New Atlas

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Painless microneedle patch provides month-long contraception

Michael Irving January 14, 2019

Contraceptives are inconvenient – implanted devices are invasive, and you have to remember to take the pill every day. Now researchers at Georgia Tech are developing a painless, contraceptive microneedle patch that people can apply themselves in seconds, and only needs to be done once a month.

Researchers have developed a contraceptive patch that can be applied in five seconds and lasts over ...

Medical Audio available

Single-dose drug protects against all forms of Ebola

Ben Coxworth January 11, 2019

Although Ebola vaccines have been developed, each one has typically only been able to protect against a single strain of the virus. A new medication, however, has been shown to ward off all types of Ebola – and it does so via just one low dose.

There are currently five known strains of the Ebola virus

Medical

Scientists develop new treatment for antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis

Ben Coxworth January 9, 2019

Like so many other diseases, tuberculosis is becoming increasingly resistant to treatment by antibiotics. There may be hope, however, as scientists have developed a new vitamin-based treatment which could both halt the disease, and prevent antibiotic-resistance from developing further.

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland's Prof. Sally-Ann Cryan, co-lead scientist on the study

Medical Audio available

Inhalable RNA could breathe new life into lung cancer treatments

Michael Irving January 6, 2019

In the body, mRNA molecules are in charge of instructing cells to produce specific proteins, and hijacking this natural system is emerging as a promising new way to treat a wide variety of illnesses. A new inhalable mRNA aerosol could be a potential new treatment for cystic fibrosis or lung cancer.

Lung epithelial cells that have taken up the mRNA particles (yellow dots), which makes them glow ...

Medical

Experimental treatment uses light to stop itchiness

Ben Coxworth December 17, 2018

Nobody likes being itchy, but for people with conditions such as eczema, it can be quite a serious problem. Scientists at EMBL Rome (the European Molecular Biology Laboratory) may be onto a long-acting solution, in the form of light-activated medication that is injected into the skin.

The treatment may stop itching for up to several months

Medical

Patch delivers medication by breaking needles off in the eye

Ben Coxworth November 19, 2018

We've already heard about "microneedle" patches that deliver medication through the skin. Well, scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore have taken the same approach to treating eye diseases. They've developed a patch laden with tiny needles, which get poked into the eyeball.

The eye patch measures 2 by 2 mm in its present form, and contains nine microneedles

Medical Audio available

Multi-dose capsule gets tested on humans for first time

Ben Coxworth November 16, 2018

Taking one or more pills every day can be a hassle, with many people either forgetting or just not bothering. There could soon be an alternative, however. An experimental system that packs a week's worth of timed-release doses into one capsule has shown promising results in its first clinical study.

The Lyndra capsule opens into a star shape upon reaching the stomach

Environment

How biodiversity loss is quietly eroding the potential for life-saving drug discovery

Nick Lavars November 3, 2018

Drawing on nature to cure ailments stretches back thousands of years, but with our destruction of the environment continuing apace, some are concerned how much of it we’ll have to depend on in the future.

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is home to a multitude of species, which could be sources ...

Medical Audio available

Eye implant could more effectively prevent a common form of blindness

Ben Coxworth October 29, 2018

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in older people, with the "wet" form of the disease being responsible for about 90 percent of all cases of AMD-related severe vision loss. There may be new hope, however, in the form of an experimental eye implant.

The Port Delivery System incorporates an implanted drug reservoir, which is externally refilled

Medical

Probiotics and antibiotics team up against deadly superbugs

Michael Irving October 18, 2018

Bacteria continue to evolve resistance to our best drugs, but probiotics help keep bad bugs at bay. Now, MIT researchers have found a way to combine probiotics and antibiotic drugs into an uneasy alliance that seems to work better than either treatment alone.

Probiotics and antibiotics have formed an uneasy alliance against superbugs