Recent research headlines have placed a heavy focus on biologics, but small molecule discovery is still dominating the pharmaceutical R&D space. In fact, 62% of new drug approvals in 2021 were for small molecules. The reliability and cost-effectiveness of these...

A protein called Med25, found in human breast cancer cells, was notoriously undruggable. As a transcriptional coactivator, the protein influences gene activation by using its flexible structure to bind to DNA and other proteins inside a cell. But it’s this unstable...

With bacterial resistance a growing concern, scientists are searching for alternatives to antibiotics. Recently, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri discovered a type of laser that can kill multi-drug resistant, disease-causing bacteria and their spores.

Researchers have discovered a new immune mechanism that kills pathogens in the respiratory tract by acting like a spider web. Once antibodies bind to some viruses, a type of white blood cell called neutrophils can also bind…and then cause the entire complex to explode. This releases a sticky tangle of DNA which acts as a NET: a neutrophil extracellular trap, keeping the virus from reproducing and infecting more cells. This finding is important because it gives insight into a way that antibodies neutralize viruses, a topic that is still not well-understood.

When patients present with symptoms such as a cough, runny nose, and fever, doctors are often unable to identify the source of their respiratory illness. However, a new technology developed by scientists at Duke University is able to accurately distinguish between viral and bacterial infections.

Scientists in Sweden performed a population-based study that observed nearly 2,200 adult patients admitted to the hospital with severe bacterial infections. They found that being overweight or obese increased the chances of survival in both the short- and long-term, 28 days and one year after hospitalization, respectively. In fact, while 26% of patients with a normal weight died within a year, only 9-17% of patients with higher BMIs died.

New research performed at Imperial College London has revealed that colistin makes holes in bacterial and causes them to pop like balloons. Bacterial cells have two layers, inner and outer membranes. Colistin pierces both of these membranes by targeting specific molecules called lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed an innovative microneedle patch that contains miniature needles made from a polymer loaded with vancomycin. This patch is applied directly to the site of infection and the tiny needles penetrate the skin to release the drug and kill the pathogenic bacteria.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria responsible for the sexually transmitted infection (STI) known as gonorrhea, infect more than 500,000 people in the United States each year. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists multi-drug resistant (MDR) gonorrhea as one of the top 5 most dangerous and urgent threats to public health. However, researchers have demonstrated that just one oral dose of a new antibiotic effectively treats mice infected with a virulent MDR strain of gonorrhea called WHO-X.

While antibiotic treatment is a well-known cause of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, new research shows that selection pressures occurring far before the widespread use of antibiotics have also been a contributing factor. Scientists from Norway and the UK used recently developed technology to create an evolutionary timeline of Enteroccocus faecalis, a common source of antibiotic-resistant septic infections in hospitalized patients around the world.