Medical Science News

RSS

One brain implant could give people with paralysis a more expressive way to communicate

Researchers showed that a single high-density ECoG implant could decode attempted speech and upper-body gestures in parallel in people with severe paralysis, allowing two participants to control a personalized full-body avatar. Training the decoders on both isolated and concurrent behaviors improved performance across contexts and reduced false activations, offering proof-of-concept evidence for more expressive multimodal BCIs.

16 Sep 2026

Exercise usually helps the brain. During a 15-day fast, the story was different

In a 28-day controlled study of 22 healthy adults, 15 days of complete fasting produced a glucose-to-ketone metabolic shift and selectively affected attention and implicit learning while time perception remained relatively stable. Moderate-intensity exercise during early fasting was associated with poorer performance on some learning measures, while fasting also increased sleepiness and reduced calmness at some time points.

15 Sep 2026

Male contraception has barely changed in a century. What comes next?

A review traces more than 5,000 years of male contraception, from early penile sheaths and the development of modern condoms and vasectomy to today's search for reversible alternatives. Researchers are now testing hormonal gels, non-hormonal compounds and vas-occlusive technologies, although these approaches remain at different stages of preclinical and clinical development.

15 Sep 2026

Genetic discovery offers clues for repairing damaged neural connections

A new discovery by neuroscientists at Brown University's Carney Institute for Brain Science challenges long-held beliefs in neurobiology about how neurons extend axons to reach their targets.

15 Sep 2026

Cannabis-derived nanovesicles showed early antitumor potential in mice

Researchers developed a Cannabis sativa hairy root culture system that produced stable plant-derived nanovesicles capable of promoting dendritic cell maturation and activating T-cell responses through TLR2- and TLR4-associated signaling. Oral administration also restored selected immune responses in immunosuppressed mice and suppressed tumor growth in an E.G7 lymphoma model, providing preliminary evidence for their immunomodulatory and antitumor potential.

15 Sep 2026

What children eat may leave a measurable signature in their blood

Researchers analyzed 236 blood metabolites in 421 children to examine metabolic signatures associated with three dietary patterns characterized by core foods, animal protein sources, or poor-quality fats and sugars. The results identified distinct, biologically plausible metabolite patterns across dietary exposures, although most individual associations did not survive multiple-testing correction and require validation in independent cohorts.

15 Sep 2026

Study identifies DNA loops as essential for tissue regeneration

After an injury, DNA not only alters its activity but also the way it is organized spatially within the cell nucleus.

15 Sep 2026

Harvard scientists design evolutionary traps to stop viral mutations

When a virus mutates, the world usually finds out the hard way. Variants of influenza and SARS‑CoV‑2 can slip past vaccines and antibody drugs before scientists fully understand what has changed.

15 Sep 2026

Reading for pleasure linked to better mental health and greater empathy

Reading for pleasure – from tucking into a Jane Austen classic to devouring a Heartstopper graphic novel – is linked to better mental health, greater empathy and a lower risk of dementia, say researchers.

15 Sep 2026

Advanced AI cell models redefine modern cell biology research

Researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed two new artificial intelligence models of the biological cell.

15 Sep 2026

Aston University partners with Labskin to grow more realistic laboratory-grown human skin

Aston University has joined forces with Yorkshire-based biotechnology company Labskin to develop more realistic laboratory-grown human skin that includes immune cells.

15 Sep 2026

Natural anti-NMDAR1 antibody may protect the brain following traumatic brain injury

Every year, an estimated 20 million people worldwide sustain a concussion or other traumatic brain injury (TBI), which leads to a two- to four-fold increase in the risk of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

15 Sep 2026

Scientists discover brain spot that drives risk-taking decisions

Every day, your brain runs the same calculation: take a risk or play it safe? Your gas tank might be low, but there's just enough to make it to work on time.

15 Sep 2026

Study uncovers how interferon-alpha treats rare blood cancers

The biologic drug interferon-alpha can benefit patients with blood cancers called myeloproliferative neoplasms by forcing mutant blood stem cells to become shorter-lived white blood cells, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

15 Sep 2026

Insilico Medicine launches AI initiative to develop longevity vaccines

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, today announced Longevity Vaccines, a research initiative developing treatments that direct a patient's own immune cells to eliminate the earliest cellular drivers of age-related disease.

15 Sep 2026