New Atlas

Medical Audio available

How stem cells, CRISPR and skin grafts could help combat cocaine addiction

Michael Irving September 17, 2018

A novel form of treatment could help cut back on a person’s desire for cocaine and reduce its damaging effect in the body. The method involves removing a small patch of skin, introducing genes that produce cocaine-degrading enzymes, and then grafting it back onto the patient.

A new potential treatment for cocaine addiction involves skin grafts, stem cells and gene-editing

Medical

Nasal spray and ultrasound team up for direct-to-brain drug delivery

Michael Irving September 10, 2018

The blood-brain barrier is an effective shield against infection, but it’s not so helpful when you’re trying to get drugs in there. Nasal sprays could bypass the barrier, and now researchers have developed a way to use ultrasound pulses to drive the drugs to where in the brain they’re needed.

Drug nanoparticles could be delivered directly to the brain through a nasal spray, which is then ...

Medical

Even antidepressants could be contributing to antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Michael Irving September 10, 2018

The looming threat of drug-resistant bacteria is usually chalked up to overuse of antibiotics. But now, researchers have found that pharmaceutical compounds that aren’t antibiotic themselves can also contribute to the rise of superbugs, including antidepressants like Prozac.

Researchers have found that even non-antibiotic drugs, including antidepressants, can contribute to the development of antibiotic ...

Medical

New non-addictive compound could treat pain and opioid abuse

Darren Quick August 31, 2018

Researchers appear to have found a promising alternative to opioid pain killers in the form of a chemical compound called AT-121. With promising results seen in non-human primates, hopes are high the compound will work just as well in people.

A compound known as AT-121 has shown promise as a non-addictive form of pain relief and ...

Medical

Cannabis extract could form basis of new anti-psychotic treatments

Michael Irving August 30, 2018

Marijuana compounds like cannabidiol (CBD) have been found to impart benefits to the brain without the negative “stoned” side-effects. Now, researchers at King’s College London have shown that CBD could help reset the brain abnormalities found in people suffering from psychosis.

Researchers have found that a cannabis extract might help relieve symptoms of psychosis

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Three drugs prove significantly better than one in lowering blood pressure

Rich Haridy August 14, 2018

A new study reports successful results from a blood pressure treatment that combines low doses of three different currently available hypertension drugs into a single pill. The new research is hoped to change worldwide guidelines for the optimal way treat people suffering from high blood pressure.

A new combination blood pressure treatment could change worldwide guidelines for treating hypertension

Medical

Failed antibiotics team up to defeat superbugs

Michael Irving August 13, 2018

Infectious bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to our best antibiotics. Now researchers at BIDMC have found that combining two antibiotics that no longer work can create a treatment that’s once again effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Researchers have found that combining two ineffective antibiotics can make for an effective new treatment against ...

Medical

First ever RNA-based gene-silencing drug approved by FDA, and it's not cheap

Rich Haridy August 12, 2018

Twenty years after the breakthrough discovery illustrating how RNA interference can be used to silence certain genes, and over a decade after the research won a Nobel prize, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug utilizing this method for adult clinical treatment.

Onpattro (patisiran) is the first RNA-interfering treatment to hit the market after nearly 20 years of ...

Medical

New antibiotics found in leafy bacterial battlegrounds

Michael Irving July 30, 2018

Researchers from ETH Zurich have found a way to make use of some of the chemical weapons bacteria have developed against each other. In this case, that bacterial battleground is on the surface of thale cress leaves.

This bustling bacterial metropolis is located on a leaf, and it might just help us discover ...

Medical

Anti-aging senolytics drugs found to improve mice health and lifespan

Michael Irving July 11, 2018

An emerging class of drugs called senolytics has been found to help restore the body to a more youthful state, and a new study has used a drug compound to extend the lifespan and improve the general health of older mice.

Researchers have found more evidence that a new class of drugs called senolytics can help fight ...