Medical

Through experiments on mice with a genetic mutation that causes schizophrenia, scientists in Japan believe they have happened upon a new drug to tackle the disease, and one that is already approved for use as a dietary supplement.

For millions of patients with diabetes, daily insulin injections are a necessary nuisance. A once-a-week shot might be more palatable, and new results from phase 2 clinical trials suggest just such a drug is safe and effective.

Scientists in China have just demonstrated how a newly developed "cryogel" can be used to bolster stem cell therapy to tackle osteoarthritis, demonstrating its effectiveness by reversing the condition in mice.

Researchers are continuing to unravel the relationship between inflammation and obesity, and through new study involving overweight mice and a repurposed heart disease drug, scientists have uncovered new evidence of how the two are closely connected.

Scientists at Sweden's Linköping University have developed a new tool to tackle risky remnants of malignant brain tumors, demonstrating how an ion pump can take highly effective chemotherapy drugs directly to the source of the problem.

A new review article is presenting a promising case for phenformin, an old diabetes drug related to metformin, being repurposed as an adjunct to new immunotherapy cancer treatments. A phase 1 clinical trial is underway to test the novel combination.

Engineers at University of California, Berkeley have demonstrated a new wireless implant that can detect oxygen levels in deep tissues, with hopes it could become a tool to track the health of transplanted organs, among other applications.

New weapons against so-called “superbugs” are desperately needed. A new black phosphorus coating quickly kills bacteria and fungi, then dissolves within 24 hours – and best of all, bacteria can’t evolve resistance against this mode of attack.

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have come up with novel approach to tackling brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's, clearing them through the use of injectable, oxygenated atoms that are activated by infrared light.

Much research into obesity of late has focused on ways they body might be made to produce more brown fat rather than white as a way of fighting weight gain, and scientists have now made a key advance in this area.

Once it's been injured, the protective cartilage in our knees and other joints heals very slowly – if at all. A new injectable gel, however, could both reinforce the tissue after it's been damaged, and encourage new cartilage to grow over top of it.

Scientists have used 49 pairs of identical twins to delve into the metabolic changes that can take place in fat tissue as a result of obesity, teasing out some distinct biological processes that were linked to adverse health effects.