Body and Mind

In the first study of its kind, neuroscientists have shown the real-world benefits that sunlight gives the brain, beyond laboratory experiments, linking brighter and more regular daytime light to better alertness and faster attention in everyday life.

Two new large studies have confirmed that it doesn't take Olympic-level efforts to harness the life-extending power of exercise. In fact, say the researchers, even just five minutes a day can have a profound impact on your health and longevity.

A tool long used to probe neural circuits in the lab is now being floated as a new way to treat human patients. The technique uses light to turn specific neurons on or off, and it could be used to treat everything from chronic pain to epilepsy.

Allergen Alert, from French food safety diagnostics company bioMerieux, is a “pocket-sized laboratory” instrument capable of identifying food allergens. It was recently unveiled at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

There are many approaches you can take to stop smoking, from nicotine replacement therapy to good ol' quitting cold turkey. None of these are easy, but using a smoking cessation app can greatly increase your chances of breaking the habit.

Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, has shown rapid antidepressant effects in people with depression, with symptoms easing within hours of inhaling it. The treatment involves breathing in a mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen for up to an hour.

For millions, losing their sense of smell reshapes daily life. Once damaged, the system is difficult to restore. That challenge led researchers to stop asking how to fix smell, and start asking whether its information might reach the brain another way.

A team of researchers in China has developed a remarkable device to allow people with limited mobility to use computers and experience VR content by moving their eyeballs – and to power the gadget simply by blinking.

Researchers have discovered a new way to potentially treat liver disease. By blocking a key inflammatory pathway it could be possible to reduce liver damage and improve blood vessel function in patients suffering cirrhosis.

For the first time, scientists have identified ancient cannabis enzymes dating back millions of years – and discovered they were more efficient at producing the plant’s bioactive compounds like THC and CBD. The team then resurrected them in the lab.

There could be new hope in the fight against gum disease. Scientists have developed a toothpaste that targets only the bacteria that cause periodontitis, leaving the rest of the oral microbiome healthy and intact.

After a century of false starts, scientists believe they have found a way to make cells burn more energy without the dangerous side effects – and it could be a breakthrough that reshapes weight-loss and anti-aging medicine as we know it.

The sustainability of weight-loss drugs is under scrutiny as new research shows that people who stop taking GLP-1s regain the pounds and return to their original size after 1.7 years. It questions whether we're relying on this "magic cure" too heavily.

A new study from Northwestern University offers hope to Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers. If researchers there are correct, their new small-molecule NU-9 drug may be able to stop the disease long before it begins ruining lives.

Americans are being urged to be extra vigilant, as a new influenza A variant is spreading more rapidly and evading our abilities to fight it off. With more than 110,000 hospitalizations so far, scientists expect this wave to worsen as the season peaks.