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Pancreatic cancer study reveals the cause of tumor cell resistance to immunotherapy

A new study that analyzed the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer revealed the cause of tumor cell resistance to immunotherapy and resulted in new treatment strategies.

26 Jan 2023

Research provides a comprehensive structural framework to design safer pain-relieving drugs

In the continuing effort to improve upon opioid pain relievers, American and Chinese scientists used cryoEM technology to solve the detailed structures of the entire family of opioid receptors bound to their naturally occurring peptides.

18 Jan 2023

What are the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and marijuana on fetal development?

Researchers presented the effects of simultaneous alcohol and cannabinoid (SAC) usage during gestation on fetal brain development.

10 Jan 2023

COVID-19 vaccine potency and breadth improved by nanoparticle-conjugated adjuvants

In a recent study posted to bioRxiv*, researchers designed a nanoparticle (NP)-conjugated toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist to improve the adjuvanticity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines.

8 Jan 2023

Researchers present a new strategy for self-adjuvanting vaccine development

This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses a fully synthetic Tn-based three-component cancer vaccine using covalently linked TLR4 ligand MPLA and iNKT cell agonist KRN-7000 as built-in adjuvant effectively protects mice from tumor development.

23 Dec 2022

Researchers report the development of robust candidate single immunization PNP hydrogel COVID vaccines

Researchers developed a one-dose subunit vaccine for the induction of durable, potent, and broad immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

16 Dec 2022

Understanding why respiratory infections are more common in the winter

Researchers investigate the role of extracellular vesicles in the innate nasal mucosal response to several respiratory viruses.

6 Dec 2022

Discontinuation of opioid therapy for pain may increase overdose risk

Opioid-related overdose is now a leading cause of accidental death in the United States and Canada. A study published December 1st in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Mary Clare Kennedy at University of British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada, and colleagues suggests discontinuing prescribed opioids was associated with increased overdose risk.

1 Dec 2022

Research reveals new treatment avenue for pediatric high grade gliomas harboring a genetic mutation

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have identified a novel treatment approach to an aggressive type of pediatric brain cancer, using therapies already approved to treat cancer.

16 Nov 2022

Do SSRIs lower the risk of long COVID?

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to determine whether SSRIs with immunomodulatory and antiplatelet properties can decrease the risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).

15 Nov 2022

Delay in consciousness in severe cases of COVID-19 may be caused by neural hibernation

An article published in the journal PNAS provides a conceptual analysis to interpret the brain state of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients experiencing prolonged recovery of consciousness.

10 Nov 2022

Environmental toxicants contribute to obesity and metabolic disease

In a recent study published in the Current Opinion in Pharmacology journal, researchers assessed the impact of environmental toxicants and brown adipose tissue (BAT) on obesity and metabolic disorders.

4 Nov 2022

Fermented dairy products can improve gut mucosal immunity

In a recent study published in the journal Immunology Letters, researchers assessed the role of fermented dairy products and dairy starters in modulating gut mucosal immunity.

3 Nov 2022

Piceatannol and mTOR inhibitor combination proves be an attractive therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer

This study is led by Dr. Longtao Huangfu, and Dr. Xiaoyang Wang (Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute). A diet of fresh fruits and vegetables may reduce the prevalence of cancers, including GC (Eusebi et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2021).

28 Oct 2022

Study refutes the nicotinic hypothesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanism

A new study confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein does not bind to human AChR’s orthosteric sites, nor does it compete with ACh, choline, or nicotine.

28 Oct 2022

Advanced type of nanoparticle could help fight hard-to-treat cancers

Nanoparticles, or tiny molecules that can deliver a payload of drug treatments and other agents, show great promise for treating cancers.

27 Oct 2022

Dangers of recreational/medical cannabis use

Researchers describe the wide range of neurological effects associated with cannabis use.

26 Oct 2022

Combination treatment improves progression-free survival in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that adding metastasis-directed radiation therapy to intermittent hormone therapy improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer.

25 Oct 2022

Vast majority of people with gender dysphoria continue using gender-affirming hormone treatment

Among individuals treated at a gender identity clinic in The Netherlands, those who used puberty supressing treatment before the age of 18 and then started gender-affirming hormones, 98% (704 out of 720) continued use at follow-up, according to an observational study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.

20 Oct 2022

Scientists develop human salivary gland organoids to test SARS-CoV-2 infectivity

In a recent study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, researchers demonstrated the susceptibility of salivary glands to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in vitro using an organoid culture model.