A universal flu vaccine that could prevent a potential influenza pandemic has been a holy grail for epidemiologists around the world ever since the first flu vaccines were developed in 1938. Now, an international team of researchers from the University of Michigan, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and other institutions believe they…
Designing a Safer Building Block for Drug Discovery by Harnessing Visible Light
When you reach for a bottle of acetaminophen, you may be looking for relief from a headache. But if you take more than what is recommended, the drug can damage your liver. That’s because when a component of the drug–a substructure referred to as an aniline–breaks down in the liver, it can produce toxic metabolites.…
Genome’s Dark Matter Sheds Light on Prostate Cancer Challenge
Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center identified a novel gene they named ARLNC1, which controls signals from the androgen receptor, a key player in prostate cancer. Knocking down this long noncoding RNA in mice led to cancer cell death, suggesting this may be a key target for future therapies. The study is…
Opthalmologists Link Immunotherapy with a Serious Eye Condition
New immunotherapy treatments offer a remarkable chance for survival for patients with advanced melanoma and hard-to-treat cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung. But the treatments, designed to unleash the immune system to attack cancer, can also spur an assault on healthy organs, including the eye. The cases of three recent patients, published by University…
