Health

A group of scientists from top U.S. university hospitals has determined that calculating body mass index (BMI) alone isn’t enough to designate someone as obese. BMI, which measures body fat using a person’s height and weight, has been the standard criteria for diagnosing obesity for years, but the doctors at Beth Israel, Yale, and Harvard found that accounting for waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio as well provides a better indication of potential obesity. The bad news is that combining waist measurements with BMI means that over 75 percent of adults may be obese, as opposed to 40 percent when using BMI on its own.

Since 2021, U.S. News has collected data from maternity hospitals for its annual evaluation of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. This...

Nature Medicine, Published online: 09 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04074-y

In a randomized controlled study involving 1,298 participants from a general sample, performance of humans when assisted by a large language model (LLM) was sensibly inferior to that of the LLM alone when assessing ten medical scenarios leading to disease identification and recommendations for treatment.

Nature Medicine, Published online: 09 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04196-3

In a study of four brain-dead human decedents, extracorporeal liver cross-circulation using genetically modified pig livers provides essential hepatic functions, supporting the feasibility of this approach for temporary liver support as a bridge to organ transplantation.

You don’t wear the same clothes all year round; you don’t even use the same beauty products all year round; so, how can you eat the same food throughout the year? Ayurveda, the ancient alternative medicine system, also emphasizes that if we eat similar foods all months of the year, there’s a higher chance of digestive …

Continue reading "Seasonal eating in Ayurveda: What to eat and avoid throughout the year"

Nothing beats a hot cup of tea or a comforting bowl of food on those crisp winter days. Throw in holidays and time off, and it’s easy to indulge a little more than usual. But for too many of us, the season’s joys are overshadowed by persistent digestive issues. Bloating, that heavy post-meal slump, constipation, …

Continue reading "Why does digestion slow down in winter? Dietitian suggests what to eat"

Nature Medicine, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04194-5

This Review outlines the science behind psychedelic medicine and integrates mechanistic knowledge with clinical evidence across neuropsychiatric indications, highlighting challenges, controversies and opportunities.

Nature Medicine, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04205-z

Data suggest that primary care practices could help deliver effective weight management — but only with robust implementation strategies that acknowledge the realities and pressures of primary care settings.

Nature Medicine, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04192-7

An urgent need to build climate and health intervention trial capacity

Nature Medicine, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04227-7

Surviving as a health equity researcher amidst a shifting political climate