EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Jan-2026 00:11 ET (16-Jan-2026 05:11 GMT/UTC)

UCSB-designed soft robot intubation device could save lives

University of California - Santa Barbara
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Maintaining an open airway is a critical priority in emergency medicine. Without the flow of oxygen, other emergency interventions can become ineffective at saving the patient’s life. However, creating this airway through endotracheal intubation is a difficult task for highly trained individuals and under the best of circumstances. In the field and in the ER, where seconds matter, emergency medical personnel face many unknowns and wildly challenging conditions which lower their chances of success.

Journal: Science Translational Medicine

Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior

Virginia Tech
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new Virginia Tech study published in PLOS One establishes a crucial baseline for understanding dog behavior on a large scale.

The research, led by Courtney Sexton, a postdoctoral associate in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, and her colleague Yuhuan Li from the University of Washington, utilized four years of owner-reported data from over 47,000 dogs in the Dog Aging Project, a large-scale initiative involving over 40 institutions.

Journal: PLOS One

Indian new mums report better postpartum wellbeing when their own mum acts as their primary support - while women whose mother-in-law is the primary caregiver instead report significantly lower overall wellness

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Indian new mums report better postpartum wellbeing when their own mum acts as their primary support - while women whose mother-in-law is the primary caregiver instead report significantly lower overall wellness

Journal: PLOS One

The pandemic may have influenced the trainability of dogs, as reported by their owners

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Dogs reportedly became harder to train as the pandemic progressed, though this seemed to improve by the time it was ending, according to a study publishing September 10, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Courtney Sexton of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, U.S., Yuhuan Li of the University of Washington, U.S., and colleagues.

Journal: PLOS One

Protein found in the eye and blood significantly associated with cognition scores

Boston University School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study by researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center has shown that in middle-aged individuals, there is a significant association between levels of SLIT2 protein in both vitreous humor (the gel-like substance in the eye) and plasma (blood) and neurocognitive test scores. This is the first study to report relative concentrations of SLIT2 in vitreous and plasma and establish an association between SLIT2 levels from both sources with cognitive function.

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease

Study: In interorganizational health care collaborations, stability of representation is key

Carnegie Mellon University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new study, researchers sought to gain a more thorough understanding of how participants of interorganizational collaborations can identify expertise that could be leveraged toward their organizations’ independent goals. Their findings, highlighting the importance of stability of the people involved (not just stability of the participating organizations), can inform the work of interorganizational health care alliances.

Journal: Health Care Management Review

URI study links microplastic exposure to Alzheimer’s disease in mice

University of Rhode Island
Peer-Reviewed Publication

After a previous study that showed how microplastics can infiltrate all systems of the body—including the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from harmful substances as small as viruses and bacteria—URI pharmacy assistant professor Jaime Ross expanded the study to determine the brain health impacts of the plastic toxins. Her findings indicate that the accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics in the brain can lead to cognitive decline and even Alzheimer’s disease, especially in those who carry genetic risk factors.

Journal: Environmental Research Communications