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. Much of how genetic risk leads to disease has remained hidden. In many cases, genetic variants linked to disease do not act on nearby genes along the chromosome. Instead, they influence genes located far away along the DNA sequence. This happens because DNA is folded inside the cell, bringing distant regions into physical contact. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-approach-rare-immune-cells-genetic.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 14:50:02 EDT news705073353 Traditionally, obesity has been classified primarily using BMI, a measure of weight relative to height that provides limited information about whether excess fat is actually affecting a person's health. BMI levels have historically played a central role in determining eligibility and priority for metabolic bariatric surgery—operations on the stomach that help people lose weight and treat health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-obesity-definitions-reveal-ill-health.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 13:20:01 EDT news705918615 Within the brain, neurons compute by generating electrical impulses. These signals travel throughout neurons, which are in turn connected in vast networks that control brain functions such as sensory perception, memory formation and movement. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-high-microscopy-reveals-electrical-brain.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news705911271 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Eve (Wandercraft), the first self-balancing personal exoskeleton for eligible adult wheelchair users living with spinal cord injury. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-fda-personal-exoskeleton.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 10:00:05 EDT news705984127 Nature never sits still, and neither does anything living within it, since paths keep shifting as things move through the world. Decisions work the same way, changing shape as we go rather than settling once and for all. You set out on a certain route to the office, then traffic forces you onto another, or you plan to cook a certain meal, then realize you're missing an ingredient and end up making something else with whatever's in the fridge. Our brains' ability to adapt to changing situations plays an important role in this process. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-brain-reveals-people-goals-real.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news705926992 The internet's obsession with "maxxing" has turned almost every aspect of self-improvement into a trend. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-saunas-ice-affect-male-fertility.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:40:03 EDT news705906791 Researchers have developed a technology for building more compact point-of-care medical imaging devices by creating a material that acts as two devices in one. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-devices-metasurface-medical-imaging-smaller.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:00:03 EDT news705910346 Haswitha Sabbineni has an idea that could lead to a targeted treatment for prostate cancer. To obtain the rare isotope she needed to test the treatment, she turned to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The lab is one of the few places in the world capable of making many specialized isotopes—among them, rhenium-188 (Re-188), which is produced when tungsten-188 (W-188) undergoes radioactive decay. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-revived-rhenium-isotope-generators-prostate.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 07:20:03 EDT news705724294 A new pilot study reports that direct-current (DC) microcurrent stimulation was associated with a statistically significant reduction in measured postsurgical scar depth immediately following a single treatment. The article, "Effects of DC microcurrent stimulation on scar remodeling and tissue recovery," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-significant-reduction-postsurgical-scar-depth.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:00:02 EDT news705747939 The Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now killing a victim every 30 minutes, a top UN humanitarian official said Friday, calling for greater international action. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ebola-victim-minutes-dr-congo.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 05:00:01 EDT news705983372 August is National Immunization Awareness Month—the perfect time to prepare for the viruses and bacteria that spread each fall and winter. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-winter-vaccines-respiratory-illness.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 20:40:01 EDT news705924626 Ever feel that the arrival of summer sun makes you feel a bit dopey? You wouldn't be the only one. Soaring temperatures are known for their ability to slow our thought processes, making even everyday tasks seem like a baffling ordeal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-hot-extreme-affect-brain.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:40:04 EDT news705756591 A person's sleep patterns could be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease, a new study says. A greater number of micro-awakenings during sleep is linked to a greater genetic risk for Alzheimer's, researchers report in the journal Sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-disturbances-linked-genetic-alzheimer.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 18:40:02 EDT news705910422 Thomas's phone alarm buzzes at 9:30 p.m.—it's time for the aspiring bodybuilder to start injecting several banned peptides into his stomach. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-trend-peptides-optimise-body.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:40:03 EDT news705896288 Imaging turnaround times continued to increase across modalities through 2024, according to a study published online Aug. 3 in Journal of the American College of Radiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-imaging-turnaround.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:20:03 EDT news705928038 I teach a university course called Hormones and Behaviour. What surprises students is that biological sex is not produced by a single switch. What surprises me is that many students have never been taught this before. It is basic biology, but it helps explain life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-chromosomes-sex-hormones-body-dont.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news705918347 States are moving faster and further than federal regulators to get kratom off store shelves, with some banning the herb outright while a pending federal rule targets only one of its chemicals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-states-emergency-kratom-awaiting-federal.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:40:03 EDT news705935144 Before breakfast, you may already have checked your sleep score, resting heart rate or blood oxygen level. By bedtime, you might look at your step count, stress score or even an estimate of your biological age. For millions of people, keeping tabs on health and well-being has become almost as routine as checking the weather. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ten-adults-track-health-survey.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:20:01 EDT news705842397 Before babies learn to speak, they're having actual conversations with their parents, whether the parents realize it or not. A coo. A babble. A squeal. Inevitably, an adult will make noises back or respond with baby talk: a higher pitch, exaggerated intonation. In those moments of back-and-forth vocalizations, adults are training the baby to converse, according to new research co-authored by Martha Pelaez, a professor of education at Florida International University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-baby-conversations-words-adults-speech.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:40:04 EDT news705933661 The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended prioritizing the Ervebo vaccine for testing in a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The vaccine was originally developed to protect against Zaire ebolavirus, the species responsible for the devastating West African epidemic just over a decade ago. It was not designed for the Bundibugyo species responsible for the current outbreak—which raises the question of why scientists are considering it at all. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-vaccine-built-ebola-virus-world.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:20:05 EDT news705918338 Measuring waist size may be one of the simplest and most effective ways to detect obesity-related health risks, according to a study by Rutgers Health researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-waist-size-powerful-indicator-health.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:20:02 EDT news705933541 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a role for the youth-associated protein TIMP2 in supporting the healthy function of microglia, the brain's resident immune cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-youth-protein-healthy-function-immune.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:00:04 EDT news705933061 Often, humans and other animals seek information that can help them complete tasks and attain desired rewards. In some cases, however, they seek information driven simply by curiosity and a desire to obtain knowledge for its own sake, even if it does not lead to external rewards. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-curiosity-neural-brain-valuable-rewards.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:40:06 EDT news705929111 Immunotherapy that targets tumor-associated macrophages, a type of immune cell in the tumor microenvironment, works only if the cells have a functional system of molecules that enables them to respond to the treatment. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Nature Communications. The findings may help identify which tumors could respond to the treatment and open up new combination therapies for cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-mechanism-macrophage-cancer-immunotherapy.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:20:03 EDT news705932761 GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual agonists have transformed the treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases, and a new editorial co-authored by Dr. Steven Heymsfield of LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Dr. Adam Gilden of the University of Colorado examines what scientists are learning as these medications reach millions of people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-unanticipated-benefits-glp-medications.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news705935134 Every year, lung cancer kills more than 100,000 people in the United States. Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, but other environmental exposures can also contribute to the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-drug-inflammatory-enzyme-lung-cancer.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:06 EDT news705921421 Biologic medicines have transformed the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, migraine, inflammatory disorders and many other conditions. Yet their growing use among women of reproductive age constitutes a major clinical challenge because therapeutic IgG antibodies are actively transported across the placenta to the developing fetus. Evidence supporting the safe use of such therapeutics during pregnancy remains limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-placental-mechanism-safer-biologic-medicines.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:02 EDT news705857652 As temperatures continue to soar and amber heat-health alerts are issued across England, warnings are reaching the public but still failing to change behavior. A new investigation by United Nations University experts finds that among adults in England who saw a Heat Health Alert, 41% took no action to protect themselves. The most common reason was not confusion or inconvenience. It was that they did not believe heat put them at risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-reveals-adults-england-action-response.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news705931561 Glycoprotein VI, or GPVI for short, is a surface receptor found exclusively on platelets and their precursor cells, megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. GPVI is primarily responsible for binding collagen at the site of an injured blood vessel, which triggers the activation and aggregation of platelets. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-platelet-approach-path-safer-thrombosis.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:40:01 EDT news705930721 For some, abstaining from alcohol can subsequently increase compulsive drinking. Our research team found that, in abstaining mice, this urge to drink is preceded by changes in the activity of a particular brain region, pointing to potential new screening opportunities to identify and help those most vulnerable to relapse. Our research is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-alcohol-brain-compulsive-mice.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:20:03 EDT news705930361