April 2022 Volume 18, Issue 4
Volume 18, Issue 4 | April 2022
April 2022
In this Issue
Metabolism
A workout for the brain to fight Parkinson's disease?
Exercise may improve cellular power plants gone haywire to ward off Parkinson’s disease. But researchers are still trying to understand how.A new weight loss strategy turns fat into energy
By using extracellular vesicles to target specific neurons in the hypothalamus, scientists induced weight loss in a mouse model of obesity without altering its diet or exercise.Antibody Therapeutics
Omicron mutations help it evade antibodies
COVID-19 has gotten a little better at infecting cells and dodging antibodies with each set of mutations in new variants. Omicron is the best at dodging antibodies, but its modified structure sacrificed virulence for antibody resistance.A new biotech company gears up to target GPCRs with antibodies
The company plans to develop more specialized, antibody-based GPCR drugs to treat a myriad of diseases. They recruited a leader in overseeing successful clinical trials to get the job done.Pharmacology
Scientists and communicators team up to increase clinical trial participation
Clinicians, researchers, and communicators are developing more effective strategies to disseminate information about clinical trials to reach a wider audience. They ultimately expect that this will lead to more inclusive trials.Biotech start-ups and condensate targeted drugs
Membraneless droplet like organelles known as condensates are changing the way some scientists approach drug discovery.A mysterious cellular tango
Researchers no longer think that proteins blindly swim through the cytoplasm hoping to bump into one another. Instead, they intentionally aggregate with other biomolecules, forming membrane free, transient organelles called condensates.Cancer
Brain cancer meets its match with focused ultrasound treatment
Biomedical engineer Natasha Sheybani uses soundwaves to disrupt the blood-brain barrier and improve immunotherapy for glioblastoma patients.The Cold Shoulder of Cancer
Understanding resistance to treatmentEditor's Focus
Snakebite antivenoms step into the future
Traditional snakebite antivenom relies on a century-old technology. To find safer and more effective treatments for one of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases, scientists are designing new therapies, ranging from camel nanobodies to human recombinant antibodies and small molecule drugs.A microbial signal from the gut promotes obesity
Gut microbes produce a metabolite that inhibits the conversion of fatty acids into energy and leads to weight gain in mice.Editors Insight
A pandemic lost in translation
As the science on vaccination and natural infection-based immunity against COVID-19 variants continues to evolve, accurately communicating study results and their limitations has never been more important.Subscribe to our eNewsletters
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