Monday, February 16, 2026

University of Michigan researchers developed an AI system called Prima that can analyze brain MRI scans in seconds and identify over 50 neurological conditions with up to 97.5% accuracy, while automatically flagging emergencies and alerting appropriate specialists.^[1]

A phase three clinical trial found that an experimental oral pill called enlicitide reduced LDL "bad" cholesterol by up to 60% in high-risk patients, potentially offering millions of people an easier alternative to injectable cholesterol-lowering drugs.^[2]

A meta-analysis of 23 large randomized trials involving over 150,000 participants found that statins do not cause the majority of side effects listed on their package labels, including memory loss, depression, and sleep disturbance, with researchers calling for rapid revision of drug labeling.^[3]

The next-generation spacesuit for NASA's Artemis III mission passed a contractor-led technical review, with testing underway including underwater simulations of lunar surface operations as the agency prepares to send humans to the Moon's South Pole.^[4]

Researchers used AI to reconstruct the rules of a board game carved into a stone from Roman-era Heerlen in the Netherlands, finding this type of blocking game was played several centuries earlier than previously documented—marking the first use of AI-driven simulated play to reconstruct ancient game rules.^[5]

Russia and Ukraine will hold U.S.-brokered peace talks February 17-18 in Geneva, following two earlier rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi that the parties described as constructive but which achieved no breakthroughs.^[6]

Five European countries—the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands—formally alleged that Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny with a toxin from poison dart frogs while he was held in an Arctic penal colony two years ago; Russia dismissed the claim as propaganda.^[7]

Scientists created a new type of "time crystal" using Styrofoam beads levitated by sound waves, which interact through nonreciprocal forces and spontaneously oscillate—the first time crystals visible to the naked eye and holdable in hand, potentially advancing quantum technology applications.^[8]