The failure of existing antibiotics to combat infections is a major health threat worldwide. While the traditional strategy for tackling drug resistance has been to develop new antibiotics, a more sustainable long-term approach may be preventing bacteria from evolving it in the first place. Until now, one major hurdle to this approach is that it…
Fever Alters Immune Cells so They can Better Reach Infections
Fever is known to help power up our immune cells, and scientists in Shanghai have new evidence explaining how. They found in mice that fever alters surface proteins on immune cells like lymphocytes to make them better able to travel via blood vessels to reach the site of infection. Their work appears on January 15…
Proof-of-concept HIV Immunotherapy Study Passes Phase 1 Safety Trial
Study Sheds Light on Genetic Foundation of Migraines
The nauseating, often debilitating, headaches affect 15-20 percent of adults in developed countries, yet they remain stubbornly hard to explain. Scientists know that migraines tend to run in families but aren’t sure exactly how. A new study published May 3 in the journal Neuron shows why some families are susceptible to migraines and how genetics…
How TB Vaccine May Protect Against Other Diseases
The tuberculosis vaccine is well known to help protect against other infectious diseases, as well as cancer, but the exact mechanisms have not been clear. A study published December 6 in Cell Reports now shows that the broad-spectrum effects of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine—the most widely used vaccine in the world—could be mediated by…
Tobacco Plants Engineered to Manufacture High Yields of Malaria Drug
Why Scientists Are Calling For Experiments On Ecstasy
MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy, promotes strong feelings of empathy in users and is classified as a Schedule 1 drug–a category reserved for compounds with no accepted medical use and a high abuse potential. But in a Commentary published July 14 in Cell, two researchers call for a rigorous scientific exploration of MDMA’s effects…
Surprising Number of Businesses Selling Unapproved Stem Cell ‘Treatments’
At least 351 companies across the United States are marketing unapproved stem cell procedures at 570 individual clinics. Such businesses advertise “stem cell” interventions for orthopedic injuries, neurological disorders, cardiac diseases, immunological conditions, pulmonary disorders, injured spinal cords, and cosmetic indications. In Cell Stem Cell on June 30, bioethicist Leigh Turner and stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler…