Articles | Drug Discovery News

Oct 29, 2021By Natalya Ortolano, PhD

The race to develop more effective IL-2 cancer therapies

Immunotherapy was a game-changer for the cancer field, but immunotherapies using cytokines like IL-2 often cause severe side effects. Researchers are developing a newly engineered blueprint to improve the therapeutic efficacy and safety of IL-2 and other cytokines.

A person is wearing glasses and a white lab coat and is smiling at the camera.

Jan 24, 2022By Danielle Gerhard, PhD

On the road to treating mitochondrial disease

Recent advancements in mitochondrial genome editing technologies take scientists one step closer to developing viable treatments for mitochondrial diseases, which affect 1 in 4300 adults.

A person with facial hair is wearing glasses and a green blazer, and is looking at the camera.

Jan 21, 2022By Natalya Ortolano, PhD

Combining proteomic, genetic, and functional data to understand cancer

Researchers identified common, dysregulated pathways among different cancers using a newly developed protein-protein interaction mapping technique. The results may inform treatment and lead to the development of more effective drugs for cancer.

Jan 17, 2022By Stephanie DeMarco, PhD

From superfood to medicine maker, spirulina is a new cellular factory

Scientists engineer the photosynthetic bacteria spirulina to produce biologics at a large enough scale to treat some of the world’s deadliest and most prevalent diseases.

Jan 17, 2022By Natalya Ortolano, PhD

COVID-19 isn’t the only microbial infection to cause long-term symptoms

The long-term effects that many recovered COVID-19 patients experience, known as long COVID, seem unusual. But are they really?

Jan 14, 2022By Stephanie DeMarco, PhD

Warring fungi produce new drugs for cancer and infectious disease

Using bioinformatics and machine learning, scientists probe the depths of fungal genomes to find new compounds for undruggable cancers and infections.

Jan 10, 2022By Stephanie DeMarco, PhD

Sea cucumbers and starfish reveal the secrets of stem cells and regeneration

Echinoderms, with their close evolutionary similarity to humans, provide insight into fundamental stem cell biology and neural regeneration that will inform human health.

Mutations that are structural variants, or that are located in non-coding regions of the genome, are often difficult to detect.

Jan 10, 2022By Maggie Chen

A new long-read approach solves an old genetic mystery

Researchers pioneered a new strategy for diagnosing puzzling genetic diseases, expanding scientists’ capability to study their causes and pathophysiology.

Jan 10, 2022By Stephanie DeMarco, PhD

Aloe vera may soothe bladder pain

An upcoming clinical trial will test the effectiveness of a highly concentrated aloe vera pill to relieve the painful bladder symptoms associated with interstitial cystitis.

Dec 13, 2021By Natalya Ortolano, PhD

Nanobodies derived from llamas, camels, and alpacas may help fight COVID-19

Small antibodies called nanobodies produced in camels, llamas, and alpacas might help stop the spread of COVID-19, but can they stand up against the competition?

Dec 13, 2021By Stephanie DeMarco, PhD

Salamanders hold the secrets to limb regeneration

Jessica Whited studies how super-regenerative axolotls regrow their limbs after injury, hoping to one day translate her findings to cures for scarring and neurodegeneration.