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Researchers engineer peptide nanoparticles to outsmart biological system and target kidney cells

Remember the scene in the movie Mission: Impossible when Tom Cruise has to sneak into the vault? He had to do all sorts of moves to avoid detection. That's what it's like to sneak a targeted drug into a kidney and keep it from getting eliminated from the body.

22 Aug 2018

Simple paper-based test identifies falsified and substandard antibiotics

Antibiotics - medicines that treat bacterial infections - have saved millions of lives worldwide since their discovery in the early 20th century.

22 Aug 2018

Scientists discover new genetic material that may regulate regeneration

Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory and the University of Maine have discovered that genetic material in the cell that was previously thought to be "junk" because of its apparent lack of function likely plays a part in regulating genetic circuits responsible for regeneration in highly regenerative animals.

22 Aug 2018

NIH-funded study explores disparities in achieving HIV suppression

Daily antiretroviral therapy that suppresses HIV to levels undetectable by standard blood tests is lifesaving for individuals living with HIV and prevents sexual transmission of the virus to others.

22 Aug 2018

Education program reduces forced sex among adolescents in South Africa

Southern Africa has some of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world, with 20 percent of adolescent girls and boys reporting that they have been forced to have sex. In many cases, they are also the perpetrators: In one survey, 12 percent of boys and 5 percent of girls admitted they have forced someone else onto sex.

21 Aug 2018

Study finds worrisome increase in drug-resistant infections

Nearly six percent of urinary tract infections analyzed by a California emergency department were caused by drug-resistant bacteria in a one-year study period, according to new research in Annals of Emergency Medicine. The bacteria were resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics.

21 Aug 2018

Depressed patients treated with nerve stimulation experience improvements in quality of life

People with depression who are treated with nerve stimulation experience significant improvements in quality of life, even when their depression symptoms don't completely subside, according to results of a national study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

21 Aug 2018

Researchers explore use of antipsychotic medications in older adults following heart surgery

Delirium is the medical term for an abrupt, rapid change in mental function that goes well beyond the typical forgetfulness of aging.

21 Aug 2018

Children with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis have successful treatment outcomes, study shows

The results of a large, international systematic review published in the journal PLOS Medicine show that tuberculosis treatment is successful in children with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. The study was used to inform the World Health Organization guidelines on treatment of MDR-TB in children.

21 Aug 2018

Study may fuel need for effective drug testing in hospital emergency departments

At a time when drug overdoses are becoming more prevalent and lethal, a new report provides a snapshot of regional illicit drug use and, for the first time, highlights the complexity of detecting and treating patients at hospital emergency departments for a severe drug-related event.

21 Aug 2018

Scientists discover peptides that can be used as new antibiotic candidates

The human body produces many antimicrobial peptides that help the immune system fend off infection. Scientists hoping to harness these peptides as potential antibiotics have now discovered that other peptides in the human body can also have potent antimicrobial effects, expanding the pool of new antibiotic candidates.

21 Aug 2018

Research provides drug developers with much needed insight into serotonin receptor

Serotonin, known as the "happiness" neurotransmitter, is a chemical found in the body responsible for feelings of well-being. But serotonin isn't the only chemical that binds to the 13 serotonin receptors found on the surface of cells. Far from it. Many approved drugs also bind to serotonin receptors.

21 Aug 2018