Medical Xpress news

Medical Xpress / Brain's reward system may be about energy, not pleasure, study finds

We have long been told a simple story about reward: Dopamine is the "wanting" molecule that drives us toward goals, and opioids are the "liking" molecules that provide the hit of pleasure once we get there. But this pleasure-centric ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / New implant expected to dramatically improve treatment of significant tissue loss

An international research team led by the Levenberg Laboratory in the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has succeeded in developing a first-of-its-kind, three-dimensional implant ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Detection of bowel cancer marker in wastewater may offer new early warning system

Detection of a bowel cancer marker (CDH1) in wastewater may offer a new community-level early warning system for the disease, suggests a proof-of-concept study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Trial finds rapid diagnostic testing alone does not reduce antibiotic prescribing for respiratory infections

Two international studies, a clinical trial led by the University of Oxford and University of Utrecht, and a qualitative study led by the University of Oxford and University of Antwerp, report that point-of-care diagnostic ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Scientists find promising drug target for tuberculosis

Researchers from Imperial and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have discovered a drug target that could potentially help tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis, one of the biggest causes of death worldwide.

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / A 'scaffold-free' approach for treating damaged muscles

Traumatic muscle injury can be associated with volumetric muscle loss (VML), often leading to permanent functional loss. Until recently, experimental therapies to support muscle regeneration have faced several key limitations, ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Understanding cancer through the lens of dynamic spatial hallmark ecosystems

Researchers at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute propose a new view of cancer based on spatial hallmark ecosystems and its evolution during cancer progression. This conceptual framework combines the latest spatial ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Measles outbreak surveillance confirms utility of wastewater-based epidemiology for monitoring infectious disease surges

New research led by University of South Carolina environmental health sciences assistant professor Laura Langan has provided further support for the effectiveness of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Langan and her team ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Observational analyses can complement randomized clinical trial findings for the study of HPV vaccine effectiveness

Led by researchers at NDORMS as part of the Data Analysis and Real World Interrogation Network (DARWIN EU) initiative, a new European study has shown that carefully designed observational studies can produce robust and reliable ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Genome analysis uncovers new cause of rare movement disorder

Despite modern high-throughput sequencing, the genetic cause of most rare movement disorders remains unclear. A research team in Bochum and Tübingen has now solved one piece of the puzzle: The researchers examined 2,811 ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Want to handle stress better? Start with breakfast, sleep, and exercise

Do you ever feel mentally stuck, like you can't cope when a stressful situation hits? A healthy breakfast, exercise, and a good night's sleep might be just what you need to build psychological flexibility, and new research ...

Mar 17, 2026
Medical Xpress / Hidden acid imbalance in kidney disease raises red flags

A Japanese registry has identified a blind spot in the routine care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Serum bicarbonate levels are rarely measured, leaving metabolic acidosis largely undetected and hence, undertreated.

Mar 17, 2026