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. Cash transfer programs, which provide money directly to recipients, are growing in the United States, but face significant scrutiny, with questions over their value. In addition, some contend that these payments can lead to harm—recipients, they claim, will use the cash to immediately buy alcohol or drugs, leading to injury or death. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-eleven-year-alaska-analysis-spike.html Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:00:01 EST news689855762 California health officials are urging people to stay away from wild mushrooms entirely after a sharp rise in poisonings tied to the deadly death cap mushroom. Since Nov. 18, more than three dozen people have been poisoned after eating death caps, according to the California Department of Public Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-california-foraging-toxic-mushrooms.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:30:05 EST news689873225 To think, feel, talk and move, neurons send messages through electrical signals in the brain and spinal cord. This intricate communication network is built of billions of neurons connected by synapses and managed and modified by glial cells. When neurons die, this communication network is disrupted, and since this loss is irreversible, neuron death causes sensory loss, motor impairment and cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-physical-pressure-brain-trigger-neurons.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:58:28 EST news689878682 A long-standing Medicare policy meant to manage rehabilitation services in nursing homes may keep older Americans in hospitals longer than necessary without improving patient health or saving Medicare money, new research finds. Established in 1965, the rule was intended to manage the use of skilled nursing facilities, which provide short-term medical and rehabilitative care to Medicare beneficiaries. Known as the "three-day rule," it requires patients to spend at least three consecutive days in the hospital before Medicare will cover care in a nursing facility. Skilled nursing facilities are used as a post-hospital benefit by one in five Medicare beneficiaries after hospitalization, and Medicare pays an average of about $15,000 for each stay. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-outdated-medicare-delays-nursing-hospital.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:00:07 EST news689599973 Wildfires are growing larger, lasting longer and happening more often as the climate warms—but the toll from their toxic smoke, especially from long-term exposure, remains poorly understood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-wildfire-exposure-deaths-annually.html Sat, 07 Feb 2026 08:00:08 EST news689443138 Fewer stillbirths and reduced perinatal mortality are the key findings of the first analysis of the Safer Baby Bundle, Australia's national stillbirth prevention program. The Safer Baby Bundle is a set of evidence-based clinical guidelines and educational resources developed by the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth for clinicians and pregnant women to help prevent the tragedy of stillbirth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-australia-stillbirth.html Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:00:01 EST news689527909 For patients hospitalized with severe hyponatremia, faster sodium correction is associated with a lower risk for 90-day death or delayed neurologic events, according to a study published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-poor-outcomes-faster-sodium-severe.html Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:10:02 EST news689411209 IIASA researchers explored why mortality among adults of working age remains high in India alongside rapid economic growth, finding that education—at both individual and community levels—is more strongly associated with lower premature mortality than income or household wealth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-income-premature-adult-mortality-india.html Tue, 03 Feb 2026 13:18:31 EST news689347081 Higher rates of death among younger Australians from cardiovascular disease has been linked to being overweight or obese, a new study shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-overweight-obesity-linked-cardiovascular-deaths.html Mon, 02 Feb 2026 09:44:55 EST news689247841 Opioid overdoses continue to take a devastating toll across the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2023, the nation recorded roughly 105,000 drug overdose deaths overall, with nearly 80,000 deaths involving opioids. Worldwide, opioids are also responsible for the majority of drug-related deaths. A University of California San Diego study published in Nature Mental Health is working on a potentially life-saving measure that may be as simple as strapping on a smartwatch. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-crisis-smartwatch-tracks-triggers-opioid.html Mon, 02 Feb 2026 09:40:07 EST news689247414 The threat posed by plastic production, usage and disposal to human health will skyrocket in the coming years unless the world does something to address this global crisis, researchers warned Tuesday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-health-threat-global-plastics-soar.html Sat, 31 Jan 2026 09:50:03 EST news688710713 People with compromised liver function may be able to reduce their risk of liver cancer or slow its progression with a simple dietary change: eating less protein. A Rutgers-led study in Science Advances has found that low-protein diets slowed liver tumor growth and cancer death in mice, uncovering a mechanism by which a liver's impaired waste-handling machinery can inadvertently fuel cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-simple-dietary-liver-cancer-patients.html Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:13:35 EST news688921981 Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a targetable driver of brain metastases in patients with aggressive inflammatory breast cancer. The study uncovers a novel role for soluble E-cadherin (sEcad) in promoting tumor invasion while resisting cancer cell death and triggering brain inflammation via the CXCR2 signaling pathway. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-blood-biomarker-brain-metastasis-patients.html Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:46:39 EST news688916755 Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are chemically engineered substances designed to mimic the effects of traditional controlled drugs such as opioids, stimulants, and cannabinoids. These compounds pose significant health risks due to their unpredictable potency and toxicity. There is little evidence to suggest NPS are manufactured within the U.K. China has long been identified as the primary source of these drugs, with its chemical manufacturing sector supplying to global markets. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-uk-drug-policy-limited-impact.html Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:28:34 EST news688904882 U.S. life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024—the highest mark in American history. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-life-high-cdc.html Thu, 29 Jan 2026 04:19:58 EST news688882750 Maintaining harm reduction services in the Australian Capital Territory could deliver more than $250 million in health and societal benefits between 2026 and 2030 and avert dozens of overdose deaths, according to new analysis led by Burnet Institute. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-dollar-invested-reduction-benefits.html Wed, 28 Jan 2026 21:20:02 EST news688828276 Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent tumors and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Despite advances achieved in recent years, resistance to available treatments remains one of the main clinical challenges, particularly in advanced stages of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-enzyme-parg-chemotherapy-colorectal-cancer.html Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:53:36 EST news688841582 A new nano-sized drug carrier that finds bone tumors and releases treatment exactly where it's needed is here to improve the precision and comfort of cancer therapy. Designed by a team of researchers from China, this smart nanotherapy tool, LipoNCs@pGSDMB, responds to the reactive oxidative species-rich environment of a bone metastasis. It is based on a fusogenic lipid bilayer that can bypass conventional uptake pathways and fuse directly with tumor cell membranes, delivering the drug payload directly into the cytosol—the water-based fluid in which cells' internal components live. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-nanotherapy-eases-bone-metastasis-pain.html Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:53:12 EST news688830731 Commonly cited statistics on the mortality risk of pregnancy when compared to abortion in the U.S. are a vast undercount, according to a study in JAMA Network Open led by researchers at the University of Maryland and Brown University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-analysis-pregnancy-deaths-vastly-outnumber.html Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:00:03 EST news688827529 More than 25% of pregnant or postpartum women who suffered an acute stroke had had encounters with health care providers for stroke-related symptoms within the prior month but did not receive a timely diagnosis, finds University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine analysis. The study highlights a critical opportunity to improve maternal health outcomes through better clinician education and decision-support tools. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-pregnancy.html Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:35:40 EST news688664101 Ethiopia on Monday declared the end of its first outbreak of Marburg virus after completing the mandatory 42 days with no new confirmed cases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-ethiopia-declares-marburg-virus-outbreak.html Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:40:12 EST news688656539 In a basic science study last year, researchers discovered that taurine, available in energy drinks and as a supplement, feeds the growth of leukemia stem cells. A new study recently published by the same Wilmot Cancer Institute team expands that work and suggests that as taurine fuels leukemia, it becomes less available for other normal cells and may result in weaker bones in mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-taurine-fuels-leukemia-impact-bone.html Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:45:56 EST news688653863 Parkinson's disease is more common among individuals with a higher socioeconomic status and in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. In the southern provinces, Parkinson's occurs less frequently. Men are at greater risk than women, and the risk increases with age, peaking between 75 and 85 years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-regional-demographic-differences-parkinson-disease.html Sun, 25 Jan 2026 09:40:01 EST news688297219 Colon cancer is now the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in Americans under 50. It claimed that spot seven years earlier than previously projected. Colon cancer deaths among people under 50 have risen roughly 1% each year since 2005, researchers reported Jan. 22 in the JAMA. That increase stands out because deaths from cancer overall have dropped sharply in younger people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-colon-cancer-killer-americans.html Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:24:55 EST news688393441 Northwestern Medicine scientists have zeroed in on a cellular gatekeeper that may hold promise for treating abnormal protein accumulation in neurodegenerative diseases, according to a study published in Nature Communications. "In all neurodegenerative diseases, there is an accumulation of misfolded proteins," said Robert Kalb, MD, the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Professor, chief of Neuromuscular Disease in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, and director of the Les Turner ALS Center, who was senior author of the study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-key-proteins-als.html Thu, 22 Jan 2026 17:12:47 EST news688324321 A multi-institutional study led by the University of California, Davis, finds that living in urban areas with a higher percentage of visible trees is associated with a 4% decrease in cardiovascular disease. By comparison, living in urban areas with a higher percentage of grass was associated with a 6% increase in cardiovascular disease. Likewise, a higher rate of other types of green space, like bushes or shrubs, was associated with a 3% increase in cardiovascular disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-trees-grass-greenery-heart-disease.html Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:57:36 EST news688229821 Following a five-year upward trend likely impacted by the COVID pandemic, the number of heart disease and stroke deaths has declined, yet, heart disease and stroke still kill more people in the U.S. each year than any other cause, according to data reported in the 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of U.S. and Global Data From the American Heart Association. Together, heart disease (22% of U.S. deaths)—the leading cause of death for more than a century—and stroke (5.3% of U.S. deaths)—now replacing COVID as the 4th leading cause of death—accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths in the U.S. in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. The annual update is published in Circulation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-heart-disease-deaths.html Wed, 21 Jan 2026 05:00:03 EST news688055101 A new University of Manchester and Edinburgh study published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity has found that people who have had a stroke have fewer of a specific type of immune cell called B cells, which normally produce antibodies to fight off infections. Surprisingly, the same compromising immune changes were seen when healthy B cells were exposed to norepinephrine—a chemical released by the body after stroke, but also during stress, illness, or intense physical activity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-links-stress-response-weakened-immune.html Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:50:02 EST news688139363 New insights into a sophisticated process that protects sperm cells has revealed a mechanism, similar to an immune system, thwarts genetic chaos during the earliest stages of their development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-spermageddon-discovery-immune-mechanism-fertility.html Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:20:03 EST news688137412 Analysis of the medical records of 1,269 elderly patients with advanced cancer by researchers at the University of Tsukuba has found that more than 70% were prescribed potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and that the prescription rate declined closer to the patient's death. Discontinuation was more frequent among patients admitted to palliative care units, those with polypharmacy, and females. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-elderly-cancer-patients-inappropriate-drugs.html Mon, 19 Jan 2026 15:56:32 EST news688060561