March 2024- Volume 20, Issue 2

In this Issue

Editor's Focus

An electron microscope image of HPV virus-like particles.

Science Milestone: The history of the HPV Vaccine

Science Milestone: The history of the HPV Vaccine

In the 1930s, HPV wasn’t on the radar for most scientists.Four decades passed before anyone connected HPV with cervical, penile, or anal cancer, and it took even longer before scientists developed a prophylactic vaccine.

Editors Insight

A drawing of a scientist in a lab coat talking at a podium on stage in front of an audience.

Don’t sleep on storytelling in science

Don’t sleep on storytelling in science

The best scientific presentations are not just about the science. The delivery matters too.

Cancer

A blue tumor cell in the brain receives incoming signals from magenta-colored neurons.

Cracking the cancer-neuroscience connection

Cracking the cancer-neuroscience connection

Cancer anywhere in the body can change brain activity, and brain activity can drive cancer growth. These surprising discoveries are leading to new treatments.

Dermatology

A person’s clasped hands turn red in the cold.

Fighting frostbite with antifreeze

Fighting frostbite with antifreeze

Munia Ganguli harnessed cryopreservative chemicals to develop a topical cream that could prevent skin injury from the cold.
Illustration depicting a large footprint in the sand and a tiny man and his shadow standing next to it.

A melanoma subtype emerges from the shadows

A melanoma subtype emerges from the shadows

An understudied melanoma arises without sun exposure, but researchers are beginning to shed light on this challenging form of skin cancer. 
An illustration of cream pouring out of a tube on top of skin.

Synthetic melanin accelerates wound healing

Synthetic melanin accelerates wound healing

A dermatologist and a nanomaterials scientist teamed up to develop synthetic particles to accelerate tissue repair in damaged skin.

Microbiology

Mosquitoes inside a jar covered with a net.

Bacterial warriors fight mosquito-borne diseases

Bacterial warriors fight mosquito-borne diseases

Scientists weaponize the symbiotic bacteria in mosquitoes against the deadly diseases they transmit.
A cropped photo of a woman applying white cream to acne on her chin.

A live bacteria treatment for acne

A live bacteria treatment for acne

Microbiome researcher Sarah Lebeer studies how beneficial bacteria can help treat inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and atopic dermatitis.
An amoeba that looks like Pac-Man is about to eat some bacteria represented as multicolored ghosts.

Treating antibiotic resistant infections with amoeba

Treating antibiotic resistant infections with amoeba

Many species of amoebae naturally bust open biofilms to eat the bacteria inside. Now, scientists are mining these microbial predators for new antibiotics.
Rolls of toilet paper sit on a blue background.

Finding nonantibiotic solutions to resistant UTI

Finding nonantibiotic solutions to resistant UTI

One of the most common bacterial infections, urinary tract infections, may have promising new therapeutics on the way.

Precision Medicine

A doctor in a blue mask prepares to vaccinate an older woman.

Customizing mRNA vaccines for cancer

Customizing mRNA vaccines for cancer

Researchers use mRNA to create cancer vaccines that are personalized to each individual’s unique tumor.
A blue and white brain organoid set against a black background.

Tracing Alzheimer’s disease back to development

Tracing Alzheimer’s disease back to development

By watching brain organoids develop, researchers observed surprising abnormalities caused by mutations in a gene related to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Brightly colored neurons and blood vessels shown under a microscope.

Propelling pain research forward with human tissues

Propelling pain research forward with human tissues

Pain research has traditionally relied on animal models. Theodore Price studies human tissues to better understand pain disorders across age and sex.
A hand with blue gloves holding a tube labeled “cfDNA Screening - Test”

Cell-free DNA may guide rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Cell-free DNA may guide rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Researchers use cell-free DNA circulating in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis to match them with the most effective drugs. 

Antibody Drugs

Amir Razai wears a white lab coat while holding a column in a laboratory at Arialys Therapeutics.

Putting out a fire in the brain

Putting out a fire in the brain

A new antibody drug should improve treatment of a rare autoimmune encephalitis.
Hepatitis B virus is shown in orange against a blue background.

Recombinant polyclonal antibodies for viral diseases

Recombinant polyclonal antibodies for viral diseases

Viral diseases like hepatitis don’t have many successful treatments available, so scientists are engineering antibodies to try and change that.
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