https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. An interdisciplinary team of McGill researchers has developed an ultra-strong, environmentally friendly medical glue, or bioadhesive, made from marine waste. The discovery has promising applications for wound care, surgeries, improved drug delivery, wearable devices and medical implants. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-naturally-sourced-nanowhisker-ultrasound-resilient.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 31 Jul 2025 10:16:03 EDT news673175761 Toxic substances used in flea and tick treatments pet owners give to their dogs and cats have been detected in birds' nests, according to new UK research published in Science of The Total Environment. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-pet-flea-treatments-wildlife-owners.html Ecology Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:41:45 EST news657981695 Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a nanomedicine that increases the penetration and accumulation of chemotherapy drugs in tumor tissues and effectively kills cancer cells in mice. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-experimental-nanomedicine-chemo-drugs-tumors.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 10 Sep 2024 10:44:04 EDT news645183841 A new study has discovered ways to reduce the toxicity of graphene oxide (GO), an ultra-thin sheet of nanomaterial derived from graphite, laying the groundwork to use it as a drug delivery system. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-protein-toxicity-graphene-oxide-drug.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 13 Aug 2024 11:36:03 EDT news642767761 Developing a new drug can take years of research and cost millions of dollars. Still, more than 90% of drug candidates fail in clinical trials, with even more that never make it to the clinical stage. Many drugs fail because they simply aren't safe. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-de-drug-discovery-ai.html Biochemistry Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:02:04 EDT news640519321 Researchers have developed a new antibiotic that reduced or eliminated drug-resistant bacterial infections in mouse models of acute pneumonia and sepsis while sparing healthy microbes in the mouse gut. The drug, called lolamicin, also warded off secondary infections with Clostridioides difficile, a common and dangerous hospital-associated bacterial infection, and was effective against more than 130 multidrug-resistant bacterial strains in cell culture. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-antibiotic-pathogenic-bacteria-healthy-gut.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 May 2024 11:00:02 EDT news636197162 In a surprise discovery, Flinders University nanotechnology researchers have produced a range of different types of gold nanoparticles by adjusting water flow in the novel vortex fluidic device—without the need for toxic chemicals. The article, "Nanogold Foundry Involving High-Shear-Mediated Photocontact Electrification in Water," has been published in Small Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-gold-nano-particles-hydrogen-toxic.html Nanomaterials Tue, 28 May 2024 10:26:03 EDT news636110761 An entirely new approach to inhibiting DNA-cleaving enzymes works through the aggregation of an otherwise non-toxic molecule. This Kobe University discovery may lead to a much-needed method for curbing Streptococcus growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-clumps-toxic-molecule-inhibit-strep.html Biochemistry Tue, 30 Apr 2024 09:45:03 EDT news633689101 Nanomedicines—typically drugs hidden within nanoscopic fatty membranes ('liposomes')—have potential to transform chemotherapy treatments, improving drug delivery and reducing toxic side effects for thousands of cancer patients every year. https://phys.org/news/2022-03-stealth-nanomedicines-combat-cancer-toxic.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 10 Mar 2022 10:13:15 EST news566129585 Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor of biology at the University of Rochester, and her collaborators at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently developed a 3D printing technique to engineer and study biofilms—three-dimensional communities of microorganisms, such as bacteria, that adhere to surfaces. The research provides important information for creating synthetic materials and in developing drugs to fight the negative effects of biofilms. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-3d-technique-biofilms.html Biotechnology Thu, 02 Dec 2021 14:51:22 EST news557679078 Drug delivery is a recurring conundrum in cancer treatment. Scientists have developed many anti-cancer therapeutics. But those drugs often harm healthy tissues, and drugs can even break down in the bloodstream before reaching the tumor site. Anti-cancer drugs can last longer if dissolved in certain chemical solutions, but many come with potentially toxic side effects. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-polymer-derived-material-shrimp-shells.html Polymers Tue, 03 Nov 2020 09:44:39 EST news523619073 Swapping a single amino acid in a simple bacterial protein changes its structure and function, revealing the effects of complex gene evolution, finds a new study published in the journal eLife. The study—conducted using E. coli bacteria—can help researchers to better understand the evolution of transporter proteins and their role in drug resistance. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-mutation-function-bacteria-proteins.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 22 Oct 2019 14:31:07 EDT news490973448 One of the hallmark traits of Alzheimer's disease, a debilitating disorder marked by memory deficits and general cognitive decline, is the accumulation in the brain of a protein called b-amyloid. These proteins form "plaques" and bind to unique proteins on the surface of brain cells called receptors, causing widespread cell death. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-drug-combat-brain-cell-death.html Biochemistry Tue, 23 Oct 2018 07:38:35 EDT news459499103 Researchers can now predict the odds of experimental drugs succeeding in clinical trials, thanks to a new data-driven approach developed by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists. The method detects toxic side effects that may disqualify drugs from human use, giving drug developers an early warning before initiating clinical trials, according to a new study published Sept. 15 in Cell Chemical Biology. https://phys.org/news/2016-09-big-approach-drug-toxicity-humans.html Biochemistry Fri, 16 Sep 2016 07:33:39 EDT news393230008 Scientists in the United States said Tuesday they were developing a faster, more efficient way of gauging the toxicity of chemicals, which may reduce the need for animal testing. https://phys.org/news/2016-01-cell-based-respite-lab-animals.html Biochemistry Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:43:29 EST news373031007 (Phys.org) —Murdoch University researchers have developed a 'green' method to create antibacterial gold nanoparticles for potential use in the medical field with the help of common eucalyptus leaves. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-eucalyptus-macrocarpa-nano-medicine-boost.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 01 Aug 2013 08:10:05 EDT news294561748 (Phys.org) —Recently, doctors have begun to categorize breast cancers into four main groups according to the genetic makeup of the cancer cells. Which category a cancer falls into generally determines the best method of treatment. https://phys.org/news/2013-04-nanodiamonds-effectiveness-breast-cancer-treatment.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:04:20 EDT news285260640 (Phys.org) —British scientists from several research facilities across the country have found that an enzyme called glutathione transferase which is known to neutralize toxins meant to stem the growth of tumors in humans, also appears to be responsible for helping two kinds of invasive grasses develop multiple herbicide resistance (MHR). The team has published the results of their study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-multiple-herbicide-resistance.html Plants & Animals Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:55:41 EDT news283517729 Researchers from computer firm IBM say they have invented a new non-toxic gel that can kill deadly drug-resistant bacteria by cutting through the sludge that shelters them and attacking the germ's cell membrane. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-ibm-gel-superbugs.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:10:01 EST news278323230 When people wash their hands with antibacterial soap, most don't think about where the chemicals contained in that soap end up. University of Minnesota engineering researchers do. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-antibacterial-agent-common-soaps-amounts.html Environment Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:04:30 EST news278074523 Researchers recently created a biophysical model of the response of a Gram-positive bacterium to the formation of a hole in its cell wall, then used experimental measurements to validate the theory, which predicted that a hole in the bacteria cell wall larger than 15 to 24 nanometers in diameter would cause the cell to lyse, or burst. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-quantifies-size-holes-antibacterials-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:05:49 EST news277038327 (Phys.org)—Medicines could be made to have fewer side effects and work in smaller doses with the help of a new technique that makes drug molecules more resistant to breakdown by the human liver. https://phys.org/news/2012-10-synthetic-liver-enzyme-result-effective.html Biochemistry Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:45:55 EDT news269016347 A new type of antibiotic can effectively treat an antibiotic-resistant infection by disarming instead of killing the bacteria that cause it. Researchers report their findings in the October 2 issue of mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. https://phys.org/news/2012-10-antibiotic-disease-pathogens.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:00:12 EDT news268332169 (Phys.org) -- A cross-disciplinary team of researchers at the University of Maryland has designed a molecular container that can hold drug molecules and increase their solubility, in one case up to nearly 3000 times. Their discovery opens the possibility of rehabilitating drug candidates that were insufficiently soluble. It also offers an opportunity to improve successful drugs that could be made even better with better solubility. https://phys.org/news/2012-05-team-drug-dropouts-chance.html Biochemistry Mon, 07 May 2012 09:00:01 EDT news255599975 Medicine-toting nanochains slip into tumors and explode a chemotherapy drug into hard-to-reach cores of cancer, engineers and scientists at Case Western Reserve University report. https://phys.org/news/2012-04-magnetic-nanochain-detonates-chemo-barrage.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:15:38 EDT news253966523 (PhysOrg.com) -- Gold nanoparticles can be used as delivery vehicles for platinum anticancer drugs, improving targeting and uptake into cells, according to research published in this month's edition of the international journal Inorganic Chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2012-03-gold-safe-driver-cancer-drug.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:44:02 EDT news251534628 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the images of fruit flies, clusters of neurons are all lit up, forming a brightly glowing network of highways within the brain. https://phys.org/news/2012-01-brain-ormosil-nanoparticles-potential-vehicle.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:21:24 EST news245337661 For decades, researchers have been working to develop nanoparticles that deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors, minimizing the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. However, even with the best of these nanoparticles, only about one percent of the drug typically reaches its intended target. Now, a team of researchers from MIT, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) has designed a new type of delivery system in which a first wave of nanoparticles hones in on the tumor, then calls in a much larger second wave that dispenses the cancer drug. This communication between nanoparticles, enabled by the body's own biochemistry, boosted drug delivery to tumors by more than 40-fold in a mouse study. https://phys.org/news/2011-07-nanoparticles-harmony.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:20:49 EDT news229947637 (PhysOrg.com) -- For decades, researchers have been working to develop nanoparticles that deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors, minimizing the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. However, even with the best of these nanoparticles, only about 1 percent of the drug typically reaches its intended target. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-nanoparticles-tumors-efficiently.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:18:18 EDT news227714287 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nanotechnology may open a new door on the treatment of liver cancer, according to a team of Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They used molecular-sized bubbles filled with chemotherapy drugs to prevent cell growth and initiate cell death in test tubes and mice. https://phys.org/news/2011-02-nanotechnology-treatment-liver-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:59:48 EST news217522753