gyms, or intense workouts. In a major clinical trial, adults with stage 1 hypertension who practiced baduanjin, a gentle mind-body exercise combining slow movements, breathing, and meditati
May 11, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists say 8,500 steps a day could stop weight from creeping back
A new international analysis suggests there may be a surprisingly simple secret to keeping weight off after dieting: walking about 8,500 steps a day. Researchers found that people who boosted their daily steps to around that level during a weight-loss program — and kept it up afterward — were far more successful at avo
May 11, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Ultra-processed foods linked to higher risk of heart disease and early death
Ultra-processed foods may be doing far more damage than many people realize. A major new European cardiology report warns that people who eat the most ultra-processed foods face significantly higher risks of heart disease, irregular heart rhythms, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even cardiovascular death. R
May 11, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists successfully transfer longevity gene and extend lifespan
Scientists at the University of Rochester pulled off a remarkable experiment: they transferred a longevity-related gene from the famously long-lived naked mole rat into mice, and the mice ended up healthier and lived longer. The special gene boosts production of a substance called high molecular weight hyaluronic acid,
May 10, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists discover the brain’s hidden “stop scratching” switch
Scientists have uncovered a hidden “stop-scratching” signal in the nervous system that tells your brain when enough scratching is enough. The discovery centers on a molecule called TRPV4, which acts like part of an internal braking system for itch relief. In experiments involving chronic itch similar to eczema, mice mi
May 10, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists reversed liver aging with young gut bacteria in stunning study
Rebooting the gut microbiome with bacteria from youth may help stop aging-related liver damage and even prevent liver cancer, according to new research in mice. Older mice that received their own preserved youthful microbiome showed less inflammation, reduced DNA damage, and no signs of liver cancer. Researchers also f
May 10, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Black licorice compound shows promise against inflammatory bowel disease
Researchers have developed a stem cell-based model of the human intestine that may transform how new IBD treatments are discovered. After testing thousands of compounds, they identified glycyrrhizin — a natural substance found in black licorice — as a promising anti-inflammatory candidate. In both lab-grown tissue and
May 10, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists say this simple music trick can boost workout endurance by 20%
A new study shows that listening to your own favorite workout music can dramatically boost endurance. Cyclists exercising with self-selected songs lasted nearly 20% longer than when riding in silence, yet they didn’t feel more exhausted at the end. Researchers say music may help people stay in the “pain zone” longer wi
May 9, 2026
Health · 5 min read
New obesity discovery rewrites decades of fat science
Scientists have uncovered a surprising secret hidden inside fat cells that could reshape how we think about obesity and metabolic disease. A protein called HSL, long believed to simply release stored fat when the body needs energy, turns out to have a second job deep inside the nucleus of fat cells—helping keep those c
May 8, 2026
Health · 5 min read
A common constipation drug shows surprising power to protect kidneys
A common constipation drug may have unexpectedly unlocked a new way to slow chronic kidney disease — a condition that affects millions and often leads to dialysis. In a clinical trial involving 150 patients, researchers found that lubiprostone, a medication normally used to treat constipation, helped preserve kidney fu
May 8, 2026
Health · 5 min read
Scientists discover a new way to prevent gum disease without killing good bacteria
Scientists have uncovered a surprising way to influence the bacteria living in our mouths — not by killing them, but by interrupting how they “talk” to each other. Researchers found that dental plaque bacteria use chemical signals to coordinate growth, and by blocking those signals, they were able to encourage healthie
May 8, 2026