Feature Channels: Biotech

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Advanced imaging and AI will power the manufacture of any cancer at the push of a button.

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Germ cell tumors have been treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy since the 1970s. While approximately 80% of patients respond well to cisplatin, the remaining 20% do not.For those patients, treatment options are limited, and when the cancer returns after second- and third-line treatments, cancer-related mortality is over 90%.

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Irvine, Calif., Aug. 20, 2024 — A team of researchers led by the University of California, Irvine has discovered that an antioxidant found in rosemary extract can reduce volitional intakes of cocaine by moderating the brain’s reward response, offering a new therapeutic target for treating addiction. The study, recently published online in the journal Neuron, describes team members’ focus on a region of the brain called the globus pallidus externus, which acts as a gatekeeper that regulates how we react to cocaine.

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An extensive family of proteins that gives human skin mechanical strength also appears to organize molecular signals that control skin cell activity, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows. Their findings, published in Developmental Cell, could lead to new ways to fight a host of skin diseases, including ulcers and skin cancer.

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Drugs such as Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy have made news for their abilities to treat diabetes and encourage weight loss. To give a clearer understanding of the benefits and risks of GLP-1 agonists for patients with liver disease, Robert Fontana, M.D., a Michigan Medicine hepatologist, answered our questions.

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Cleveland Clinic researchers have made a significant discovery about how the gut microbiome interacts with cells to cause cardiovascular disease.

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While Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the United States, other infections transmitted through tick bites are just as dangerous. One of these is the Powassan virus (POWV). Erich Mackow, PhD, a virologist at Stony Brook University, is conducting research in an attempt to uncover one the most dangerous effects of POWV – neurologic damage.

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Investigators with the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) program to detect the presence and severity of mitral valve regurgitation, the most common heart valve disorder.

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Chulalongkorn University organized an international academic conference titled “Cutting-edge Nanotechnologies for Good Health and Well-being” to present nanotechnology innovations as new alternatives for cancer treatment.

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New research finds a combination of drugs improves weight loss, glucose control and insulin resistance better than either drug alone. Using two diabetes medications together, such as a semaglutide like Ozempic or Rybelsus, with a second, newer class of drug, may offer a noninvasive solution to help people with Type 2 diabetes lose weight and manage their condition without the need for bariatric surgery.

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The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Research to Prevent Blindness announce recipients of this year’s RPB / AAO Award for IRIS Registry Research.

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Scientists are finding clues for how to treat diabetes and hormone disorders in an unexpected place: a toxin from one of the most venomous animals on the planet.

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A research team has reviewed significant progress in understanding the growth and stress response mechanisms in bermudagrass, a widely distributed and valuable grass species.

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At 69, Hoyt “Corky” Ball knew something was wrong when his right hand began to tremble uncontrollably. His primary doctor ruled out Parkinson’s, but the prescribed medication failed to alleviate his symptoms.

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Rutgers Cancer Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center together with RWJBarnabas Health, has treated its 200th patient with CAR T-cell therapy, a type of immunotherapy that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer.

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A new study led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that Manuka honey could potentially be an alternative, natural option for breast cancer prevention and treatment— particularly for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, the most common subtype of breast cancer that accounts for about 70–80% of all breast cancer cases.

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A new animal study shows that exposure to immune-stimulating proteins left behind by COVID-19 leads to lower cortisol, brain inflammation and a heightened reaction to subsequent stressors.

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A novel study led by Prof. Mira Barda-Saad and her research team at the Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University has unveiled a novel method to rejuvenate natural killer (NK) cells in the fight against cancer. The study, published on the cover of The EMBO Journal, addresses a critical challenge in cancer immunotherapy -- NK cell exhaustion.

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In a marked advance over current AI models, the new approach captures how proteins act not in isolation but in their cellular and tissue environments.