Research

Scientists develop gel made from spider silk proteins for biomedical applications

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have discovered that spider silk proteins can be fused to biologically active proteins and be converted into a gel at body temperature. One of the goals is to develop an injectable protein solution that forms a gel inside the body, which could be used in tissue engineering and for drug release, but also make gels that can streamline chemical processes where enzymes are used.

Research identifies, exploits vulnerability in certain high-risk cancers

In a study recently published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, a team of researchers led by C. Patrick Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D., director for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine Cancer Center, sought to expand upon his lab's previous research that showed ALT tumors identified by a biomarker known as C-circles share a common biology that confers vulnerabilities to be exploited for cancer therapy.

Treating cancer by sticking cells in place

Future treatments for advanced cancer could work by sticking cancer cells in place and preventing their spread around the body. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Washington shows how an antibody strengthens bonds between cells. The work is published Aug. 3 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vitamin K prevents cell death: a new function for a long-known molecule

Vitamin K is well-known for its blood clotting and bone building properties but today a new study published in Nature reports on a novel function for vitamin K.

The researchers discovered that the fully reduced form of vitamin K acts as an antioxidant efficiently inhibiting ferroptotic cell death. Ferroptosis is a natural form of cell death in which cellular iron plays an important role and which is characterized by the oxidative destruction of cellular membranes.

New needle-free nasal vaccine shows promise for COVID-19

New research shows that a needle-free mucosal bacteriophage (phage) T4-based COVID-19 vaccine is effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The findings were published in mBio, an open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration authorized mRNA- and adenovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks nanotubes between neurons to infect them

COVID-19 often leads to neurological symptoms, such as a loss of taste or smell, or cognitive impairments (including memory loss and concentration difficulties), both during the acute phase of the disease and over the long term with "long COVID" syndrome. But the way in which the infection reaches the brain was previously unknown. Scientists from Institut Pasteur and CNRS laboratories have used state-of-the-art electron microscopy approaches to demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 hijacks nanotubes, tiny bridges that link infected cells with neurons.

Vaccine-induced immune response to omicron wanes substantially over time

Although COVID-19 booster vaccinations in adults elicit high levels of neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, antibody levels decrease substantially within 3 months, according to new clinical trial data. The findings, published today in Cell Reports Medicine, are from a study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The trial was led by NIAID's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium.

Research & Development

Scientists develop gel made from spider silk proteins for biomedical applications

Research identifies, exploits vulnerability in certain high-risk cancers

Treating cancer by sticking cells in place

Vitamin K prevents cell death: a new function for a long-known molecule

New needle-free nasal vaccine shows promise for COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks nanotubes between neurons to infect them

Vaccine-induced immune response to omicron wanes substantially over time

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