Drugs

A study published in the journal Antiquity suggested an ancient South American civilization spiked a beer-like drink with psychoactive drugs as a way of maintaining social cohesion and forging new bonds with surrounding communities.

COVID antiviral Paxlovid wasn't perfect. Many patients couldn't take it due to extreme side effects but now the second generation of antivirals are on the way and they promise better efficacy and fewer drug complications.

A 2018 study found patients suffering from cancer-related fatigue got improvements in their symptoms after knowingly being given a placebo. The research is part of a body of work suggesting "honest" placebos could play a role in clinical treatments.

Spinal muscular atrophy is a debilitating genetic condition that’s usually fatal by a few years of age. But an intriguing case study might demonstrate a simple new treatment, with a child showing no signs at all two and a half years after birth.

One of cancer’s deadliest tricks is its ability to spread to other organs. An existing cardiac drug has now been found to reduce the risk of metastasis by dissolving circulating clusters of breast cancer cells in patients.

HIV has become a more manageable condition in recent years, but a full cure remains elusive. Now, scientists have found promise in permanently eliminating the virus, thanks to a drug already approved by the FDA to fight cancer.

While scientists seem to love giving cocaine to rats, 27 rodents getting high (for the first time) on the lab's supply uncovers intriguing insights into how some individuals appear wired for addiction, where 'averse cues' fail to deter drug use.

A peptide hormone produced in the brain that triggers physiological changes in reproduction has been 'hacked' to create an effective, safe and non-invasive way to treat chronic gut pain. Scientists are calling it an entirely new class of painkiller.

Game-changing GLP-1 agonist drugs are a step closer to being available in oral pill form, with AstraZeneca revealing "encouraging data" from the Phase I safety and tolerability trial of its once-daily obesity and diabetes drug AZD5004.

Taking a pill is the easiest, least invasive way to take medicine, but sadly not all drugs work that way. Now, Stanford scientists have found “an embarrassingly simple solution” that could make almost any drug molecule effective in oral pill form.

Science's war against the super-small and, sometimes, super-deadly bacteria that have evolved to resist destruction by antibiotics may have just enlisted new, unlikely allies: invertebrate creatures living in the frigid depths of the Arctic Ocean.

In a medical emergency, quick treatment is critical. But a widely used drug could be repurposed to induce a hibernation-like state, to slow down organ damage and save lives by giving patients more time to reach a hospital.