Biomedicine & Disease
Cancer cure using mRNA technology? Progress in treating melanoma inching forward but challenges are large
A small study shows promise in deploying mRNA technology against melanoma, but fighting tumors is vastly more complex than tackling ...
We’re on the cusp of spellbinding advances in treating malaria and tuberculosis thanks to mRNA technology used in COVID vaccine breakthroughs
MRNA IS ONE of the first molecules of life. While identified six decades ago as the carrier of the blueprint ...
This ‘morning-after pill’ can prevent sexually transmitted infections. Why aren’t more doctors prescribing it?
Years after it was first proven to work, a new tool for preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is on the ...
10 most important science stories of the past year
As the year draws to a close, it’s time to look back at the groundbreaking advances that made news in ...
3-years and counting: GLP contributing writer and geneticist Ricki Lewis highlights 100 articles on the COVID pandemic
Three years ago, health officials in China announced the first cases of infection with a “novel coronavirus.” Dr. Zhang Jixian reported ...
As China’s daily COVID cases soar into the millions, questions remain about the country’s vaccines. Here are the answers
China is in the midst of its first major COVID surge, and it's one of the world's largest. China rolled ...
Analysis: Acetaminophen linked to autism? Claims about the causes of this behavioral disease get weirder as scientists hone in on genes as driving culprit
What causes autism? It’s complex, which is an entirely unsatisfying explanation for those with loved ones who suffer from it ...
Safety concerns raised about Lecanemab, one of the first drugs to slow Alzheimer’s disease
The experimental drug lecanemab shows “potential” as an Alzheimer’s disease treatment, according to new Phase 3 trial results, but the ...
Podcast: Time to eat bugs? Fighting high cholesterol with CRISPR; mRNA flu vaccines coming soon?
Are you ready to eat insects? Some scientists say it's time we get more protein from bugs and less from ...
Smart bandage: This high-tech bandaid can monitor wound healing in real time
Millions of people dealing with diseases and suppressed immune systems are often forced to deal with chronic wounds—often minor injuries ...
3+ million lives saved: COVID vaccines prevented mass death in the US
A study released December 13 by the Commonwealth Fund shows that in those two years, the Covid vaccines have averted over ...
Universal mRNA-based vaccine targeting 20 types of flu is a real possibility
Scientists say they have made a breakthrough designing a vaccine against all 20 known types of flu ...
7 to 10 years: That’s how long it’s expected to take to develop cutting-edge male contraceptives
A growing range of pills, patches and implants became available to women. And yet, a stretchy sheath that covers the ...
Podcast: Life-saving snake venom? Palm oil from gene-edited soybeans; Fighting plastic pollution with biotech
Believe it or not, scientists are exploiting venom from snakes, snails and other poisonous critters to make life-saving medicines. Could ...
Monoclonal antibody treatments no longer work against new COVID variants. Why not?
Monoclonal antibodies were once the star of COVID-19 outpatient treatments. Since they first became available in 2020 – even before the first ...
$3.5 million per treatment: FDA approves the most expensive drug in the world, for blood disorder hemophilia
The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Hemgenix, a new drug to treat hemophilia. Manufacturer CSL Behring set ...
Hidden healing: The amazing nerve-mending effect of parasites linked to leprosy
In an ironic twist, researchers have just discovered that a tissue-damaging disease somehow has the potential to regenerate mammalian livers ...
Is a vaccination against deadly fentanyl addictions on the horizon?
Researchers report they have created a vaccine to fight fentanyl addiction, in a potential breakthrough in the opioid epidemic. The ...
Next generation monoclonal antibody treatments target elusive mutating COVID virus
In the evolutionary chess match between the coronavirus and humans, scientists’ next move can’t come soon enough for the millions ...
Video: Tobacco plant genetically modified to produce cocaine
A tobacco plant relative called Nicotiana benthamiana has been genetically modified to produce cocaine in its leaves. Cocaine is produced naturally in ...
Life-saving venom? How deadly compounds can be used as medications
Scientists estimate that there are more than 220,000 venomous species, ranging from jellyfish to mammals. That’s 15 percent of Earth’s animal ...
‘Redesigning the immune system’: Experimental personalized medical treatment helps body defeat cancer by boosting tumor-spotting cells
People with untreatable cancers have had their immune system redesigned to attack their own tumours. The experimental study involved only ...
Video game therapy? Upbeat computer games boost ketamine’s power as an antidepressant
Computer games designed to boost self-esteem appear to prolong the antidepressant benefits of the mind-bending anesthetic ketamine. A recent study ...
Treating diseases in the womb: In medical first, doctors treat Pompe disease before birth
A toddler is thriving after doctors in the U.S. and Canada used a novel technique to treat her before she ...
Cancer-fighting mushrooms? Insect-eating cordyceps fungi could help produce new antiviral and cancer drugs
Researchers grew cordyceps mushrooms on six different kinds of insects. They found that mushrooms grown amid high levels of oleic ...
‘A whole new class of drugs to fight malaria’: Single dose of antibody infusion protects for six months
A single dose of an antibody drug provided strong protection against malaria infections during the six-month rainy season in Mali, ...
Podcast: NYT attacks another scientist; How we got ‘GMO’ insulin; Why is gene therapy so costly?
The New York Times last week alleged that a high-profile scientist is in cahoots with the meat industry. Is there ...