https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A lightweight wearable device developed by UNSW engineers could one day help people monitor their heart and breathing health from home, potentially reducing hospital visits and allowing doctors to detect problems earlier. The flexible sensor patch, which attaches to the chest or over peripheral arteries using medical adhesive tape, is designed to continuously capture subtle vibrations produced by the heart, lungs, blood flow and pulse waves. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tiny-patch-hospital-style-heart.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:40:08 EDT news700223701 Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping medicine, from diagnosing disease to accelerating drug discovery. Its influence is also reaching the world of sport. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ai-revolutionize-concussion-sport.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:20:05 EDT news700140781 Sunshine, heat, cold and rain all play a role in how active preschool children are during the day, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Environmental Research, in which researchers linked children's activity patterns to everyday weather conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-sunny-days-preschoolers-cold-clouds.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:20:14 EDT news699795655 Graduate students working in the Auburn University Biomechanical Engineering Lab recently decided to analyze—even if only vicariously—a masterpiece of anatomical misdirection engineered by the most valuable leg in the world. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-soccer-player-biomechanics-messi-body.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:00:07 EDT news699793622 University of Rhode Island graduate student Adeleke Justin Akinkurolere will present ground-breaking research on ingestive behaviors at NUTRITION 2026, an international gathering of nutrition professionals on July 25–28 in National Harbor, Maryland. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ingestive-behaviors-people-tracked-wearable.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:20:08 EDT news699708241 For the first time, scientists have succeeded in artificially mimicking the ion signaling of heart muscle cells. To succeed, researchers at LiU have used organic electronics based on conductive plastics. The findings, published in Nature Communications, pave the way for new types of prostheses, heart implants and sensors in the long term. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-plastic-mimics-heart-cell-ion.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:20:07 EDT news699705841 New paper-thin piezoelectric patch sensors designed for at-home stroke rehabilitation may soon revolutionize post-stroke care by offering potential accessible, efficient rehabilitation and improving patient outcomes through self-motivated health care and entertainment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-sensors-rehab-screen-game.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:40:06 EDT news699631981 Researchers have developed an enhanced wearable motion-tracking system that could improve the accuracy of fitness trackers used to monitor exercise and training. The team provides details in an article published in the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-real-calibration-trackers-lab.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:00:05 EDT news699621326 A research team led by the University of Waterloo has created a new monitoring system to save lives and significantly reduce health-care costs in brain-injury cases through the early detection of infections in intensive care units. A paper on the work, A platform for near real-time and multiplexed monitoring of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and flow in neurocritical care, was published in Science Translational Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-real-brain-infections-earlier.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:20:02 EDT news699618481 A team of Rice University mechanical and electrical engineering students has developed an interactive, modular rehabilitation system designed to make stroke recovery more engaging, adaptable and effective for patients at home. The project, called TacTile, was created in Rice's Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) and earned top honors at the HUFF OEDK Engineering Design Showcase, where it won first place in the Willy Revolution Award for Outstanding Innovation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-students-rehab-interactive-gameplay.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:20:01 EDT news699540781 Inova, the leading nonprofit health system in the Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, developed a novel dietitian-led program for the bedside placement of feeding tubes for critically ill patients. The goals were to reduce nursing workload and optimize patient safety. In addition, the system adopted an electromagnetic sensor-guided feeding tube (EMFT) system that allows clinicians to visualize the tube's path on a monitor for real-time positioning at the bedside. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-teamwork-technology-tube-placement.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news699526321 With obesity now affecting more than 40% of U.S. adults and fueling rising rates of heart disease, a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association calls for a comprehensive treatment approach that puts physical activity front and center. The statement, "Role of Physical Activity in Obesity Treatment and Cardiometabolic Health," was published in Circulation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-health-scale.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:00:01 EDT news699263041 Detecting melanoma before it becomes visible is a major challenge in dermatology. Now, with researchers from Université de Montréal, scientists at Université du Québec's Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have developed a promising solution. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-intelligent-tattoo-skin-cancer.html Mon, 25 May 2026 12:40:04 EDT news698931061 Pulse oximeter devices routinely overestimate blood oxygen levels in darker-skinned patients—a racial bias that can trigger downstream health harms for Black individuals, compounding well beyond any single inaccurate reading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-pulse-oximeter-bias-linked-gaps.html Mon, 25 May 2026 11:20:02 EDT news698925541 Minuscule movement patterns collected from smartphones and often undetectable to humans have been used to predict cravings and compulsive behaviors with groundbreaking accuracy—potentially offering timely and bespoke treatment for smoking and other addictions and conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-smartphone-cravings-lapses-potential-addiction.html Thu, 21 May 2026 15:40:05 EDT news698587201 For the first time, therapeutically effective medications are now available for Alzheimer's disease. Effective symptomatic therapies also exist for Parkinson's disease; however, a prerequisite for successful treatment is early diagnosis—ideally through a simple blood test conducted as part of a preventive screening, even before clinical symptoms appear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-simple-blood-alzheimer-parkinson-early.html Thu, 21 May 2026 13:00:04 EDT news698580002 Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, is a peak holiday for alcohol consumption, with nearly half of celebrants reporting they plan to buy alcoholic beverages. Public health experts are raising concern that only about 28% of people are aware that regular alcohol consumption increases risk for at least seven forms of cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-alcohol-downplays-breast-cancer.html Thu, 21 May 2026 11:40:09 EDT news698581622 How can robots and humans work together as effectively as possible in the operating room of the future? Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and TUM University Hospital investigated this question as part of the ForNeRo research project. Using a sensor-equipped system, they analyzed surgeons' movements during procedures and collected data from simulated robot-assisted operations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-robots-surgical.html Wed, 20 May 2026 17:00:02 EDT news698500232 If you ask a child to draw an animal that doesn't exist, they'll often cobble together components from real ones—say, the body of a seal with an elephant's trunk, four octopus arms, and one lizard eye. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-neural-basis-thought.html Wed, 20 May 2026 12:58:43 EDT news698500344 Lighting accounts for almost 8% of the world's energy usage. It makes up around 10–20% of domestic energy bills, with an even higher proportion in commercial premises like offices. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-smarter-energy-bills-boost-health.html Wed, 20 May 2026 11:40:01 EDT news698494502 Calcium is widely known for its role in maintaining strong bones and teeth, but it is also one of the body's most important cellular messengers. Calcium signals help regulate muscle contraction, neural function, immune cell activation and many other physiological processes. Because cells rely on calcium signals to decide when and how strongly to respond, the movement of calcium must be tightly controlled. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-newly-peptides-safer-immunotherapies.html Tue, 19 May 2026 15:40:05 EDT news698419681 Researchers have discovered a new method to boost the body's natural ability to fight respiratory viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), one of the leading causes of severe lung infections worldwide. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-body-defense-respiratory-viruses.html Tue, 19 May 2026 14:40:01 EDT news698415902 A smart-technology wearable wristband device may be able to automatically detect cardiac arrest, which could lead to faster medical assistance and increased survival odds when cardiac arrest occurs outside of a hospital, according to new research published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-smart-technology-wearable-wristband-cardiac.html Tue, 19 May 2026 05:00:03 EDT news698325422 For decades, ultrasound has been associated with diagnostics—a routine scan in a hospital room, a monitor displaying organs, tissues, or the first image of a baby. However, researchers are now looking at ultrasound from an entirely different perspective. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-frequency-ultrasound-blood-cardiovascular-neurological.html Mon, 18 May 2026 19:00:06 EDT news698343122 Men and women who appear hormonally "normal" may still have undetected disruptions in the timing and coordination of their reproductive hormones that could impair fertility, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-driven-wearable-patches-undetected.html Sun, 17 May 2026 20:30:04 EDT news697717869 Barrier organs that form boundaries between the body and the outside environment, such as the lungs, skin, and intestines, face a difficult balancing act. They must respond quickly to threats such as infection, but they also need to avoid triggering unnecessary inflammation that can damage the tissue. A new study led by Whitehead Institute member Pulin Li and graduate student in her lab Diep Nguyen reveals one way the lung manages that tradeoff. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-lungs-defense-tuning-responses-deeper.html Sat, 16 May 2026 08:00:03 EDT news697991375 High blood pressure, formally known as hypertension, is a leading cause of heart disease in the United States, impacting nearly half of all adults. Approximately 1 in 10 of these patients experience drug-resistant hypertension that can be difficult to address, but according to researchers at Penn State, tiny devices that gently shock one of the body's most critical arteries could offer effective treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-stretchy-implants-arteries-high-blood.html Fri, 15 May 2026 10:40:01 EDT news698059501 In most people, influenza stays in the upper respiratory tract—mainly the nose—and clears without spreading further. But during pregnancy, the virus can extend beyond the lungs into the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of severe complications for mothers and babies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-immune-overreaction-linked-deadly-flu.html Thu, 14 May 2026 15:12:11 EDT news697990261 A research team co-led by investigators at Mass General Brigham and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has developed and validated an artificial intelligence model, known as ECG2Stroke, that can predict the risk of a stroke up to 10 years into the future using a single 10-second cardiology test. The work is published in JACC. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-year-based-routine-cardiology.html Thu, 14 May 2026 14:40:56 EDT news697988401 Diabetic ulcers, which occur in patients with diabetes, are dangerous complications that can lead to amputation if the treatment window is missed. A research team has developed a wireless, battery-free optoelectronic multi-modal sensor patch for diabetic ulcer management. It can monitor wound conditions in real time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-real-diagnostic-smart-patch-diabetic.html Thu, 14 May 2026 11:50:12 EDT news697978141