Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured joints, dramatically improving movement and joint function. Human cartilage samples from knee replacement surgeries also began regenerating when exposed to the treatment.

A survey from online loan service LendingTree released in December revealed an alarming trend: Among the more than 2,000 people who responded, 27 percent said that they’d deliberately not scanned items at retail self-checkout stations. This is up from 15 percent just two years ago. The main reason for the theft they reported was that essential items have become unaffordable (47 percent) and that prices have increased too much due to recent tariffs (46 percent). Over half of those who admitted to self-checkout theft said they’d probably do it again.

These motivations support recent data from the Consumer Food Insights Report (CFI), which found that the household food insecurity rate rose from 13.3 percent in October to 16 percent in November, the largest increase in all of 2025. (Food insecurity is when people don’t have enough to eat and aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from.) But while it’s tempting to think of shoplifting as a victimless crime, especially in tough economic times, retailers estimate that they’ll lose over $47 billion to shoplifting in 2025 alone.

A major new scientific review brings reassuring news for expectant parents: using acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, during pregnancy does not increase a child’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. Researchers analyzed 43 high-quality studies, including powerful sibling comparisons that help separate medication effects from genetics and family environment. Earlier warnings appear to have been driven by underlying maternal health factors such as fever or pain rather than the medication itself.

MIT engineers have developed a pill that can wirelessly report when it’s been swallowed. Inside the capsule is a biodegradable antenna that sends a signal within minutes of ingestion, then safely dissolves. The system is designed to work with existing medications and could help doctors track adherence for high-risk patients. Researchers hope it will prevent missed doses that can lead to serious health consequences.

Looking forward to being on your own when you start college? Independence is one of the biggest draws of life after high school, as a recent survey conducted by media website SheKnows reveals: 95 percent of its Teen Council members said they were most looking forward to “freedom” when envisioning life on campus.

But with independence comes skills and responsibilities you’ll be encountering for the first time, and unlike at home and in school your schedule won’t be set by your parents, teachers, and coaches. This can be a shock, not least because you’ll go from 40 hours a week in the classroom to fewer than 20. Experts say the shock is normal, though, and establishing a routine will make the adjustment easier. It may take some time, but as University of Cincinnati first-year student Emily Gehrke points out, “Consistency is key—when challenges arise, your established routines will provide a stable foundation to fall back on.”

Teens who sleep in on weekends may be giving their mental health a boost. A new study found that young people who made up for lost weekday sleep had a significantly lower risk of depression. While consistent sleep is still best, weekend catch-up sleep appears to offer meaningful protection. The findings highlight how powerful sleep can be for adolescent well-being.

Scientists have found that combining silybin with carvedilol works far better against liver fibrosis than either drug alone. The duo targets the root drivers of liver scarring, sharply reducing collagen buildup and liver damage in experimental models. Importantly, both drugs are already approved and commonly prescribed. That makes this discovery especially promising for rapid clinical translation.

GLP-1 drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy work wonders for people who want to lose wieght, as well as for helping to reduce national obesity rates overall. But recent research has shown that quitting the drugs might not be a smooth process.

Results from a clinical trial published last month in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that the majority of participants who were assigned to stop taking Zepbound regained most of the weight they’d lost while using the drug. The cardiovascular and metabolic improvements they experienced, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, diminished as well. As a result, two medical specialists from the University of Pittsburgh recommend that the branding of GLP-1 drugs be changed from “weight loss” to “weight management,” and that the people they are prescribed to should be advised that they may need to take them indefinitely to see continued results.

Researchers compared a traditional Chinese medicine, Yueju Pill, with a standard antidepressant and found both reduced depression symptoms. However, only Yueju Pill increased a brain-supporting protein associated with mood improvement. Brain imaging showed that unique network patterns—especially in visual regions—could predict who benefited most from Yueju Pill. This opens the door to more personalized depression treatments guided by brain scans.

A groundbreaking study shows that breast cancer screening works better when it’s personalized. Instead of annual mammograms for all, women were screened based on genetics, health history, and lifestyle factors. This approach reduced advanced cancers without increasing risk for those screened less often. Most women preferred the personalized model, hinting at a major shift in future screening guidelines.

As spinal cord injuries increasingly affect older adults, new research reveals a surprising pattern in recovery. The study shows that aging does not appear to slow the healing of nerves themselves, with older patients regaining strength and sensation at rates similar to younger people. However, age makes a clear difference in how well people recover everyday abilities like walking, mobility, and self-care.

A one-dose oral drug called zoliflodacin has proven highly effective against gonorrhoea in a major international trial. The pill matched the success of current treatments while avoiding injections and complex dosing. As antibiotic resistance spreads, this new option could make treatment simpler and more accessible worldwide. Approval could mark a major step forward in controlling a stubborn global STI.

If you have a dog you probably already know the beneficial effects their playfulness, companionship, and devotion can have on your mood and emotions. Science backs this up, too. According to recent research, teens who live with dogs have notably lower occurrences of social withdrawal, disordered thinking, and aggressive behavior than those who don’t keep dogs.

Now, scientists have discovered another potential reason the family pooch makes you feel happier and more grounded: The microbes you share with them. Researchers in Japan have discovered that dog-owning teenagers had more types of certain bacteria in their saliva than was found in the saliva of non-dog owners. When transplanted into mice, the bacteria changed some of the rodents’ social behavior, including increasing instances of what’s known as “preconcern” or “empathetic concern,” a type of sympathetic response in animals and humans. How this microbe exchange works and specifically influences mood are still being investigated, and no amount of gut microbiome changes will convince people who don’t care for dogs to feel otherwise. But as one of the scientists observed, “Even without owning a dog, maintaining a diverse microbiome can potentially improve mental health scores.”

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 two-step immune reaction that floods the body with inflammatory signals, drawing aggressive immune cells into the heart and causing temporary injury.

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, calming inflammation and reducing cell death while improving recovery. The peptide worked in both mice and pigs, whose brains are closer to humans in structure. Researchers are now preparing to move toward early human clinical trials.

A study published this month in the journal Pediatrics found that kids who have a smartphone by the age of 12 have a higher risk of poor sleep, depression, and obesity compared to their peers who don’t have the device. In fact, the earlier in life a child gets a smartphone, the more likely they are to develop these health issues.

The research, conducted by doctors at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia, the University of California at Berkeley, and Columbia University, gathered data from over 10,000 adolescents across the U.S. for two years. Their findings were eye-opening: Among the participants, over 63 percent owned a smartphone, and most of those kids had received the phone by the time they were 11. A year after the study was complete, the kids without smartphones had generally better mental health than those with them. Smartphones have legitimate uses, of course, and can play a key role in education and making social connections. But as child psychiatrist Dr. Ran Barzilay, the study’s lead author, notes, the decision to give a child younger then 12 a smartphone is a major one that should be made with care and deliberation. “Most probably, all teens will eventually have a smartphone,” he said. “Once this happens, it is advisable to monitor what our children do on their phones.” “Eventually” might come sooner than Dr. Barzilay knows—according to the Pew Research Center, 95 percent of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 owned a smartphone in 2024.

After injury, the visual system can recover by growing new neural connections rather than replacing lost cells. Researchers found that surviving eye cells formed extra branches that restored communication with the brain. These new pathways worked much like the originals. The repair process, however, was slower or incomplete in females, pointing to important biological differences in recovery.

A group of high school students in Atlanta, Georgia, has created a new way to detect and potentially treat Lyme disease. Their discovery, which uses CRISPR-based gene-editing technology, is faster and more accurate than current methods of diagnosis, which often miss the disease in its earliest stage when it’s easiest to treat. Their project also uses CRISPR as a potential means of treating the disease through the bacteria that cause it. The students unveiled their invention at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in France this October, where they finished in the top ten for high school students.

Lyme disease can infect humans and other animals through the bites of ticks that carry the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Symptoms inlclude arthritis, swollen joints, fever, and an initial rash. If left untreated the disease can become chronic, leading to potential organ damage. Lyme disease infects almost half a million Americans every year, primarily in the Northeast and Midwest.

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 both conditions were linked to significantly fewer NK cells—especially the circulating types responsible for destroying infected or abnormal cells. As anxiety severity increased, NK cell levels dropped even further, suggesting a stress-driven weakening of immune defenses.

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 dangerous mutations even in sun-protected regions. Survivors’ stories underscore how early tanning habits have lifelong consequences. The findings push for stricter policies and clear public warnings.