Drug

Bacteria are fast evolving resistance to antibiotics, meaning our best drugs could soon stop working entirely. Now researchers have found a way to bypass drug resistance in these so-called superbugs – by distracting them with predatory viruses.

Killing cancer cells isn’t too hard – the tricky part is doing so without harming healthy cells. Now researchers have developed nanoparticles that selectively release drugs inside tumors, while keeping them safely locked away when in healthy cells.

Cancer cells are very energy-hungry, which could be a potential weakness. Now, researchers have developed an experimental drug that blocks mitochondrial metabolism, starving cancer cells of energy while leaving healthy cells relatively unscathed.

The influenza virus has proven a very tricky foe to fight. Now, researchers at EPFL have developed synthetic molecules that can kill the flu virus by mimicking human cells, and putting the squeeze on the virus when it attaches itself to the decoy.

EPFL scientists have demonstrated a new method to make immunotherapy more effective and directed against cancer. The team designed microparticles containing drugs that are only released when T cells physically squeeze them, on contact with cancer.

Researchers have developed a drug that can mimic inflammation signals to lure stem cells to damaged tissue, without causing any further inflammation. The technique could be a boon for regenerative medicine to treat neurological disorders.

VEEV is a mosquito-borne virus that, in the worst case scenario, can infect the brain and become deadly. Now scientists have discovered the protein it latches onto – and used it to create a decoy molecule that draws the virus away from the brain.

A phase 2 clinical trial of a cholesterol-reducing drug called evinacumab has reported promising results. In patients with extremely high cholesterol, the drug was able to reduce levels by about half, compared to a placebo.

The growing problem of antibiotic resistance isn’t slowing down, which could soon render our best drugs useless against infection. Now, an existing rheumatoid arthritis drug could be repurposed to cancel bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics.

Chemotherapy remains one of our best treatments against cancer but, frustratingly, cancer cells can develop resistance to these drugs. Now, researchers have found that calcium can weaken their defense mechanism, making drugs effective once more.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to become a huge health problem, and we desperately need new treatments. Now, researchers have engineered new antimicrobial molecules from wasp venom, which have shown promise in tests in mice.

Researchers in Germany have developed a new drug that can act like a shredder for proteins implicated in causing cancer. In tests on lab-grown cancer cells, the drug worked to kill the tumors, suggesting a new pathway to a treatment for the disease.