Pregnancy and Childbirth News

January 2, 2026

Top Headlines

A Key Alzheimer’s Gene Emerges in African American Brain Study

Jan. 1, 2026 Scientists studying Alzheimer’s in African Americans have uncovered a striking genetic clue that may cut across racial lines. In brain tissue from more than 200 donors, the gene ADAMTS2 was significantly more active in people with Alzheimer’s ...

MIT Study Shows High-fat Diets Give Liver Cancer a Dangerous Head Start

Dec. 31, 2025 A high-fat diet does more than overload the liver with fat. New research from MIT shows that prolonged exposure to fatty foods can push liver cells into a survival mode that quietly raises the risk of cancer. Faced with ongoing metabolic stress, ...

Nearly 70% of U.S. Adults Could Now Be Classified as Obese

Dec. 31, 2025 A major update to how obesity is defined could push U.S. obesity rates to nearly 70%, according to a large new study. The change comes from adding waist and body fat measurements to BMI, capturing people who were previously considered healthy. Many ...

Researchers Find ADHD Strengths Linked to Better Mental Health

Dec. 31, 2025 New research reveals a brighter side of ADHD, showing that adults who recognize and use their strengths feel happier, healthier, and less stressed. People with ADHD were more likely to identify traits like creativity, humor, and hyperfocus as ...

Microplastics Are Leaking Invisible Chemical Clouds Into Water

Dec. 31, 2025 Microplastics in rivers, lakes, and oceans aren’t just drifting debris—they’re constantly leaking invisible clouds of chemicals into the water. New research shows that sunlight drives this process, causing different plastics to release ...

Even One Drink a Day May Raise Mouth Cancer Risk

Dec. 30, 2025 New research suggests that even light alcohol use may carry serious risks. A large study in India found that drinking just one standard drink a day is linked to a roughly 50% higher risk of mouth cancer, with the greatest danger tied to locally ...

Where You Live May Be Fueling Aggressive Breast Cancer

Dec. 30, 2025 New research shows that women living near Superfund sites are more likely to develop aggressive and metastatic breast cancers. The studies found higher risks for hard-to-treat subtypes like triple-negative breast cancer, especially in areas with ...

MIT Scientists Find a Way to Rejuvenate the Immune System as We Age

Dec. 29, 2025 As the immune system weakens with age, scientists have found a way to restore some of its lost strength. By delivering mRNA to the liver, they created a temporary source of immune-boosting signals that normally come from the thymus. Older mice ...

ADHD Drugs Don’t Work the Way We Thought

Dec. 29, 2025 ADHD stimulants appear to work less by sharpening focus and more by waking up the brain. Brain scans revealed that these medications activate reward and alertness systems, helping children stay interested in tasks they would normally avoid. The ...

Mini Brains Reveal Clear Brain Signals of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Dec. 28, 2025 Tiny lab-grown brains are offering an unprecedented look at how schizophrenia and bipolar disorder disrupt neural activity. Researchers found distinct electrical firing patterns that could identify ...

A Massive Scientific Review Put Alternative Autism Therapies to the Test

Dec. 28, 2025 A major new review has put hundreds of alternative autism treatments under the microscope—and most didn’t hold up. Scientists analyzed decades of research and found little reliable evidence that popular approaches like probiotics, acupuncture, ...

Stanford Scientists Uncover Why MRNA COVID Vaccines Can Trigger Heart Inflammation

Dec. 27, 2025 Stanford scientists have uncovered how mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can very rarely trigger heart inflammation in young men — and how that risk might be reduced. They found that the vaccines can spark a ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:51am EST

Eating More Vitamin C Can Physically Change Your Skin

Dec. 26, 2025 Vitamin C doesn’t just belong in skincare products—it works even better when you eat it. Scientists discovered that vitamin C from food travels through the bloodstream into every layer of the ...

This Common Food Ingredient May Shape a Child’s Health for Life

Dec. 26, 2025 Scientists discovered that common food emulsifiers consumed by mother mice altered their offspring’s gut microbiome from the very first weeks of life. These changes interfered with normal immune ...

A Surprising Brain Cleanup Reduced Epileptic Seizures and Restored Memory

Dec. 25, 2025 A new study suggests temporal lobe epilepsy may be linked to early aging of certain brain cells. When researchers removed these aging cells in mice, seizures dropped, memory improved, and some ...

Scientists Reverse Alzheimer’s in Mice and Restore Memory

Dec. 24, 2025 Alzheimer’s has long been considered irreversible, but new research challenges that assumption. Scientists discovered that severe drops in the brain’s energy supply help drive the disease—and ...

This Tiny Peptide Could Help Stop Brain Damage After Injury

Dec. 24, 2025 A four–amino acid peptide called CAQK has shown powerful brain-protective effects in animal models of traumatic brain injury. Delivered through a standard IV, it zeroes in on injured brain tissue, ...

Your Roommate’s Genes May Be Shaping Your Gut Bacteria

Dec. 23, 2025 Scientists studying thousands of rats discovered that gut bacteria are shaped by both personal genetics and the genetics of social partners. Some genes promote certain microbes that can spread ...

MIT Scientists Strip Cancer of Its Sugar Shield

Dec. 23, 2025 Scientists at MIT and Stanford have unveiled a promising new way to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. Their strategy targets a hidden “off switch” that ...

Scientists Find a Weak Spot in Deadly Fungus That Shut Down Hospital Intensive Care Units

Dec. 23, 2025 A deadly hospital fungus that resists nearly every antifungal drug may have an unexpected weakness. Researchers discovered that Candida auris ...

This Ultra-Sensitive Imaging System Can Spot Cancer Earlier

Dec. 23, 2025 A new imaging technology can distinguish cancerous tissue from healthy cells by detecting ultra-weak light signals. It relies on nanoparticles that bind to tumor markers, making cancerous areas ...

This Cancer-Fighting Molecule Took 50 Years to Build

Dec. 22, 2025 MIT scientists have achieved the first-ever lab synthesis of verticillin A, a complex fungal compound discovered in 1970. Its delicate structure stalled chemists for decades, despite differing from ...

An 11-Year-Old Needed Two New Organs and Doctors Made History

Dec. 19, 2025 In a rare and historic achievement, Children’s Hospital Colorado successfully completed its first dual heart and liver transplant in a pediatric patient. The life-saving surgery was performed on ...

A New Drug Could Stop Alzheimer’s Before Memory Loss Begins

Dec. 22, 2025 New research suggests Alzheimer’s may start far earlier than previously thought, driven by a hidden toxic protein in the brain. Scientists found that an experimental drug, NU-9, blocks this early ...

The 98% Mystery: Scientists Just Cracked the Code on “junk DNA” Linked to Alzheimer’s

Dec. 19, 2025 Researchers have revealed that so-called “junk DNA” contains powerful switches that help control brain cells linked to Alzheimer’s disease. By experimentally testing nearly 1,000 DNA switches ...

Study Links Full-Fat Cheese to Lower Dementia Risk

Dec. 21, 2025 Eating full-fat cheese and cream may be associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a large study that tracked people for more than 25 years. Those who consumed higher amounts of these ...

The Gear Meant to Protect Firefighters May Carry Hidden Dangers

Dec. 18, 2025 Firefighter turnout gear is designed to shield first responders from extreme heat and danger, but new research suggests it may also introduce chemical exposures. A U.S. study found that brominated ...

AI Detects Cancer but It’s Also Reading Who You Are

Dec. 17, 2025 AI tools designed to diagnose cancer from tissue samples are quietly learning more than just disease patterns. New research shows these systems can infer patient demographics from pathology slides, ...

This Tiny Protein Helps Control How Hungry You Feel

Dec. 17, 2025 Researchers have identified a previously overlooked protein that helps regulate appetite and energy use in the body. This “helper” protein supports a key system that decides whether the body ...

AI Learns to Decode the Diseases Written in Your DNA

Dec. 16, 2025 A newly developed AI can predict which diseases specific genetic mutations are likely to cause, not just whether they are harmful. The breakthrough could speed up diagnoses and open new paths for ...

AI Found a Way to Stop a Virus Before It Enters Cells

Dec. 15, 2025 Researchers discovered a hidden molecular “switch” that herpes viruses rely on to invade cells. By combining AI, simulations, and lab experiments, they identified and altered a single amino acid ...

Cannabis Compounds Show Unexpected Power Against Ovarian Cancer

Dec. 15, 2025 Scientists have discovered that key compounds from cannabis—CBD and THC—show surprisingly strong effects against ovarian cancer cells. Used together, they slow cell growth, reduce colony ...

Is a Vegan Diet Safe for Kids? A Huge Study Has Answers

Dec. 21, 2025 A major new meta-analysis finds that vegetarian and vegan diets can support healthy growth in children when properly planned. Kids on plant-based diets often had better heart health markers, ...

Indoor Tanning Triples Melanoma Risk and Seeds Broad DNA Mutations

Dec. 15, 2025 Researchers discovered that tanning beds cause widespread, mutation-laden DNA damage across almost all skin, explaining the sharply increased melanoma risk. Single-cell genomic analysis revealed ...

Stressed Rats Keep Returning to Cannabis and Scientists Know Why

Dec. 11, 2025 Rats with naturally high stress levels were far more likely to self-administer cannabis when given access. Behavioral testing showed that baseline stress hormones were the strongest predictor of ...

Even Moderate Drinking Carries a Bigger Cancer Risk Than You Think

Dec. 11, 2025 Researchers found that both how often and how much someone drinks significantly shape their cancer risk, even at moderate levels. Vulnerability varies across groups, with genetics, socioeconomic ...

Scientists Found a New Way to Slow Aging Inside Cells

Dec. 19, 2025 A small tweak to mitochondrial energy production led to big gains in health and longevity. Mice engineered to boost a protein that helps mitochondria work more efficiently lived longer and showed ...

Scientists Reveal Why Some Brains Stop Growing Too Soon

Dec. 17, 2025 Researchers used miniature human brains grown in the lab to uncover why certain genetic mutations lead to abnormally small brains. Changes in actin disrupted the orientation of early brain cell ...

Scientists Find the Missing Links Between Genes and Disease

Dec. 16, 2025 A new genetic mapping strategy reveals how entire networks of genes work together to cause disease, filling in the missing links left by traditional genetic studies. The technique could transform how ...

Anxiety and Insomnia Linked to Sharp Drops in Key Immune Cells

Dec. 15, 2025 Natural killer cells act as the immune system’s rapid-response team, but the stress of anxiety and insomnia may be quietly thinning their ranks. A study of young women in Saudi Arabia found that ...

Tea May Strengthen Bones in Older Women While Heavy Coffee Weakens Them

Dec. 13, 2025 A decade-long study of older women found that tea drinkers had slightly stronger bones, while moderate coffee drinking caused no harm. Heavy coffee intake—over five cups a day—was linked to lower ...

AI Finds a Surprising Monkeypox Weak Spot That Could Rewrite Vaccines

Dec. 12, 2025 Researchers used AI to pinpoint a little-known monkeypox protein that provokes strong protective antibodies. When the team tested this protein as a vaccine ingredient in mice, it produced a potent ...