Medical Xpress news

Medical Xpress / New brain study explains how binge drinking contributes to long-lasting negative feelings

New research has identified that neuroinflammation driven by microglia (immune cells in the brain) is a primary underlying driver of prolonged negative feelings caused by repeated, sustained binge drinking (binge exposure). ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Medical Xpress / Microbially produced secondary bile acids accelerate colorectal cancer development, study shows

For the first time, a team of experts from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), RWTH Aachen University, and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) has demonstrated the causal role of microbially ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Oncology & Cancer
Medical Xpress / Why leaving things unfinished messes with your mind

There's a personal story that Yale psychologist Brian Scholl often shares when he explains his scholarly interest in the vexing power of what he calls "unfinishedness," or that nagging frustration you experience when tasks ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Medical Xpress / How aggressive breast cancer controls protein production

A previously unknown mechanism that makes it possible for aggressive so-called triple-negative breast cancer to fine-tune its production of proteins has been discovered by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden. The discovery ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Oncology & Cancer
Medical Xpress / AI-driven insurance decisions raise concerns about human oversight

As health insurers increasingly turn to AI, researchers explore the promise of efficiency—and the risk of amplifying existing flaws.

Jan 12, 2026 in Medical economics
Medical Xpress / Like alcohol units, but for cannabis—experts define safer limits

Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK are proposing thresholds for safe—or at least safer—cannabis use and hope their findings will help people monitor consumption and keep it within recommended limits—similar ...

Jan 12, 2026 in Health
Medical Xpress / Rise of preterm births in US linked to poverty and race

Researchers at Boston Medical Center, working with colleagues at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health report that US preterm birth rates rose from 2011–2021 in households ...

Jan 11, 2026 in Obstetrics & gynaecology
Medical Xpress / How stress hormone receptors alter the brain and behavior: Zebrafish study provides insights

Stress, the body's natural response to different types of challenges and daily problems, is an inherently harmless state experienced by most people worldwide. While short-term stress is a common experience and can even be ...

Jan 11, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Medical Xpress / Digital 'memory palace' illuminates how locations help us encode memories

It's obvious to most people as soon as they set foot in a place they know well—like their childhood bedroom or a former classroom—that place and memory are intimately linked.

Jan 11, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Medical Xpress / Some food preservatives linked to higher cancer, diabetes risk

Eating some common food preservatives is linked to a slightly higher risk of eventually developing cancer and diabetes, according to two large French studies published Thursday.

Jan 11, 2026 in Health
Medical Xpress / International collaboration produces detailed models of the 3D genome over time in cells

In its effort to correlate genomic structure with gene function, the 4D Nucleome Consortium (4DN), led by Job Dekker, Ph.D., at UMass Chan Medical School, has extensively mapped and analyzed the three-dimensional folding ...

Jan 11, 2026 in Genetics
Medical Xpress / Yoga accelerates opioid withdrawal recovery when combined with standard care, study finds

Opioid addiction, or opioid use disorder (OUD), is a major global health issue, and recovery from OUD is marked with high relapse rates. During withdrawal, patients experience severe symptoms, which are partly due to dysregulation ...

Jan 10, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry