https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Influenza spreads in a crowded barracks or prison. Ebola proliferates when per capita hospital beds plummet below typical levels in developed countries. Bedside discrimination leads some patients to die and others to survive. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-metric-reveals-inequality-epidemics.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 19:10:01 EDT news706277942 Giving intravenous iron to patients with anemia before heart surgery reduces the need for a red blood cell transfusion, finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today. Intravenous iron also saved approximately 44 units of blood products for every 100 patients treated. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-iron-transfusion-heart-surgery-complications.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:30:04 EDT news706276981 To what extent does the allocation of aid for combating disease correspond to disease burden? LMU researchers have developed a machine-learning pipeline that helps uncover relative discrepancies in aid distribution. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-transparency-global-health-aid-disease.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:00:09 EDT news706376521 Cancer spreading beyond the primary tumor—a process known as metastasis—is responsible for at least two-thirds of cancer deaths. Drugs targeting metastatic progression have largely failed, in part because of the lack of predictive models that would help identify the underlying mechanisms of metastasis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-human-multi-chip-tracks-breast.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:20:02 EDT news706374188 Research using human brain organoids onboard the International Space Station helped lead to a clinical trial of a potential therapy for Rett syndrome, a debilitating neurological disorder in children. Scientists are now expanding the space-based approach to study other brain diseases and find new treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-orbit-clinic-hiv-drug-rett.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:20:02 EDT news706370221 A research team led by Professor Ji Won Um of the Center for Synapse Diversity and Specificity, Department of Brain Sciences, DGIST, in collaboration with a team led by Professor Alice Ting at Stanford University, has developed LATeNT, a novel optical control platform that uses light to block signal transmission between neurons and subsequently restore normal signaling. The work is published in the journal Nature Methods. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-brain-neurons-reversible-synaptic.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:00:04 EDT news706369921 Why does inflammation persist in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, even as the body is trying to bring it under control? Researchers in Kiel and the United States have identified a mechanism that offers a surprising answer: Inflammation itself disrupts a key metabolic pathway needed to supply the intestinal lining with energy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-crohn-disease-ulcerative-colitis-inflammation.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news706368002 Infrequent exercise is associated with a higher prevalence of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety among higher education students in Norway, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by Michael Grasdalsmoen of Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and colleagues. The findings highlight the potential value of consistent physical activity rather than intense, prolonged exercise sessions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-students-mental-health-intense-workouts.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:29:30 EDT news706368541 A new analysis shows that, of 1,357 artificial intelligence (AI)-based medical devices authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in patient care, only three had been tested on whether they actually improve patients' health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ai-medical-devices-patient-outcomes.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:13 EDT news706258397 Madison researchers have developed an implantable, battery-free pacemaker that's charged by a patient's heartbeat. The device has the potential to last an entire lifetime, reducing the risks and costs associated with replacing devices when their batteries fail. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-heartbeats-power-battery-free-pacemaker.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:11 EDT news706275156 Could AI hold the key to answering questions that have stumped doctors and scientists for decades? A recent study at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) borrows concepts from machine learning to address an age-old riddle of immunology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-immune-ai.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:06 EDT news706195801 The purpose of perspiration was a mystery in 1775, when English physician Charles Brian Blagden and a few inquisitive friends experimented on themselves by spending time in rooms heated to more than 230°F (110°C). While the temperatures were hot enough to cook raw meat placed in those rooms, Blagden noted how human bodies resisted the heat. Their core body temperatures remained nearly constant as sweat poured out and evaporated. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-science-dry-air-hinder-cooling.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:04 EDT news706265641 A compound produced in the body after eating pomegranates improves heart function by up to 80% in a type of heart failure with limited treatment options. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-compound-pomegranates-stiff-heart-failure.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:02 EDT news706276261 A research team has developed a wearable patch that simultaneously promotes wound closure and tissue regeneration using room light or sunlight, without batteries or an external electrical power source. The work has been published online in Advanced Materials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ambient-wearable-patch-wound-treatment.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:20:05 EDT news706359661 Every RNA virus—from stomach bugs and influenza to measles and the common cold—has its own story to tell, with a unique combination of symptoms, transmission rates, duration and chemical blueprint. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-norovirus-vaccine-approach-strategies-rna.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:00:06 EDT news706358581 New research led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in collaboration with an international partnership of researchers, has, for the first time, compared the genetics of people with binge eating with those without any eating disorder. The paper also includes the largest-ever genetic study of anorexia nervosa. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-international-genetic-disorders.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:40:09 EDT news706357261 With more than 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer's dementia—a number projected to reach nearly 13 million by 2050—new Emory University research suggests that higher vitamin D supplement intake may be associated with better cognitive function in adults at elevated risk of dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-high-dose-vitamin-d-cognition.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:40:05 EDT news706361941 Nearly half of adults in the United States who use cannabis mainly smoke it, but about 1 in 7 use it in nearly every form available, a behavior tied to daily cannabis use and increased addiction risk, a new study shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cannabis-consumption-patterns-people-addiction.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:20:02 EDT news706356901 A new study from the University of Delaware shows that fluctuations in estrogen influence the brain, helping reshape connections between neurons. Researchers showed that a specialized imaging technique called magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) can detect estrogen-dependent mechanical changes in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory and learning, across the reproductive cycle. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-specialized-imaging-reveals-hormone-driven.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news706356091 Immune cells that are engineered to attack cancer cells, known as CAR-T cells, are used to treat some types of blood cancer. However, only about 5% of hospitals in the United States can generate and deliver CAR-T cells to patients. For many patients, this means the cells need to be frozen and shipped long distances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cell-technique-car-therapy-accessible.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:40:10 EDT news706356086 A new study suggests that Alzheimer's disease may be detected by brain imaging more than seven years earlier than previously assumed. Researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo led the study, published in Nature Neuroscience. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-alzheimer-disease-earlier-previously-thought.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news706355992 A scientific team has shown that, under the right circumstances, 3D cell culture models of human brain tissue, known as organoids, can express features of later-stage brain development. This breakthrough could turn previously unattainable, long-term benchtop studies of neurodevelopmental disorders into a reality. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-brain-organoids-survive-years-mirroring.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:22 EDT news706197422 A landmark five-year study by Monash University has found psychedelics reorganize brain patterns, giving clinicians powerful new insights into their therapeutic potential. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-world-largest-psilocybin-brain-imaging.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:19 EDT news706267443 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that gut bacteria can convert dietary nitrate and iron into protective molecules that may reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The study, published in Cell, reveals a new way in which the gut microbiota helps protect vital bodily functions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-gut-bacteria-spinach-beets-iron.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:13 EDT news706201621 Why does staying awake inevitably make us sleepy? Researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, have identified neuronal populations in the brains of mice that become activated during prolonged wakefulness and are crucial for sleep drive. Their findings provide new insights into how the brain generates the need for sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-sleepy-neurons.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:08 EDT news706195621 The human immune system has specialized cells called CD4 cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD4 CTLs), which have been shown to kill tumor cells in some cancers. When a person gets sick, these cells multiply in a process called clonal expansion to help fight infection. In a study published in the journal Cell Reports on Aug. 19, researchers show that these immune cells also may play a role in healthy aging among supercentenarians. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-supercentenarians-abundance-cancer-immune-cells.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:06 EDT news706195741 People participating in an Oregon Health & Science University-led study of state-regulated psilocybin services reported relief from symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder—with almost two-thirds declaring the experience to be among the most meaningful of their lives. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-sustained-benefit-people-oregon-psilocybin.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:05 EDT news706258301 Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered lymph node-like structures in the skull bone marrow of mice for the first time and demonstrated that they act as rapid first responders against brain cancer before distant lymph nodes get the signal that abnormal cells are present. The researchers also found evidence of similar immune cells in human skull bone marrow. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-newly-immune-skull-brain-defense.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:03 EDT news706265402 Memory clinics still rely on visual rating scales to assess brain atrophy, yet these tools lack the sensitivity to catch subtle changes associated with early dementia. A measure of how old a person's brain appears on brain scans compared with their actual age might be a potential predictor of who is more likely to develop dementia over the years, reports a new study published in Neurology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ai-brain-age-dementia-years.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:30:01 EDT news706351411 Age, genetics and lifestyle are known to influence how people respond to viral infections. Scientists also know that differences in immune responses play an important role, but exactly how these factors shape the course of an infection has remained unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-early-immune-checkpoint-virus-affects.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:20:08 EDT news706353181