Health – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Who turned out the lights? Nanoleaf gets deeper into red light therapy and further from smart lighting.

In line with its pivot into wellness tech, Nanoleaf has launched a wraparound LED light therapy mask for your neck, which the company claims “is designed to reach deeper layers of the skin and support faster skin cell renewal.” It offers seven lighting modes and near-infrared wavelengths up to 1072nm.

The Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Neck & Décolletage Mask costs $149.99.

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<em>The Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Neck & Décolletage Mask.</em>
<em>The Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Neck & Décolletage Mask.</em>
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The Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Neck & Décolletage Mask.
Image: Nanoleaf
Continuous glucose monitors are about to get more complicated

Abbott’s new 2-in-1 CGM will help diabetics monitor ketone levels. But can it avoid the wearable hype cycle?

Victoria Song
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
What’s on your running playlist?

I recently started running again. And, as I started building back to my first half marathon in almost a decade, I realized — my running playlist is hopelessly out of date. Nothing on there is newer than 2018, so tell me what keeps you motivated to power through the pain.

Your Oura Ring can’t measure what’s going on in your skull

A new lawsuit charges the company with duping customers. Who’s at fault?

Victoria Song
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Daniel Ek’s body-scanning clinic, Neko Health, will open in NYC on September 24th.

Midjourney isn’t the only one getting into body scanners, and Neko Health has touted long lists of potential clients and investors ahead of the US launch. Now it says the SoHo location at 300 Lafayette Street is nearly ready to open, with seven scan rooms for its “non-invasive and radiation-free” $499 check.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Whoop drops the subscription requirement for its Advanced Labs blood testing.

The wearable company now says the Advanced Labs blood testing service that it launched last year is now available, with prices starting at about $150, even if you don’t have one of its wearable devices or the membership subscription tied to them. It’s also adding the “multi-cancer early detection test” Galleri to the package, which might help it stand out from the increasingly crowded wearable field and alleged lookalikes.

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
Here’s an estimate of Elon Musk’s death toll.

The end of USAID, which Elon Musk fed “into the wood chipper”, will cause an extra 14 million deaths through 2030, including 4.5 million in children under the age of 5. SpaceX shares are $141.10 as of this writing, above their IPO price of $135.

Correction: A previous version of this post referred to the journal article’s estimates as “new.” It was published in 2025.

Wearables are getting a taste of much-needed minimalism

Going screenless proves you can afford to be intentionally inefficient.

Victoria Song
Google’s Pixel Watch 5 dives deeper into AI and health

We’re talking offline Gemini, proactive AI suggestions, better GPS maps, insulin resistance trends, and a $50 price hike.

Victoria Song
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Trump signs executive order aimed at decreasing vaccine requirements for kids.

The executive order backs a new childhood vaccine schedule with 11 immunizations instead of 17. As reported by The NYT, “it is unclear whether the order has any legal power,” as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets immunization schedules based on recommendations from a committee of medical experts.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
FDA approves first mRNA flu vaccine from Moderna.

Despite the preferences of some, Moderna announced that after years of work, mFLUSIVA (mRNA-1010) has been approved for use in adults aged 50 to 64, with an accelerated approval for adults 65 and up as they wait for the results of a follow-up study.

While Moderna plans to roll it out by this fall, the WSJ notes it’s still unclear what RFK Jr.‘s vaccine recommendation panel will say about this use of the Nobel Prize-winning approach.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
The CDC adds four more states to the big cyclosporiasis outbreak.

As reported earlier by the Washington Post, the CDC has updated its notice about parasite infections linked to now-recalled lettuce from Taylor Farms. The CDC noted it’s investigating other cases nationally “that are unrelated to this outbreak,” and today the FDA disclosed a new cyclospora outbreak with 72 cases, in addition to its three existing active cyclospora outbreak investigations.

…the total case count associated with this multistate outbreak is now 1,947. This includes the addition of 4 states: Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.

What I track in a day

Living an optimized, self-quantified life can get a little out of hand.

Victoria Song
Victoria Song
Victoria Song
The FDA’s peptide circus is underway.

An advisory panel, stacked with RFK Jr.’s pro-peptide appointees, has voted to add BPC-157 and KPV to the bulk compounding list. This is despite FDA staff clinicians stating that there’s no convincing evidence. Central to the argument is whether allowing compounding will curtail the gray market or expose the public to unnecessary risk. Internally screaming.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Samsung’s also got an AI health assistant coming.

By leveraging data sourced from a Galaxy smartphone, smartwatch, or smart ring, the new Samsung Health Assistant can help users better understand their health while also providing guidance and recommendations on how they can improve it through “meaningful changes in their lifestyle.” The assistant is now in beta for eligible users in the US.

A Samsung smartphone showing an AI-based health assistant on screen.
Image: Samsung
The manosphere’s testosterone obsession reaches the highest levels of US military

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced mandatory testosterone screenings, but it’s a symptom of a larger fixation.

Victoria Song
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Washington Post: Taco Bell lettuce supplier Taylor Farms linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak.

Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the investigation, the Washington Post reported Thursday night that, based on reports from many of the people who fell ill, investigators “have identified shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms as a potential source of contamination.”

Otherwise, CDC officials have only said they have found a likely link among the more than 4,300 cases caused by the “explosive diarrhea parasite.”

Our ‘explosive diarrhea parasite’ future

Budget cuts are blowing up US health infrastructure — and your toilet.

Gaby Del Valle
Victoria Song
Victoria Song
Would you buy a $600 smart scale?

If you are, Withings’ BodyScan 2 is available to buy starting today. Why is the scale $600? Well, it measures 60 biomarkers, and it’s positioned as a “longevity station.”

It also offers noninvasive metabolic metrics like glucose resilience via bioimpedance spectroscopy and foot sweat. Yes, foot sweat.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

David Imel
David Imel
Bevel hits the Fitbit.

The “Whoop, but for the Apple Watch” app now integrates with Google Health. If you didn’t think the Fitbit Air was a Whoop competitor before, it sure might be now. Especially considering Whoop is suing them.

Less is more with the Oura Ring 5

8

Verge Score

This is a smart ring for new users. Everyone else should wait until their current ring dies.

Victoria Song
Empathy for the optimizers

Clowning on the longevity king is fun, but it ignores why people biohack in the first place.

Victoria Song
Hydration isn’t complicated: Just drink water

Electrolyte mixes have a time and place — but less than influencers would have you believe.

Victoria Song
The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

‘Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.’

Bethany Brookshire
Sometimes, health tracking accuracy is overrated

I measured my body composition on five devices. I still don’t know what my exact body fat percentage is.

Victoria Song
The Fitbit Air takes a smarter approach to the AI health dumpster fire

8

Verge Score

Google Health remains a work in progress, but it could be so much worse.

Victoria Song
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
I can break down just fine on my own.

Sure, you could buy a smart scale for a body composition breakdown, but why bother?

Hoto:

I don’t need some fancy two-bit scale to give myself a breakdown about my body composition

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Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Get you a site that does both.

Where else can you find cutting edge gadget coverage and excellent sunscreen recommendations?

pretendworld:

seeing a photo of my sunscreen on the verge.. i really don’t need to visit any other site this place has it all

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Our long national sunscreen nightmare is almost over

Other countries have been doing it right for over 20 years. It’s about time we caught up.

Victoria Song