Grace O’Connor — Health & Science Editor

Researchers from Northeastern University and health agencies in the U.S. and U.K. are developing an early-warning system using international flight wastewater to detect pathogens. By analyzing aircraft sewage, scientists can identify respiratory viruses and antibiotic-resistant superbugs before they establish in local populations, potentially shortening detection times by weeks or months. The air is a highway … Read more

Scientists warn that 2026 could become the hottest year on record due to a strengthening El Niño, according to multiple climate researchers and organizations. While the year remains the third-hottest on record so far, behind 2024 and 2025, a combination of human-caused global warming and an intensifying El Niño has increased the likelihood of 2026 … Read more

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is investigating the first documented case of locally acquired dengue virus in Virginia, confirmed on August 4, 2026. The infection occurred in a Northern Virginia resident who had not traveled outside the state, likely transmitted by a local Aedes mosquito after biting another person with an internationally acquired case. … Read more

Clinical data from the S1706 trial indicates that concurrent administration of the PARP inhibitor olaparib with radiotherapy in inflammatory breast cancer patients significantly increases grade 3 toxicities. The pursuit of better locoregional control in inflammatory breast cancer has led researchers to test whether PARP inhibitors can sensitize tumors to radiation. However, a phase 2 trial … Read more

The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces its second-largest and fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain. As the death toll surpasses 1,700, the World Health Organization and international partners have accelerated clinical trials for experimental treatments, preventive drugs, and mRNA vaccines in Canada and the U.K. The outbreak, officially declared … Read more