Medical

Nobody likes getting needles, but unfortunately there are some medications that can only be administered via injection. That could be about to change, however, thanks to the invention of a suction cup that you stick in your mouth.

Researchers have called for a review of the recommendations for the treatment of hand arthritis, after a large study revealed that injections were as ineffective as a placebo for pain relief. Injections are considered the most effective pain reliever.

A new study has found that during exercise, the vagus nerve, essential to the body’s ‘rest and digest’ response, has a more important role in heart function than we thought. The findings could help treat diseases like heart failure.

Researchers have identified the mechanism underlying the protective role zinc has in type 2 diabetes and the fatty liver disease associated with the condition. The findings open the door to developing a novel diabetes treatment.

Researchers have developed an AI model that can predict in real-time whether a surgeon has removed all cancerous tissue during breast cancer surgery. The model performed as well as, or better than, human doctors.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have tested a new potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in mice. The therapy involves transplanting blood stem cells from healthy mice into those with the disease, which helps replace defective neural cells.

A 58-year-old man with terminal heart disease has become the second patient to receive a pig's heart, in a complicated, high-risk xenotransplant. The first recipient died last year from complications, two months after the landmark world-first surgery.

As a new age of weight-loss therapeutics dawns, scientists are one step closer to a drug that can coax muscles into behaving as if they’ve just been put through a workout. The benefits range from weight loss to treating diabetes and heart conditions.

Researchers have found that, in older age, immune cells called killer T cells are replaced by less effective versions that struggle to fight viral invaders. The world-first discovery may lead to improved therapies tailored to different age groups.

A new study has found that light therapy applied to mice during deep sleep increased the brain’s ability to clear away beta-amyloid protein, which may lead to a drug-free, non-invasive treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

A new study has found that a bioactive compound found in coffee beans improved learning and memory decline in aged mice. The findings open the door to developing a supplementary medicinal compound to treat or prevent age-related cognitive decline.

A complete spinal cord injury results, tragically, in total paralysis of all limbs and muscles below the injury site. But now, scientists at EPFL have demonstrated in mice a new gene therapy that can regenerate nerves and restore the ability to walk.

Splitting the gene editor used in traditional CRISPR technology creates a more precise tool with significantly less chance of causing unintended mutations, a new study has found. The novel tool could correct half of the mutations that cause disease.

Researchers have gained new insights into largely overlooked circular RNAs in brain cells and the crucial role they play in diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, opening the door to developing diagnostic tests and treatments for them.

A novel platinum-enhanced, light-activated compound kills cancer cells in a unique way without requiring oxygen, overcoming a limitation with existing light-based cancer therapies. It paves the way for the next generation of anti-cancer drugs.