Medical

Scientists have demonstrated a novel approach to tackling arterial plaque that relies on laser, ultrasound and exploding microbubbles to destroy it with greater safety and efficiency, while hinting at unique long-term advantages.

A 25-year search for another source of a promising anti-cancer chemical produced by a rare coral species has now started to bear fruit, with the discovery other readily available corals produce the chemical in abundance.

Scientists have turned to trusty fruit flies as a model to learn more about how plastic particles may impact human health, tracking them through the intestinal tract to find they alter gene expression involved in stress response and oxidative damage.

Most treatments for strokes aim to help reduce or repair damage to affected neurons. But a new study in mice has shown that a drug already in use could help stroke patients regain motor function by getting undamaged neurons to pick up the slack.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer thanks to its ability to rapidly spread to other organs. Brazilian researchers have now developed a peptide that seems to slow the growth and spread of melanoma, improving the survival rates of test mice.

Scientists adapting stem cell therapies for difficult-to-treat tumors have developed a highly efficient off-the-shelf approach that showed "profound efficacy" in mouse models of aggressive brain cancer, laying the groundwork for clinical trials.

A new study from scientists in Japan and the US has identified a form of inter-neuron communication as a key mechanism in the way inflammation spreads between joints in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Cataracts are one of the most common forms of vision impairment, and unfortunately surgery is the only real treatment. But the clouds may be parting on a new drug treatment, improving the vision of the majority of mice it was tested on.

Scientists may have unearthed a valuable new tool to study brain injuries, in the form of headbutting animals such as bighorn sheep and muskoxen, in which they've discovered hallmarks of head trauma for the very first time.

The buildup of bacteria deep in our teeth can cause infections in difficult to reach areas, and scientists at the Indian Institute of Science have developed tiny cleaning robots they believe are up to the task.

New studies have highlighted the importance of judicious antibiotic use, one found antibiotics can increase a person’s risk of fungal infections, while another suggests antibiotic use in old age is linked to higher risk of inflammatory bowel disease.

A new discovery around inflammation and excessive cell death in the body illuminates the key role a certain enzyme plays in the process, and how targeting a "sugar tag" could lead to treatments for a wide range of conditions.