Pharmaceuticals News and Research

RSS

Low representation of minority groups in genomic databases may impact therapy selection

Low representation of minority groups in public genomic databases may affect therapy selection for Black patients with cancer, according to new Mayo Clinic research published in npj Precision Oncology.

22 Mar 2021

Engineered safety switch reduces CAR-T immunotherapy-related side effects

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have successfully used an experimental safety switch, incorporated as part of a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, a type of immunotherapy, to reduce the severity of treatment side effects that sometimes occur.

5 Mar 2021

New technique reveals the tricks that cancer cells use to avoid immunotherapies

By harnessing the immune system against cancer, immunotherapies have revolutionized the way some types of cancer are treated. But most patients--across cancer types--do not respond, and in most cases, scientists are at a loss as to why.

2 Mar 2021

Study suggests a way to improve immunotherapy by altering immune cells’ access to sugar

Cancer cells and immune cells share something in common: They both love sugar. Sugar is an important nutrient. All cells use sugar as a vital source of energy and building blocks. For immune cells, gobbling up sugar is a good thing, since it means getting enough nutrients to grow and divide for stronger immune responses. But cancer cells use sugar for more nefarious ends.

17 Feb 2021

Gene-based blood test may predict treatment success in people with metastatic melanoma

A test that monitors blood levels of DNA fragments released by dying tumor cells may serve as an accurate early indicator of treatment success in people in late stages of one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer, a new study finds.

From New York University (NYU) 15 Feb 2021

Cell cycle of cancer cells can be disrupted using two commercially available inhibitors

With two commercially available inhibitors, the cell cycle of the cancer cells in the childhood tumor neuroblastoma can be disrupted at a key point causing tumor cell death.

12 Feb 2021

Rapid Assessment of the Stability of Colloids & Dispersions

The Stabino® II from Analytik is a fast and easy-to-operate zeta potential instrument for analysing and optimising the stability of colloids and dispersions, based on measurement of streaming potential.

From Analytik Ltd 27 Jan 2021

Synthetic cannabidiol can kill bacteria that causes gonorrhoea

Synthetic cannabidiol, commonly called CBD, has been demonstrated to destroy the bacteria that cause meningitis, gonorrhea, and Legionnaires’ disease.

21 Jan 2021

Investigational antisense medicine lowers disease burden, reduces myeloma cell abundance in mice

Many patients with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, eventually develop resistance to one treatment after another. That's in part because cancer stem cells drive the disease -- cells that continually self-renew. If a therapy can't completely destroy these malignant stem cells, the cancer is likely to keep coming back.

From UC San Diego 21 Jan 2021

New method shows how pharmaceuticals induce cancer cell death

Cancer cells are smart when it comes to anti-cancer drugs, evolving and becoming resistant to even the strongest chemotherapies over time.

20 Jan 2021

Study: Cattle feed yards emit synthetic chemical cocktails into the environment

A recent Point of Reference article, "The meat of the matter: Environmental dissemination of beef cattle agrochemicals," published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, points at synthetic chemical cocktails being emitted from cattle feed yards into the environment and how they can impact our ecosystem and our health.

15 Jan 2021

Scientists develop a new gene biomarker identification method for toxicity testing

Companies like agrochemicals must check extensively for possible toxicity when they develop new products, before they can obtain regulatory approval.

21 Dec 2020

Researchers identify way to disrupt the process that promotes pancreatic tumor growth

Researchers say they've identified a way to disrupt a process that promotes the growth of pancreatic cancers -- one of the most difficult and deadly cancers to treat.

9 Dec 2020

Subcutaneous injection of teclistamab drug shows promise in treating aggressive multiple myeloma

A subcutaneous injection of the immune-boosting drug teclistamab was found to be safe and elicit responses in a majority of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to findings from a multi-institutional phase I study being presented by Alfred L. Garfall, MD, an assistant professor of Medicine in the division of Hematology-Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, at the annual American Society of Hematology & Exposition Meeting on Dec. 5 (abstract #180).

7 Dec 2020

Biochar holds promise for removing contaminants from wastewater

Biochar -- a charcoal-like substance made primarily from agricultural waste products -- holds promise for removing emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater.

17 Nov 2020

Biodegradable alternative could reduce use of microplastics

University of Bath spin-out company Naturbeads has been awarded funding to develop their biodegradable alternative to plastic microbeads that could cut the use of microplastics in a range of industries including pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetics.

From University of Bath 12 Nov 2020

Developing a new method to reduce antibiotic resistance in waterways

Dr. Aimee Murray speaks to AZoLifeSciences about her latest research that looks at a way of reducing antibiotic resistance build-up in waterways.

From University of Exeter 4 Nov 2020

Study identifies genes and molecular pathways most sensitive to chemical exposures

A University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental health scientist has used an unprecedented objective approach to identify which molecular mechanisms in mammals are the most sensitive to chemical exposures.

30 Oct 2020

Novel process turns waste materials into nutritional supplements

The shells of crustaceans and wood waste such as branches pruned from trees usually end up in landfills. These waste materials are given a new lease of life to become nutritional supplements and medicine, with the help of a novel process developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS).