Bio Drugs
Modified polio virus could be used as cancer treatment
A protein common on some types of cancer cell turns out to be the same one that in other circumstances ...
Depression and pharmacogenomics: Avoiding ‘trial and error’ in drug treatments
Thanks to the relatively new field of pharmacogenomics — which the National Human Genome Research Institute defines as the use ...
Human embryoids push bioethical boundaries
Scientists are using stem cells to create clumps of cells that increasingly resemble bits of brain, lungs, or intestine. […] ...
$500K gene therapy treatment? Some see a bargain
The idea behind gene therapy is that genetic material is used as a “living drug” to treat disease. Scientists have been ...
Chemotherapy drugs can be blocked by bacteria hiding in cancer cells
Of all the kinds of bacteria, some are charming and beneficial, others are malicious and dangerous—and then there are the ...
Genetic cancer screenings based on family history may not go far enough
Simultaneous sequencing of tumor DNA and normal tissue for a broad panel of cancer-related genes may detect more potentially clinically ...
David Gorski: Rigvir ‘virotherapy’ another unproven alternative medicine cancer therapy
[Editor's note: Dr. David Gorski, MD, PhD, FACS is a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.] [Cancer ...
How much can you make on a successful cancer drug? Billions
[Editor's note: Dr. Jamie Wells, MD, FAAP, is a Board-Certified physician and the Director of Medicine at the American Council on Science and ...
Modified herpes virus boosts immunotherapy treatment for melanoma
In a two-year UCLA-led study, nearly two-thirds of people with advanced melanoma responded positively to a treatment that combines the ...
Marijuana and epigenetics: Are we moving too quickly with legalization?
Some research suggests there could be health implications related to a surge in legalized marijuana use in the US. One ...
Some depression sufferers may genetically respond to placebos
In a genome-wide association study examining the placebo and duloxetine response in major depressive disorder (MDD), researchers found an association ...
Drug that reverses diabetes and obesity in mice may strengthen brittle bones
A drug that can reverse diabetes and obesity in mice may have an unexpected benefit: strengthening bones. Experiments with a ...
Viewpoint: ‘Mutation-centric’ cancer treatment ignores critical environmental factors
[Editor's note: The following is part of an interview with James DeGregori is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry ...
Canakinumab not the ‘miracle’ heart attack and cancer prevention drug as hyped
On August 27th the results of a trial of an anti-inflammatory medicine called canakinumab were released at a meeting, in ...
Weakened Zika virus might help fight brain cancer in adults
A new study suggests that the same properties that make Zika a dangerous virus for unborn children could be useful ...
HPV cancer vaccine 10 years old: Why aren’t more kids immunized?
[Editor's note: The following is part of an interview with US National Cancer Institute virologist John Schiller, whose research provided the basis ...
Parkinson’s stem cell treatment shows promise in monkeys–human trials next
Japanese researchers report promising results from an experimental therapy for Parkinson’s disease that involves implanting neurons made from ‘reprogrammed’ stem ...
Ethanol injections cure skin cancer in hamsters, offering hope for cheap treatments
[C]heap, uncomplicated, portable, and preferably non-surgical treatments that do not require electricity are needed [to treat cancer in developing countries] ...
Finding and destroying tumors with microscopic ‘spasers’
[Research by] Vladimir Zharov of the University of Arkansas and Mark Stockman of Georgia State University, in Atlanta involves injecting ...
Zika vaccine now seen as unlikely, as project dropped
Vaccine giant Sanofi Pasteur has quietly pulled the plug on its Zika vaccine project, a move that underscores how difficult ...
‘Unscrupulous’ stem cell clinics targeted in FDA crackdown
The Food and Drug Administration announced a crackdown on dangerous stem cell clinics...while at the same time pledging to ease the path to approval ...
‘Breakthrough’ treatment for PTSD? FDA approves ecstasy drug trial
One of the main targets in the war on drugs could well become a drug to treat the scars of ...
Some schizophrenia, bipolar disorder linked to brain pH imbalances
Sometimes our brains are on acid—literally. A main source of these temporary surges is the carbon dioxide that is constantly ...
Lung cancer manifests differently in younger patients
As recently as 10 to 20 years ago, it didn't matter if someone smoked or not. Everyone who had lung ...
Far out: Could psychedelics fight ‘treatment-resistant’ depression?
Given existing antidepressants don’t work for many people, the excitement surrounding the development of a new class of treatments from ...
Blood test cancer diagnosis could be as easy as checking cholesterol
Imagine a world where it is as easy to check for cancer as it is high cholesterol. New research out of ...
Heart attack risk could be significantly reduced with simple anti-inflammatory medication
A clinical trial of more than 10,000 heart attack patients supports a novel way to protect them from a stroke ...
