Drugs

Diabetics sick of daily injections may have renewed hope for a less invasive alternative. Scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a new delivery method for insulin where users just place a few drops under their tongue.

Imagine a world in which we never catch the flu, have no need for vaccines and can wipe out the virus if an infection has taken hold. A super-effective molecule that stops influenza from even entering our bodies stands to revolutionize how we treat flu.

A promising new drug could prevent and even reverse the onset of type 1 diabetes. The experimental monoclonal antibody drug was found to act like a shield to protect insulin-producing cells from damage and even extended lifespan in some cases.

The popular pain-killing drug paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, has always been made from chemicals derived from environmentally damaging coal tar or crude oil. Now researchers have devised a greener way of producing the drug using wood.

New research has found that daily users of crystal methamphetamine who turned to cannabis to manage their cravings used the stimulant drug less, especially female users. The findings suggest a new harm-reduction strategy is needed.

It seems the Enhanced Games are on like Donkey Kong, with multi-million dollar investments from Peter Thiel and other high-profile VCs. Performance-enhancing drugs are welcome – indeed, this could become an early preview of a transhuman Olympics.

White blood cell numbers can be cut by health conditions or treatments like chemotherapy. Yale scientists have now discovered a molecule that can be given to quickly boost their numbers back up, to help fight off infections without antibiotics.

No matter how important something is, too much of anything is bad for you. Scientists have now put that principle to work to kill cancer, with a new drug that causes calcium to build up and choke the tumor to death.

For the first time, research has shown that a person’s beliefs influence brain activity and connectivity, producing a dose-dependent effect that was only thought to occur with pharmaceutical agents. The findings may improve responsiveness to medications.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to become a global health concern. In the race to develop new weapons, scientists have created a new family of antibacterial polymers that can kill 'superbugs' in a way they can't evolve resistance to.

An effective single-dose, long-term treatment for anxiety could be within reach, with the phase 2b clinical trial of MM-120 reported to have passed the stage with flying colors.

In what has already been tagged as a “game-changer” for cancer treatment, the potent once-a-day tablet known as divarasib has continued to impress at Phase 1b trial stage, outperforming not just current therapies but its previous trial results.