Medical Research & Innovations · October 4, 2026 · 4 min read

A study of 129,287 adults found that people whose first sleeping pill prescription covered a month were twice as likely to still be filling it 7 years later. Most patients got that month.

Most people who get a prescription for a sleeping pill think of it as a short fix for a bad stretch of nights. Zolpidem, sold as Ambien, and its close…

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Sunday, October 4, 2026 Published today: 1 articles

Psychology

Three studies of 1,694 parents found fathers of daughters reported greater commitment, attachment and trust toward their partners than fathers of sons. Mothers of daughters also reported more support from them.

Fathers of daughters reported stronger attachment, commitment and trust toward their child’s mother than fathers of sons did, according to three studies…

3 min read · The Wharton School Research Paper Read article →

Medical Research & Innovations

Doctors assume weight-loss drugs help mental health by helping people lose weight. A study of 63,000 patients found the dose they reached mattered more than the pounds they lost.

If weight-loss drugs help mental health, the obvious explanation is the weight loss itself. A study of 63,215 patients on semaglutide, the…

4 min read · Nature Medicine Read article →

Medical Research & Innovations

A study of 3.7 million Swedes found that babies born with a rare infection like CMV or rubella were three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism. Some of these infections can be prevented.

Most infections a pregnant woman catches never reach her baby. A small group can cross the placenta and infect the fetus directly.…

3 min read · JAMA Pediatrics Read article →

Medical Research & Innovations

A study of 95,000 people wearing sleep sensors found that REM sleep protects against 83 diseases and deep sleep protects against 7 more. Outside specific sleep windows, those protections disappear.

Public health messaging about sleep has settled on a simple message: get seven to nine hours. The advice is backed by substantial evidence. It is also incomplete. A new study…