April 2022- Volume 18, Issue 4
In this Issue
Editor's Focus
A microbial signal from the gut promotes obesity
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.
Snakebite antivenoms step into the future
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.
Editors Insight
A pandemic lost in translation
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.
Pharmacology
Biotech start-ups and condensate targeted drugs
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
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.
Scientists and communicators team up to increase clinical trial participation
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.
Cancer
Brain cancer meets its match with focused ultrasound treatment
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 the resistance to treatment
The cold shoulder of cancer: Understanding the resistance to treatment
There are now more cancer treatment options than ever before. However, almost all of them face the same major challenge: eventually, they stop working. There are several unique ways in which cancer cells evade death. Now, scientists are inventing new technologies to target these mechanisms and overcome resistance.
Antibody Therapeutics
Omicron mutations help it evade antibodies
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
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.
Metabolism
A workout for the brain to fight Parkinson's disease?
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
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.
