Drug

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.

However useful a drug may be, it’s a problem if it has adverse effects on healthy cells. Now researchers have shown a way to keep drugs on target, by wrapping them in a transport that can only be unlocked by a certain RNA sequence unique to cancer.

Scientists have identified a chemical compound that may unlock new treatments for multiple sclerosis. In tests on cell cultures and rats, the team found that anacardic acid from cashew shells seemed to repair nerve damage and other symptoms of MS.

Treatments for blood clots in the body naturally come with a risk of excessive bleeding from an injury. But a new synthetic blood thinner bypasses this side effect, fighting thrombosis while still allowing blood to clot normally in a wound.

Researchers at Harvard have developed a new platform for producing vaccines. Red blood cells are loaded with antigens to generate a specific immune response, and in tests in mice the team showed that it was effective in slowing the growth of cancer.

Ideally, we protect the body from radiation damage before it reaches us with shielding materials. Researchers have now developed a new nanocrystal treatment that could prevent some of the tissue damage radiation causes.

Strokes can leave lifelong lingering issues, as neurons are damaged and die. But now, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have identified a new drug that could help prevent damage even after a stroke, with tests in mice showing promise.

Some bacteria inject toxins into host cells using a syringe-like appendage. Past research has found we could hijack that as a new drug delivery system, and now Max Planck scientists have developed a way to control the mechanism using light.

Peptides could be a useful type of drug, but they can’t be taken orally because stomach acids destroy them. Now, researchers have developed a new method of testing and creating therapeutic peptides that can survive this degradation.

A new study has shown that an experimental class of cancer drugs has wider potential than previously thought. Researchers have found a new type of BET inhibitor that, in mouse tests, can target solid tumors more effectively and safely than others.