July 26, 2026

Health News

Top Health News — ScienceDaily Top stories featured on ScienceDaily’s Health & Medicine, Mind & Brain, and Living Well sections.

  • Your AI calorie-tracking app may be off by 345 calories
    on July 26, 2026 at 1:06 pm

    Popular AI-powered food apps may make calorie counting easier, but they may also leave out a surprisingly large part of the meal. Four apps underestimated calories and fat by about one-third when tested against carefully prepared meals. High-fat ketogenic dishes appeared to cause the most trouble, while carbohydrates were measured more consistently.

  • CRISPR makes prostate cancer vulnerable to immunotherapy
    on July 26, 2026 at 12:36 pm

    Scientists used CRISPR to make prostate cancer cells easier for the immune system to detect and destroy. The experimental treatment dramatically improved the effects of immunotherapy in mice and may offer hope for other hard-to-treat tumors.

  • Why losing the wrong fat can trigger diabetes
    on July 26, 2026 at 11:43 am

    Scientists discovered that damaged fat cells can become inflamed, lose their ability to store lipids, and eventually vanish, disrupting the body’s metabolism. The findings show that diabetes can result not only from excess fat, but also from losing the healthy fat tissue the body needs.

  • A hidden Alzheimer’s tipping point may decide who gets dementia
    on July 26, 2026 at 10:14 am

    Scientists have identified a possible tipping point that helps determine whether Alzheimer’s-related brain changes lead to dementia. The key may lie in how the brain’s immune cells respond to plaques and tau, offering a promising new target for treatments designed to extend cognitive resilience.

  • Inside the Backrooms: The internet’s creepiest place is becoming a tourist attraction
    on July 26, 2026 at 8:16 am

    The Backrooms began as a single eerie image of empty yellow rooms, but internet users transformed it into a vast fictional world that feels disturbingly real. Through videos, games, maps, survival guides and social media stories, audiences do more than watch the horror unfold. They help build and explore it. Researchers suggest this popularity reflects a new kind of digital tourism, where people emotionally enter imaginary places filled with mystery, nostalgia and unease.

  • A single dose reversed autism-like symptoms in adult mice within hours
    on July 25, 2026 at 3:09 pm

    Even mild inflammation during pregnancy led mouse offspring to develop persistent brain overactivity, sensory sensitivity, repetitive behaviors, and increased seizure risk. Remarkably, one dose of rapamycin improved nearly all of these problems within about two hours. The benefits were temporary, but they suggest that adult brain circuits may remain far more adaptable than previously believed.

  • Superagers keep youthful memories but their DNA does not explain why
    on July 25, 2026 at 2:41 pm

    Scientists expected SuperAgers might simply inherit fewer Alzheimer’s-related risks, but their genes looked much like those of typical older adults. Their extraordinary memories may instead come from still-unknown protective forces involving the brain, body, lifestyle, and environment.

  • Coffee may help shield the liver from fat, scarring, and cancer
    on July 25, 2026 at 12:26 pm

    A major long-term study linked coffee consumption with lower risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death from liver disease. Coffee drinkers also showed healthier liver scans and blood protein patterns, with less fat, inflammation, and scarring. Benefits appeared even at one or two cups daily and were strongest around three to four cups.

  • Oral GLP-1 drugs may quiet the brain’s food craving circuit
    on July 25, 2026 at 11:34 am

    Newer oral drugs related to semaglutide medications such as Ozempic reduced pleasure-driven eating in mice by quieting a deep brain reward circuit. The finding could open new avenues for understanding food cravings and potentially treating substance use disorder.

  • A daily fiber supplement reduced knee arthritis pain and improved strength
    on July 25, 2026 at 10:01 am

    A prebiotic fiber supplement reduced knee osteoarthritis pain while also improving grip strength and pain sensitivity in a six-week trial. The results hint at a fascinating gut-muscle-pain connection and suggest that a simple daily supplement may be easier to maintain than digital physiotherapy.