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New technique could replace conventional methods of testing paralytic neurotoxins

Animal testing will no longer be required to assess a group of deadly neurotoxins, thanks to University of Queensland-led research.

30 Oct 2019

Researchers identify compounds that could help study the toxicological properties of fire ant venom

Native to South America, imported fire ants have now spread to parts of North America and elsewhere around the world. These invasive pests have painful stings that, in some cases, can cause serious medical problems, such as hypersensitivity reactions, infections and even kidney failure.

17 Oct 2019

Human sleep rhythm is much older than previously believed, Javan slow loris study reveals

People typically sleep seven to eight hours in one stretch and stay awake for the rest of the day. Evolutionary scientists have assumed that this rhythm of sleep arose when our early ancestors went from being nocturnal to diurnal, but a new study of the Javan slow loris indicates that the human way of sleeping is much older.

18 Sep 2019

Analysis: How your beloved hospital helps to drive up health care costs

As voters fume about the high cost of health care, politicians have been targeting two well-deserved villains: pharmaceutical companies, whose prices have risen more than inflation, and insurers, who pay their executives millions in salaries while raising premiums and deductibles.

5 Sep 2019

Newborn mouse model yields clues to cause of devastating gut disease in anemic preemies

Physicians have long suspected that red blood cell transfusions given to premature infants with anemia may put them in danger of developing necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, a potentially lethal inflammatory disease of the intestines.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 13 Aug 2019

Price of snakebite drug is sky high, but new competitor unlikely to lower costs

Dr. Steven Curry has treated patients with snakebites since the 1980s — long enough to remember when the treatment represented its own form of misery.

8 Aug 2019

Novel vaccine against bee sting allergy successfully tested

A recently completed trial on a bee sting vaccine containing a novel adjuvant called Advax to increase its efficacy has raised hopes that severe allergic reactions, sometimes fatal, to bee venom in allergic people could soon be a thing of the past. The vaccine was designed to neutralize the venom of the European honeybee.

17 Jul 2019

Research provides genomic warning flag just in time for beach season

An article published today in the Open Access journal GigaScience might make you squirm if you plan to hit the beach this summer. The article presents the draft genomes of three different jellyfish species.

30 Jun 2019

Scorpion venom contains compounds that could help fight Staph and tuberculosis bacteria

Researchers at Stanford University and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) have found that a scorpion found in Eastern Mexico has a venom that could have antibacterial properties.

10 Jun 2019

Treatment guidelines for managing anaphylaxis in children need to be reassessed

Treatment guidelines for managing anaphylaxis in children should be reassessed, according to a new Canadian study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

31 May 2019

GM fungus kills 99% of mosquitoes in Malaria-endemic region of Africa

Mosquito populations that are responsible for spreading malaria can be dramatically reduced with a new GM fungus that produces spider toxins.

31 May 2019

Novel imaging technique uses protein found in scorpion venom to light up brain tumors

A novel imaging technique that uses a synthesized form of scorpion venom to light up brain tumors has shown promise in a clinical trial. The imaging system enables neurosurgeons to better see malignant growths that often are difficult to fully eliminate.

10 May 2019

Summer bummer: A young camper’s $142,938 snakebite

It was dusk as Oakley Yoder and the other summer camp kids hiked back to their tents at Illinois' Jackson Falls last July. As the group approached a mound of boulders blocking the path, Oakley, then 9, didn't see the lurking snake — until it bit a toe on her right foot.

30 Apr 2019

FDA issues warning letters to four homeopathic firms for CGMP violations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today posted warning letters to four companies who produce homeopathic drug products for significant violations of current good manufacturing practice regulations, including a letter to King Bio Inc. of Asheville, N.C.

2 Apr 2019

FDA warns marketer of unapproved products claiming to treat addiction, chronic pain

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today posted a warning letter to Nutra Pharma Corp. for illegally marketing unapproved products labeled as homeopathic with claims about their ability to treat addiction and chronic pain, including pain associated with cancer, diabetes, shingles, fibromyalgia and other serious conditions.

19 Mar 2019

Use of synthetic psychedelic linked to improvements in depression and anxiety

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that use of the synthetic psychedelic 5-methocy-N,-N-dimethyltryptamine appears to be associated with unintended improvements in self-reported depression and anxiety when given in a ceremonial group setting.

19 Mar 2019

New WHO strategy aims to reduce the impact of snakebite

A new World Health Organization strategy aims to halve the impact of snakebite, which affects 5.4 million people globally each year, kills up to 138 000 and leaves 400 000 suffering permanent physical and psychological disabilities.

23 Feb 2019

Biologist uses new grant to find ways to eliminate schistosomiasis

A biologist at The University of Texas at Arlington is using a new grant to look for ways to finish off a disease that has stubbornly resisted all attempts to eradicate it.

22 Feb 2019

Researchers study animal venoms to identify new medicines for treating diseases

Animal venoms are the subject of study at research center based at the Butantan Institute in São Paulo. But in this case, the idea is not to find antidotes, but rather to use the properties of the venoms themselves to identify molecular targets of diseases and, armed with that knowledge, develop new compounds that can be used as medicines.

15 Feb 2019

Marine snail venom reveals clues to developing faster-acting insulin for diabetic patients

Although moderately mobile, marine cone snails have perfected several strategies to capture prey. Some fish-hunting species release venom into the surrounding water.

12 Feb 2019