Science - Drug Discovery Digest

Global trust in science remains strong

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 20, 2025

A team of 241 researchers conducted the largest post-pandemic study of trust in science, societal expectations and public views on research priorities. A global survey spanning 68 countries reveals that public trust in scientists is still high.

Science

Science Research

Researchers make breakthrough in bioprinting functional human heart tissue

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 22, 2025

The breakthrough science focused on replicating heart tissues, bringing research closer to generating functional, bioprinted organs, which would have broad applications in disease modelling, drug screening and regenerative medicine.

Research

Research Science Disease Drugs

Citizen science reveals that Jupiter's colorful clouds are not made of ammonia ice

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 6, 2025

Collaborative work by amateur and professional astronomers has helped to resolve a long-standing misunderstanding about the composition of Jupiter's clouds. Instead of being formed of ammonia ice -- the conventional view -- it now appears they are likely to be composed of ammonium hydrosulphide mixed with smog.

Science

An Alzheimer’s drugmaker is accused of data manipulation. Should its trials be stopped?

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 4, 2024

An experimental Alzheimer’s therapy from Cassava Sciences is still being tested in two Phase 3 studies, even as the company has come under regulatory scrutiny.

Trials

Trials Science Therapies

RNA editing: emerging from CRISPR’s shadow

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Early study data from Wave Life Sciences suggests how editing RNA may yield viable medicines. Large and small drugmakers say such results are just the start.

RNA

RNA Science

ALS drugs from Denali, Calico come up short, marking more failures for Healey trial

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JANUARY 7, 2025

Denali’s medicine and a similar one from Calico Life Sciences and AbbVie were not much different than a placebo, bringing the tally of failed drugs in the innovative “Healey platform trial” to seven.

Trials

Trials Science Drugs

How artificial intelligence could automate genomics research

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Results bring science one step closer to automating one of the most widely used methods in genomics research. New research suggests that large language models like GPT-4 could streamline the process of gene set enrichment, an approach what genes do and how they interact.

Research

Research Science

Follow the water: Searching for a lunar oasis

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 28, 2025

Researchers may help bring science fiction to reality by providing a divining rod to guide future space missions. As humankind imagines living off-planet -- on the moon, Mars and beyond -- the question of how to sustain life revolves around the physical necessities of oxygen, food and water.

Science

Science Research

Brain-wide activity change visualized as geometric patterns

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Researchers have applied a visualization technique to depict the brain's activity related to visual perception as geometric patterns. They visualized different shapes as the ever-changing neuronal activity in the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain during object recognition and recalling memories.

Research

Zebrafish protein unlocks dormant genes for heart repair

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 2, 2025

Researchers have successfully repaired damaged mouse hearts using a protein from zebrafish. They discovered that the protein Hmga1 plays a key role in heart regeneration in zebrafish. In mice, this protein was able to restore the heart by activating dormant repair genes without causing side effects, such as heart enlargement.

Therapies

Therapies Research

Boosting evolution: How humans unintentionally altered the skulls of pigs

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Short snouts and a flat profile -- within a span of 100 years, humans have significantly changed the shape of the skulls of German domestic pigs. This is likely down to new breeding practices introduced at the beginning of the 20th century.

Research

Scientists discover how aspirin could prevent some cancers from spreading

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

MARCH 5, 2025

Scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind how aspirin could reduce the metastasis of some cancers by stimulating the immune system.

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials Trials Drugs

Deep learning designs proteins against deadly snake venom

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 15, 2025

New proteins not found in nature have now been designed to counteract certain highly poisonous components of snake venom. The deep learning, computational methods for developing these toxin-neutralizing proteins offer hope for creating safer, more cost-effective and more readily available therapeutics than those currently in use.

Novel stem cell therapy repairs 'irreversible' corneal damage in clinical trial

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

MARCH 4, 2025

Results from a phase 1/2 clinical trial of a novel stem cell treatment for cornea injuries found 14 patients treated and tracked for 18 months had a more than 90% success rate at restoring the cornea's surface and improvements in vision.

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials Trials Therapies Treatment

Heat from the sun affects seismic activity on Earth

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

MARCH 4, 2025

Researchers explore the likelihood that Earth's climate, as affected by solar heat, plays a role in seismic activity.

Research

Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

A tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, researchers report.

DNA

DNA Virus Treatment Research

Scientists can reverse brain aging in fruit flies by preventing buildup of a common protein

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Buildup of a protein called filamentous actin, or F-actin, in the brain inhibits the removal of cellular wastes, including DNA, lipids, proteins and organelles. The resulting accumulation of waste diminishes neuronal functions and contributes to cognitive decline.

DNA

DNA Research

Drug candidate eliminates breast cancer tumors in mice in a single dose

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 22, 2025

Despite significant therapeutic advances, breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Treatment typically involves surgery and follow-up hormone therapy, but late effects of these treatments include osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction and blood clots.

Treatment

Treatment Therapies Drugs Research

DNA nanorobots can alter artificial cells

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 13, 2025

Scientists have succeeded in controlling the structure and function of biological membranes with the help of 'DNA origami'. The system they developed may facilitate the transportation of large therapeutic loads into cells. This opens up a new way for the targeted administration of medication and other therapeutic interventions.

DNA

New lipid nanoparticle platform delivers mRNA to the brain through the blood-brain barrier

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Scientists have developed a lipid nanoparticle system capable of delivering messenger RNA (mRNA) to the brain via intravenous injection, a challenge that has long been limited by the protective nature of the blood-brain barrier.

RNA

RNA Treatment Disease Drugs

Breakthrough in clean energy: Palladium nanosheets pave way for affordable hydrogen

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

MARCH 4, 2025

Hydrogen energy is widely recognized as a sustainable source for the future, but its large-scale production still relies on expensive and scarce platinum-based catalysts.

Production

Production Research

Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 5, 2024

Seeds, twigs, and insect parts found under two miles of ice confirm Greenland's ice sheet melted in the recent past, the first direct evidence that the center -- not just the edges -- of the two-mile-deep ice melted away in the recent geological past.

Research

NASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

The Earth's total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. The shift could indicate Earth's continents have entered a persistently drier phase.

Scientists achieve more than 98% efficiency removing nanoplastics from water

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 13, 2024

Linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in people, nanoplastics continue to build up, largely unnoticed, in the world's bodies of water. The challenge remains to develop a cost-effective solution to get rid of nanoplastics while leaving clean water behind. That's where Mizzou comes in.

Disease

Disease Research

Ocean-surface warming four times faster now than late-1980s

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 28, 2025

The study helps explain why 2023 and early 2024 saw unprecedented ocean temperatures.

Link between global warming and rising sea levels

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 2, 2024

A new study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the same token, if emissions continue on the current trajectory, Antarctic ice loss could lead to more future sea level rise than previously thought.

Virus that causes COVID-19 is widespread in wildlife, scientists find

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JULY 29, 2024

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is widespread among wildlife species, according to new research. The virus was detected in six common backyard species, and antibodies indicating prior exposure to the virus were found in five species, with rates of exposure ranging from 40 to 60 percent depending on the species.

Virus

Virus Research

Half a degree further rise in global warming will triple area of Earth too hot for humans

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

New assessment warns area the size of the USA will become too hot during extreme heat events for even healthy young humans to maintain a safe body temperature if we hit 2 degrees Celsuis above preindustrial levels.

Storing carbon in buildings could help address climate change

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 9, 2025

Construction materials such as concrete and plastic have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide, according to a new study by civil engineers and earth systems scientists.

Engineering

Moderate coffee and caffeine consumption is associated with lower risk of developing multiple cardiometabolic diseases, new study finds

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Consuming moderate amounts of coffee and caffeine regularly may offer a protective effect against developing multiple cardiometabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, according to new research.

Disease

Disease Research

Placebos reduce stress, anxiety, depression -- even when people know they are placebos

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 23, 2024

A study found that nondeceptive placebos, or placebos given with people fully knowing they are placebos, effectively manage stress -- even when the placebos are administered remotely.

New AI can ID brain patterns related to specific behavior

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

Scientists have developed a new AI algorithm that can separate brain patterns related to a particular behavior. This work promises to improve brain-computer interfaces and aid with the discovery of new brain patterns.

Record-breaking recovery of rocks that originated in Earth's mantle could reveal secrets of planet's history

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 9, 2024

Scientists have recovered the first long section of rocks that originated in the Earth's mantle, the layer below the crust and the planet's largest component.

New brain-computer interface allows man with ALS to 'speak' again

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 14, 2024

A new brain-computer interface translates brain signals into speech with up to 97 percent accuracy. Researchers implanted sensors in the brain of a man with severely impaired speech due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The man was able to communicate his intended speech within minutes of activating the system.

Research

Hydrogels can play Pong by 'remembering' previous patterns of electrical simulation

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 22, 2024

Non-living hydrogels can play the video game Pong and improve their gameplay with more experience, researchers report.

Research

The megadroughts are upon us

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 16, 2025

Increasingly common since 1980, persistent multi-year droughts will continue to advance with the warming climate, warns a new study. This publicly available forty-year global quantitative inventory seeks to inform policy regarding the environmental impact of human-induced climate change. It also detected previously 'overlooked' events.

Microscale robot folds into 3D shapes and crawls

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

Researchers have created microscale robots less than 1 millimeter in size that are printed as a 2D hexagonal 'metasheet' but, with a jolt of electricity, morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawl.

Research

Bacteria encode hidden genes outside their genome--do we?

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 9, 2024

A 'loopy' discovery in bacteria is raising fundamental questions about the makeup of our own genome -- and revealing a potential wellspring of material for new genetic therapies.

Therapies

System to auto-detect new variants will inform better response to future infectious disease outbreaks

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 1, 2025

Researchers have come up with a new way to identify more infectious variants of viruses or bacteria that start spreading in humans -- including those causing flu, COVID, whooping cough and tuberculosis.

Virus

Virus Disease Research

Wastewater bacteria can breakdown plastic for food

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Comamonadacae is a family of bacteria often found growing on plastics in water. New study finds a bacterium in this family can break down the plastic for food. Researchers also identified the enzyme the bacterium use to degrade plastic.

Engineering

Engineering Research

Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than we thought

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Researchers developed a rating system to evaluate the plausibility of climate model simulations in the IPCC's latest report, and show that models that lead to potentially catastrophic warming are to be taken seriously.

Research

Critical ocean current has not declined in the last 60 years

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

JANUARY 15, 2025

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has not slowed down since the mid-20th century based on the North Atlantic air-sea heat fluxes over that time.

Global carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires increase by 60 percent

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

OCTOBER 17, 2024

A major new study reveals that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged by 60 percent globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal forests.

Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet. The changes appear to be an unexpected consequence of climate change, related to changing conditions in a warming Arctic.

Global trust in science remains strong

Researchers make breakthrough in bioprinting functional human heart tissue

Trending Sources

Citizen science reveals that Jupiter's colorful clouds are not made of ammonia ice

An Alzheimer’s drugmaker is accused of data manipulation. Should its trials be stopped?

RNA editing: emerging from CRISPR’s shadow

ALS drugs from Denali, Calico come up short, marking more failures for Healey trial

How artificial intelligence could automate genomics research

Follow the water: Searching for a lunar oasis

Brain-wide activity change visualized as geometric patterns

Zebrafish protein unlocks dormant genes for heart repair

Boosting evolution: How humans unintentionally altered the skulls of pigs

Scientists discover how aspirin could prevent some cancers from spreading

Deep learning designs proteins against deadly snake venom

Novel stem cell therapy repairs 'irreversible' corneal damage in clinical trial

Heat from the sun affects seismic activity on Earth

Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

Scientists can reverse brain aging in fruit flies by preventing buildup of a common protein

Drug candidate eliminates breast cancer tumors in mice in a single dose

DNA nanorobots can alter artificial cells

New lipid nanoparticle platform delivers mRNA to the brain through the blood-brain barrier

Breakthrough in clean energy: Palladium nanosheets pave way for affordable hydrogen

Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe

NASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels

Scientists achieve more than 98% efficiency removing nanoplastics from water

Ocean-surface warming four times faster now than late-1980s

Link between global warming and rising sea levels

Virus that causes COVID-19 is widespread in wildlife, scientists find

Half a degree further rise in global warming will triple area of Earth too hot for humans

Storing carbon in buildings could help address climate change

Moderate coffee and caffeine consumption is associated with lower risk of developing multiple cardiometabolic diseases, new study finds

Placebos reduce stress, anxiety, depression -- even when people know they are placebos

New AI can ID brain patterns related to specific behavior

Record-breaking recovery of rocks that originated in Earth's mantle could reveal secrets of planet's history

New brain-computer interface allows man with ALS to 'speak' again

Hydrogels can play Pong by 'remembering' previous patterns of electrical simulation

The megadroughts are upon us

Microscale robot folds into 3D shapes and crawls

Bacteria encode hidden genes outside their genome--do we?

System to auto-detect new variants will inform better response to future infectious disease outbreaks

Wastewater bacteria can breakdown plastic for food

Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than we thought

Critical ocean current has not declined in the last 60 years

Global carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires increase by 60 percent

Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic

Stay Connected