Health

Health and fitness devices like the Apple Watch or Fitbit's bracelets are gaining in popularity as they track important vitals like pulse or oximetry and some can even take blood pressure. Heart rate measurements, however, can now be accurately registered with the help of a $5 Wi-Fi chip and some AI voodoo.

With a battery life estimated at 21 days or more per charge, Luna claims to have launched one of the world's longest-lasting smart rings at IFA 2025. The second-generation wearable is also touted to have one of the best-trained AIs out there, particularly in terms of sleep-tracking and stress detection. The Luna 2.0 ring is also subscription-free and integrates its own chatbot.

Samsung is bringing a significant expansion to its health ecosystem with three new features. The new update will introduce virtual doctor visits, advanced prescription tracking, and on-demand fitness content.

An experimental drug called baxdrostat has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure in individuals with resistant or uncontrolled hypertension. This was demonstrated in a large international Phase III clinical trial.

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University have developed a new system that uses wearable sensors and AI to learn an individual's unique gestures. This new system aims to give people with motor or visual impairments an efficient way to communicate with the world.

The Huawei Watch D2 smartwatch is getting a new blood pressure tracking feature. In a recent social media post, the company announced a scheduled blood pressure measurement function, which is expected to launch in the near future. This will join the watch’s existing manual and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring functions.

Two new features could be on the way to the Google Health Connect app. The code behind a recent version of the Android app points to upcoming tools to help users track their usage of some substances. While the basic functionality is sketched out, it remains to be seen when these features could be released.

OpenAI says it is working on adding one-click messages to contacts, parental controls, and even an option to directly reach out to emergency contacts in case of “acute distress.” The announcement comes after a lawsuit presented by the family of a teen who committed suicide.

Google has a patent for detecting stress markers through bio-data from wearables or smartphones and using AI to track patterns in order to notify the user. The user can then decide to block triggering content from showing up in the future.

A team of researchers led by Huanyu Cheng, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University, has developed a cost-effective sensor that can detect diabetes and prediabetes. The new sensor, which works by measuring acetone levels in a person's breath, could be a replacement for current blood and sweat-based tests.

NASA is sending supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The cargo spacecraft is not only loaded with crew supplies, but also contains materials for experiments that could advance both space and Earth science.

New research led by a Purdue University assistant professor and her Ph.D. student shows that a typical hairstyling routine involving heated tools can expose individuals to nanoparticle pollution comparable to standing in dense highway traffic.

NASA’s SpaceX 33rd commercial resupply mission has launched with more than 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of supplies. Amongst other things, it is carrying the materials for bone loss research. This research could be critical in making future long-duration missions to Mars and the Moon successful.

A new microscope system developed at MIT combines advanced light and sound technologies to create images of single cells deep within the brain tissue. This breakthrough could enable the advancement of neuronal studies.

A number of smartwatch and smartwatch-like wearables boast stress-tracking technology as part of their health-tech bragging rights. It might not live up to the hype, however, according to new research. It claims to have found that a certain fitness tracker was unable to accurately track stress over the course of a reasonably large-scale, long-term study.

In a recent first-in-human study, a man with type 1 diabetes successfully received a transplant of gene-edited islet cells. The cells, which were engineered to evade his immune system now enable him to produce insulin without the need for immune-suppressing drugs.

The newly approved Vizz eye drops from Lenz Therapeutics could spare many people with presbyopia from needing reading glasses. They reportedly last up to 10 hours, improving near vision without affecting distance vision.

A new study has found that the way potatoes are prepared is a major factor in their link to type 2 diabetes. The study showed that eating three servings of french fries per week is associated with a 20% increased risk of developing the disease. But eating similar amounts of potatoes that were boiled, baked, or mashed did not have the same effect.

Although the home is a place where we feel safe on a daily basis, there is an invisible but very real danger that we breathe in every day. And measures must be taken to limit its impact on our health.

Using a 107-year-old specimen, researchers have managed to digitally reconstruct the genome of the 1918 Spanish Flu Virus, revealing it was well-adapted to humans from the very beginning of the outbreak.

On July 26, an Ohio couple welcomed a baby boy from a frozen embryo that was conceived back in 1994 — nearly 31 years ago. The embryo was in storage for 11,148 days, beating the previous record of 10,905 days.

Biotech company 4DMT is testing a gene therapy that can remove the burden of regular eye injections in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). The therapy is showing encouraging results, and it could be the next big thing in eye care.

CheckMag Over the next decade, these five transformative tech fields are poised to reshape human society and AI is at the center of all. The possibilities are staggering and humankind could solve pressing issues related to climate change and an array of diseases, including aging itself.

Bradford Smith, Neuralink’s third implant recipient and first with ALS, now navigates a MacBook Pro using thought-driven cursor movements from a coin-sized brain implant.