Medical Xpress news

Medical Xpress / Liver cell reprogramming boosts T cell function in aging immune systems

As people age, their immune system function declines. T cell populations become smaller and can't react to pathogens as quickly, making people more susceptible to a variety of infections.

Dec 17, 2025 in Immunology
Medical Xpress / Brain on jazz: Musical improvisation moves beyond pure inspiration to dynamic reconfiguration

An international research team investigated the brains of 16 jazz pianists while they played a piece from memory, improvised based on the melody, and freely improvised based on the chord changes. The analysis of how different ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Neuroscience
Medical Xpress / How an antiviral defense mechanism may lead to Alzheimer's disease

One of the main proteins that contributes to Alzheimer's disease is called phospho-tau (p-tau). When p-tau gets too many phosphate groups attached to it (a process called hyperphosphorylation), it starts to stick together ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Neuroscience
Medical Xpress / A built-in odometer: New study reveals how the brain measures distance

Whether you are heading to bed or seeking a midnight snack, you don't need to turn on the lights to know where you are as you walk through your house at night. This hidden skill comes from a remarkable ability called path ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Neuroscience
Medical Xpress / How do brains stay stable, and when might a dose of flexibility be helpful?

Young minds are easily molded. Each new experience rewires a child's brain circuitry, adding and removing synaptic connections between neurons. These wiring patterns become more stable with age, but biology has left some ...

Medical Xpress / 'Zap-and-freeze' snapshots catch brain cells in the act of learning

Researchers at Leipzig University's Carl Ludwig Institute for Physiology, working in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, have achieved an important breakthrough in brain research. The so-called zap-and-freeze technique, ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Neuroscience
Medical Xpress / Patient-specific human liver model lays foundation for personalized treatments

Liver disease is a major global health problem, causing over two million deaths worldwide each year. While animal models have helped to understand liver biology, they often fail to accurately translate to human biology.

Dec 17, 2025 in Biomedical technology
Medical Xpress / New details on role of fat transport molecules in Alzheimer's onset

A new study presents robust evidence on the role of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) in the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers discovered that LPCs—compounds that transport a variety of healthy fatty acids to the ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Genetics
Medical Xpress / Exposure to PFAS and PCBs linked to higher odds of multiple sclerosis

People who have been exposed to both PFAS and PCBs are more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). These new research findings are based on analyses of blood samples from more than 1,800 individuals in Sweden, ...

Medical Xpress / Short, light-intensity exercise can boost executive function and elevate mood in children

In modern society, physical inactivity and sedentary behavior have become common issues globally. This trend is also growing among children, raising concerns for their mental and physical health.

Dec 17, 2025 in Pediatrics
Medical Xpress / COVID-19 virus manipulates host cell RNA to shut down the immune system, study reveals

Researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil have discovered that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses a sophisticated tactic to evade the human body's defense system. In addition to ...

Medical Xpress / How embryos and the uterus 'talk' during implantation

A new study shows that the embryo and the uterine lining conduct an active "conversation" from the very earliest stages of implantation. They engage in a back and forth of tiny packages called extracellular vesicles and lipid ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Medical research