Medical Xpress news
Medical Xpress / Gut bacteria may play role in bipolar depression by directly influencing brain connectivity
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by extreme mood changes. Individuals diagnosed with BD typically alternate between periods of high energy, euphoria, irritability and/or impulsivity (i.e., manic ...
Medical Xpress / Brain chemistry can reactivate or suppress dormant HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are still fairly common and an estimated 40 million people worldwide are currently living with this condition. The HIV virus attacks the body's immune system and thus makes those ...
Medical Xpress / Humans could have as many as 33 senses
Stuck in front of our screens all day, we often ignore our senses beyond sound and vision. And yet they are always at work. When we're more alert, we feel the rough and smooth surfaces of objects, the stiffness in our shoulders, ...
Medical Xpress / Not thinking about anything: Toward a brain signature of mind blanking
When we are awake, we seem to experience a continuous stream of sensations, reflections, memories, and impressions that make up our mental life. Yet some people report moments when they think about nothing at all. Is that ...
Medical Xpress / Scientists grow mini brains to uncover cells behind autism-related brain overgrowth
A new study in the lab of Jason Stein, Ph.D., modeled brain development in a dish to identify cells and genes that influence infant brain growth, a trait associated with autism.
Medical Xpress / Night shifts aren't just tiring, they can be deadly: Disrupted sleep cycles linked to aggressive breast cancer
Working the night shift, frequently flying across time zones or keeping an irregular sleep schedule does more than just leave us exhausted; it can fuel the risk of aggressive breast cancer. Exactly how and why this happens ...
Medical Xpress / Stiffer colon could signal risk of early-onset colorectal cancer
Increased stiffness of the colon, spurred by chronic inflammation, may encourage the development and progression of early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC), a study co-led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests. ...
Medical Xpress / New ALS drug stabilizes decline with a trend toward improved strength and mobility for some
Historically, people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) experience a relentless decline in neurological function that eventually robs them of the ability to move, speak, eat or breathe. Now, researchers from Washington ...
Medical Xpress / Inflammation fuels one of the most aggressive forms of lung cancer
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the most aggressive forms of lung cancer, with a five-year survival rate of only 5%. Despite this poor prognosis, SCLC is initially highly responsive to chemotherapy. However, patients ...
Medical Xpress / Visual awareness study unlocks interplay between attention and consciousness
A new study led by Dr. Jiang Yi from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the first clear evidence that visual awareness acts as a "conductor" that refines the speed, precision, and ...
Medical Xpress / System replicates womb lining to 'listen in' to embryo-mother interactions during implantation
By engineering a system replicating the womb lining with high biological accuracy, researchers at the Babraham Institute and Stanford University have been able to study the implantation of human embryos, opening up this enigmatic ...
Medical Xpress / To flexibly organize thought, the brain makes use of space
Our thoughts are specified by our knowledge and plans, yet our cognition can also be fast and flexible in handling new information. How does the well-controlled and yet highly nimble nature of cognition emerge from the brain's ...