DBS effectiveness in treating addiction remains uncertain amid inconsistent results

Deep brain stimulation helps manage movement in patients with neurological disorders

DBS is a surgical procedure that uses implanted electrodes to send electrical signals to targeted areas in the brain, interrupting abnormal neural activity. It may be implemented when medications lose effectiveness or cause disruptive side effects.

Neural interfaces offer major medical potential but raise serious ethical concerns

Although brain-computer interfaces can help people recover lost functions and allow direct brain-to-computer communication in the future, surveys have shown little public support for using them to boost abilities like memory or focus in healthy people.

Chronic drug use can cause neurological changes in the brain

Neuroscientist Judy Grisel breaks down the biology of addiction, examining how drugs hijack the brain’s natural reward system and create lasting neural changes. The physiological and neurological impacts of chronic drug use require a multifaceted treatment approach.

Drug tolerance and withdrawals are consequences of overloading dopamine circuits

Addictive substances or behaviors will typically flood our brains with more dopamine than usual. In response to the overstimulation, our brains will decrease the number of available dopamine receptors. This results in the need for more stimulus for the same response (tolerance) and a rise in negative feelings when the stimulus is absent (withdrawal).

The science of addiction treatment

A helpful resource from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (part of the NIH). This article examines addiction treatment and recovery through the science behind several accepted methods. The guide draws helpful comparisons with other chronic disease treatments. In particular, it discusses the overlap between medications and therapeutic treatments, and the understanding that relapse doesn’t indicate treatment failure—only a need for continued or modified care.

Ibogaine is being investigated for treating mental health issues and substance abuse

This compound, which is illegal to use in the US, has had promising results for patients who have tried it in other countries for substance abuse and mental health concerns. This psychoactive substance is not without risks, however; this TED talk points out it's also caused fatal cardiac arrhythmias and shouldn't be taken without medical supervision.

US FDA recently approved the first new schizophrenia drug in decades

Though other antipsychotics block dopamine receptors, a new drug, Cobenfy, influences dopamine levels via a different pathway—it stimulates a pair of specialized receptors in the brain that control the release of a substance called acetylcholine. This alternative approach may help patients avoid serious side effects like weight gain. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

More than 200 drug trials for Alzheimer's have failed or been abandoned since 2010

The complexity of Alzheimer's disease, coupled with decades of underfunded research efforts, has left patients with little in the way of effective treatments. In recent years, scientists have synthesized several drugs that studies show can slow the progression of Alzheimer's—though the disease itself remains incurable.

GLP-1 drugs are under investigation for treating Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and drug addiction

Researchers are investigating GLP-1 applications for a variety of chronic conditions. One area of interest stems from how study participants using GLP-1 for diabetes and obesity reported describing less longing for wine and cigarettes while taking the medication—intriguing researchers about using the drugs for addiction applications. The drug, they theorize, could bind to receptors that mediate desire. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Why the human brain loves opioids

When opioids enter the brain, they dock in receptors, blocking electrical pulses such as those that communicate pain. They also trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter tied to motivation and associated with stress relief.

Mixed reality technologies may help treat depression

A study led by a team from Stanford University showed that MR can help people with depression by providing pathways to engage in activities such as digital board games and dancing. Participants saw reduced symptoms of depression that made their overall treatment plans more successful.

Antidepressants alone may fail to help an estimated one-third to one-half of depressed patients

There are three major categories of antidepressants—tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidate inhibitors, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This podcast notes these first-line depression drugs are not effective for many patients and may also come with concerning side effects. Other therapeutic approaches—either in combination with medication or as an alternative—include therapy, meditation, and consistent exercise.

The FDA rejected MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in 2024, calling for more research

The decision was considered to be a major setback for moving psychedelics into the mainstream for mental health treatment. Pharmaceutical company Lykos, who had applied for the approval, had already attracted significant support from patients, politicians on both sides of the aisle, and leaders in the mental health field.

Support groups can offer insights into current and potential treatments

Beyond connecting with patients with similar experiences, support groups can also become centers for advocacy and for sharing research advances and medical experiences, including potential side effects from novel therapies or clinical trials.

Fantasy sports can have adverse health effects

Experts warn that fantasy sports, including fantasy football, can encourage obsessive use because they offer hits of dopamine. Daily fantasy games, which function more like gambling, are especially problematic.

Using deep learning to analyze tumors

The explosive growth of life sciences data is driving artificial intelligence methods to gain traction in biology and medicine — including cancer research.

The story of Marie Nyswander, the woman who co-discovered methadone maintenance

Methadone, an opioid with distinct effects from heroin, revolutionized heroin addiction in the 1960s. Marie Nyswander was a psychoanalyst who helped discover the treatment process which is still in use today. Here's a podcast episode examining her life and role in the field of addiction treatment.

Brain training game creates long-lasting changes in the brain that may help protect against dementia

Findings published in 2026 that tracked more than 2,000 older adults, examining dementia onset and completion of cognitive speed training activities, provide some of the strongest evidence yet that cognitive training games can help protect against dementia. Participants who underwent speed training and received booster sessions had a 25% reduction in the risk of dementia diagnosis compared with the control group.

New eye implant clinical trial recruiting in 2026

University of Southern California researchers have launched a phase 2b clinical trial of a stem cell implant designed to restore vision in people with advanced dry macular degeneration. Patients will be randomized to receive the stem cell implant or a simulated procedure and placebo implant. This type of larger, second-stage clinical trial is designed to confirm efficacy and dosing and to look for side effects. It's one of the stages that precedes the US Food & Drug Administration approval of a device.

Doctors are prescribing social activities—and seeing good results

Physicians, especially in the UK, are asking patients what they enjoy and then prescribing a consistent regimen of doing that type of activity to improve fitness and overall health, including community exercise classes, volunteering, and spending time in nature. This approach may provide better incentives to stick with an activity.

Gene expression patterns are similar between ASD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder

Postmortem brain tissue analysis suggests there are genetic and epigenetic similarities between individuals with autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. All three conditions appeared to have activation of genes in astrocytes and suppression of specific genes that function at the junction between neurons, called synapses. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

A new tinnitus therapy involves mild electric tongue shocks and sound exposures

Lenire, an FDA-approved bimodal neuromodulation treatment approach for tinnitus, aims to teach the brain to distract itself from tinnitus. It includes short-term daily sessions wearing a mouth device that delivers mild electrical pulses to the tongue while listening to different sounds. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Explaining deep-sea mining, including its economic benefits and potential biomedical risks

Extraction via machines sweeping the ocean floor would reduce child labor and human rights violations currently occurring in land-based operations that collect the minerals needed for modern-day electronics. However, these sweeps may kill undiscovered organisms that possess biologies from which antibiotics could be derived and destabilize deep-sea ecosystems.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

An estimated 2 million brain cells die each minute a stroke goes untreated

Modern stroke treatment is a delicate balance between obtaining an accurate diagnosis and delivering treatment quickly. Each stroke has its own cause, and the appropriate treatment must be paired with the correct diagnosis to prevent further harm. Typical treatments pair emergency surgery to relieve the affected area and long-term regimens to avoid recurrence.

Insurance denials prevent lifesaving care for patients with eating disorders

A patient living with anorexia nervosa was told by her insurance company that she wasn't sick enough to receive needed care. Her experience highlights how some insurers across Washington state focus on less useful metrics like body mass index and weight to gauge sickness instead of psychiatric symptoms that may better illustrate the urgency of receiving care.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

See the evolution of Ebola vaccine and treatment development.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.