R&D

Nanotechnology may improve gene therapy for blindness

Using nanotechnology that enabled mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, a new approach to gene therapy may improve how physicians treat inherited forms of blindness.

A collaborative team of researchers with Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State University have developed an approach that uses lipid nanoparticles - tiny, lab-made balls of fat - to deliver strands of messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, inside the eye.

Scientists develop a cancer vaccine to simultaneously kill and prevent brain cancer

Scientists are harnessing a new way to turn cancer cells into potent, anti-cancer agents. In the latest work from the lab of Khalid Shah, MS, PhD, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, investigators have developed a new cell therapy approach to eliminate established tumors and induce long-term immunity, training the immune system so that it can prevent cancer from recurring.

COVID-19 vaccines, prior infection reduce transmission of Omicron

Vaccination and boosting, especially when recent, helped to limit the spread of COVID-19 in California prisons during the first Omicron wave, according to an analysis by researchers at UC San Francisco that examined transmission between people living in the same cell.

Artificial DNA kills cancer

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have used artificial DNA to target and kill cancer cells in a completely new way. The method was effective in lab tests against human cervical cancer- and breast cancer-derived cells, and against malignant melanoma cells from mice. The team created a pair of chemically synthesized, hairpin-shaped, cancer-killing DNA.

Large, real-world study finds COVID-19 vaccination more effective than natural immunity

In one of the first large, real-world studies comparing the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines versus natural immunity in protecting against death, hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits for any cause, including COVID, research-scientists from Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center report that people of all age groups benefited significantly more from vaccination than natural immunity acquired from a previous COVID infection.

Drug discovery offers potential treatment for common kidney disease

A serious condition that can cause the kidneys to suddenly stop working could be treated with existing medicines, a new study shows.

In a study in mice scientists found that medicines usually used to treat angina and high blood pressure prevented much of the long-term damage to the kidney and cardiovascular system caused by acute kidney injury (AKI).

Expanding the arsenal of drugs against COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been devastating the entire world. While the vaccination program is advancing, drug treatments for COVID-19 are still highly important for those who become infected. Now, a team at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM), Tohoku University, NCI/NIH, and Kumamoto University has designed and synthesized compounds that have the potential to be novel drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2.

Research & Development

Nanotechnology may improve gene therapy for blindness

Scientists develop a cancer vaccine to simultaneously kill and prevent brain cancer

COVID-19 vaccines, prior infection reduce transmission of Omicron

Artificial DNA kills cancer

Large, real-world study finds COVID-19 vaccination more effective than natural immunity

Drug discovery offers potential treatment for common kidney disease

Expanding the arsenal of drugs against COVID-19

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