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U.S. alcohol use falls for first time since the COVID-19 pandemic but remains above pre-pandemic levels

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-alcohol-falls-covid-pandemic-pre.html

Published: September 21, 2026 17:00

Alcohol use among U.S. adults has fallen for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, though rates remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to a new Keck Medicine of USC study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Batteries that safely break down in the GI tract could improve ingestible devices

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-batteries-safely-gi-tract-ingestible.html

Published: September 21, 2026 14:40

Using materials safe for human consumption, MIT researchers have created tiny batteries that could be used to power ingestible electronic devices. Such batteries could make the devices safer for patients and minimize the environmental impact of the…

Rainwater tanks may be harboring hidden health risks

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-rainwater-tanks-harboring-hidden-health.html

Published: September 21, 2026 07:00

Rainwater tanks are a popular way for Australians to save water, but new research has found they can also harbor potentially harmful bacteria and metals that could pose health concerns.

B cells may help predict risk of colitis from immunotherapy

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-cells-colitis-immunotherapy.html

Published: September 18, 2026 13:20

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a previously unknown role for B cells, adaptive immune cells, in triggering and sustaining colitis as a side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors, a widely used form of…

Why 'accidents' can happen during intense exercise

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-accidents-intense.html

Published: September 18, 2026 11:20

There are very few downsides to exercise. But a recent viral story highlighted one of the more embarrassing—and potentially dangerous—issues that can occur when your body reaches its limit during exercise.

Seven ways coffee affects your body beyond caffeine, from gut microbes to iron

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ways-coffee-affects-body-caffeine.html

Published: September 18, 2026 07:40

Coffee is best known, and perhaps most valued, for its caffeine and its ability to make us feel more awake and alert. But coffee is much more than caffeine dissolved in hot water.

A gut's complex architecture, recreated on a microscope slide–sized chip

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-gut-complex-architecture-recreated-microscope.html

Published: September 17, 2026 17:40

Gut instinct, gut feeling or gutting it out—what exactly is the human gut? It's the workhorse of the digestive system and home to a vast, dynamic community of microorganisms that influence human health. In fact, the human body contains roughly equal…

Gut microbe molecule reveals molecular link between microbiome and whole-body metabolism

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-gut-microbe-molecule-reveals-molecular.html

Published: September 17, 2026 13:00

Researchers at the University of Konstanz have demonstrated at a molecular level how bacteria in the human gut influence the entire body. Among other things, they can lower blood sugar levels and reduce fatty liver disease. The work is published in the…

Trial suggests less frequent colonoscopies may safely follow removal of high-risk polyps

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-trial-frequent-colonoscopies-safely-high.html

Published: September 17, 2026 10:20

Every year, around 1.9 million people worldwide are diagnosed with bowel cancer. To prevent the disease, many countries have introduced screening programs that enable more polyps to be detected and removed before cancer develops.

Mouse study identifies bile acid pathways that may reduce liver fat

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-mouse-bile-acid-pathways-liver.html

Published: September 17, 2026 09:20

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is a common condition that causes excess fat to build up in the liver, affecting about one-quarter of adults worldwide. In some people,…

Your gut bacteria make a molecule that fights a leading cause of food poisoning

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-gut-bacteria-molecule-food-poisoning.html

Published: September 16, 2026 14:00

What if something produced naturally by your gut bacteria could help fight a dangerous foodborne pathogen? Researchers in Michigan State University's Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology may have found just such a substance. Academic Research…

New mechanism reveals how atypical E. coli maintain their ability to infect

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-mechanism-reveals-atypical-coli-ability.html

Published: September 16, 2026 13:00

A new study shows how a type of disease-causing E. coli can quickly adapt when it loses one of its main ways of attaching to the intestine. The bacteria either change shape or make small changes to a protein that strengthens their grip on human cells. The…

Fecal microbial signatures show promise for colorectal and pancreatic cancer assessment

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-fecal-microbial-signatures-colorectal-pancreatic.html

Published: September 16, 2026 12:20

Gastrointestinal and pancreatobiliary cancers can be difficult to detect early, creating a need for practical, noninvasive approaches for early detection and risk assessment. The gut microbiome has emerged as a potential source of cancer biomarkers,…

Gut microbiome features predict devastating disease affecting preemies

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-gut-microbiome-features-devastating-disease.html

Published: September 16, 2026 10:00

In a discovery that challenges long-standing assumptions about necrotizing enterocolitis, a sudden and often fatal intestinal illness that affects premature infants, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified…

Why some adults under 50 may develop early-onset cirrhosis from fatty liver disease

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-adults-early-onset-cirrhosis-fatty.html

Published: September 16, 2026 09:00

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have published the first study to define early-onset cirrhosis caused by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition known as fatty liver disease.

Blood test shows promise for detecting pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-blood-pancreatic-cancer-earliest-stages.html

Published: September 16, 2026 05:00

Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the country, led the development of a new investigational blood test that could detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages, when the…

New culture membrane mimics the native intestinal environment

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-culture-membrane-mimics-native-intestinal.html

Published: September 15, 2026 14:40

The human intestine is a soft, flexible tissue. Yet the environments traditionally used to culture intestinal cells in the laboratory are strikingly different from those found in the body. Conventional culture platforms are made of synthetic materials that…

Fecal microbiota transplantation may improve immunotherapy-related colitis

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-fecal-microbiota-transplantation-immunotherapy-colitis.html

Published: September 15, 2026 12:40

Targeting the gut microbiome with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may help cancer patients with immunotherapy-related colitis avoid the need for steroids and other immunosuppressive treatments, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD…