CBS News Los Angeles featured UCLA gastroenterologist Dr. Fola May discussing the rise of colorectal cancer diagnoses in adults under 50 and the importance of early detection. May noted that a disease once most common in older patients is now increasingly appearing in people in their 30s and 40s, and emphasized that screening should begin at age 45 — or earlier for those with a family history or symptoms. Read more about UCLA in today’s NBC News, Independent and other outlets.

More highlights from UCLA in the News: Feb. 19, 2026

Lingering immune signals fuel macrophage memory | The Scientist

“Our new findings suggest that these changes in macrophages are actually readily reversible and do not inherently encode immune memory,” said University of California, Los Angeles, microbiologist and study co-author Alexander Hoffmann in a statement. “Instead, the cells are dependent on ongoing signaling from interferon gamma sequestered at or near the macrophage cell surface.” (UCLA’s Aleksandr Gorin was also quoted.)

Is the U.S. on the brink of war with Iran? | KCRW 89.9-FM’s “Press Play”

“It’s hard to see how we walk back from the brink,” says UCLA political scientist and Burkle Center for International Relations senior fellow Benjamin Radd. “I think we’re at the point of no return.”

A quarter of pregnant women are delaying prenatal care, CDC report finds | NBC News

Dr. Mya Zapata, an OB-GYN at UCLA Health who wasn’t involved with the new research, said she wondered whether distrust of the medical establishment or the government has played a role. “We have a large portion of patients in the Los Angeles area whose legal documentation is unclear,” Zapata said. “They may be hesitant to get care.”

‘Dangerous gaps’ in NHS care for this childbirth condition reported | Independent

With c-section births now outnumbering vaginal births in England for the first time, experts warn that more and more U.K. women are at elevated risk of what used to be a rare condition. Research from the University of California, Los Angeles, last month found that around 14,000 pregnancies are now affected by PAS each year.

Kansas passes anti-trans bathroom bill into law | Kansas City Star 

Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crimes, according to data from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.