Drug Discovery and Development

Inflammation is a balanced physiological response — the body needs it to eliminate invasive organisms and foreign irritants, but excessive inflammation can harm healthy cells, contributing to aging and chronic diseases. To help keep tabs on inflammation, immune cells employ a molecular machine called the NLRP3 inflammasome. NLRP3 is inactive in a healthy cell, but…

A team of biologists from Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and Lobachevsky University (Nizhny Novgorod) analyzed available methods of targeted drug delivery to malignant tumors. Individual approaches to cancer therapy limit the influence of drugs on healthy tissues and reduce side effects. The results of the study were published in the Cancers journal. The…

Scientists from Utrecht University, University Medical Center Utrecht and Hubrecht Institute have successfully created kidney organoids from urine cells. This could lead to a wide range of new treatments that are less onerous for kidney patients. The results of the research will be published in Nature Biotechnology today. Thanks to revolutionary developments in stem cell research, scientists…

The results of a recent Texas A&M University-led study provide insights into the mechanism by which estrogen can decrease insulin resistance and the production of glucose, reducing incidences of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study, “Estrogen Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Suppresses Gluconeogenesis via the Transcription Factor Foxo1,” can be found online in the Diabetes journal of the…

The failures and lack of progress in the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, are well documented. But, finally, for patients who are desperately awaiting treatment, things may be changing. Advances in our understanding of genetics have given clear direction for the potential development of new treatments. In…

We rely on antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, but the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria forces doctors and patients to contend with shifting treatment plans. Furthermore, current laboratory tests to determine what bacteria is causing a particular infection takes days to complete and, in cases of serious infection, the results are often too late for the…

The immune system is the body’s best defense in fighting diseases like HIV and cancer. Now, an international team of researchers is harnessing the immune system to reveal new clues that may help in efforts to produce an HIV vaccine. SFU professor Mark Brockman and co-authors from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa have…

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new assay to accurately and easily count the cells that comprise the HIV reservoir, the stubborn obstacle to an HIV cure. This advance will enable researchers who are trying to eliminate the HIV reservoir to clearly understand whether their strategies are working. The research…

Artemisinin is derived from the leaves and flowers of the annual mugwort (Artemisia annua) and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. The effectiveness was investigated by the Chinese researcher Tu Youyou. Her research was 2015 rewarded with the Nobel Prize. Artemisinin and its semi-synthetic derivatives – collectively known as artemisinins – are…