Plastic exposure may be making bacteria resistant to drugs

Researchers were shocked to see that bacteria's antimicrobial resistance is strengthened when exposed to plastic particles.

Boston University • futurity
March 11, 2025 ~8 min

‘Pac-Man with a ponytail’ proteins regulate everything from night vision to heartbeats – studying what GRKs look like could improve an array of drugs

Master switches of cell communication, G protein-coupled receptor kinases are the target of many drugs across a range of diseases.

Priyanka Naik, Ph.D. Candidate in Structural Biology, Purdue University • conversation
March 7, 2025 ~7 min


Philly’s street fentanyl contains an industrial chemical called BTMPS that’s an ingredient in plastic

More than half of the street fentanyl samples collected in November 2024 contained BTMPS, and many contained more BTMPS than fentanyl.

Fernando Montero, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatry and Social Work, Columbia University • conversation
March 6, 2025 ~6 min

Study suggests new molecular strategy for treating fragile X syndrome

Enhancing activity of a specific component of neurons’ “NMDA” receptors normalized protein synthesis, neural activity, and seizure susceptibility in the hippocampus of fragile X lab mice.

David Orenstein | The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory • mit
March 4, 2025 ~7 min

Eco-friendly tool could bring down drug costs

Researchers have developed a method that could lower medicine costs and contribute to cleaner energy and sustainability.

Eric Stann-Missouri • futurity
March 4, 2025 ~4 min

Designing better ways to deliver drugs

Graduate student and MathWorks fellow Louis DeRidder is developing a device to make chemotherapy dosing more accurate for individual patients.

Michaela Jarvis | School of Engineering • mit
March 4, 2025 ~7 min

New drug candidate treats antibiotic-resistant bacteria

"I think with our approach... we're starting to target something that bacteria will most likely not evolve resistance to."

Lucas Van Wyk Joel-UC Irvine • futurity
Feb. 25, 2025 ~4 min

How tiny bubbles can deliver drugs in a targeted way

For the first time, researchers have visualized how tiny liquid jets generated by microbubbles penetrate cell membranes enabling drug uptake.

ETH Zurich • futurity
Feb. 24, 2025 ~7 min


p53 is both your genome’s guardian and weakness against cancer – scientists are trying to repair or replace it when it goes awry

The gene that codes for p53 is the most frequently mutated in cancer. Researchers are targeting different parts of its complex pathway to restore its ability to stop cancer.

Prosper Obed Chukwuemeka, Ph.D. Candidate in Integrative Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Feb. 20, 2025 ~7 min

How opioid deaths tripled in Philly over a decade − and what may be behind a recent downturn

After nearly a decade of annual upticks in overdose deaths, the city saw a drop in 2023, the latest data available. Something may finally be working − but what?

Ben Cocchiaro, Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, Drexel University • conversation
Feb. 11, 2025 ~9 min

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