Genomic "islands" that evolved from viruses can be converted into "drones" that disable Staphylococcus aureus, bacteria that are often resistant to antibiotics and pose a threat to safe hospital care, a new study finds. Conducted by researchers from NYU School of Medicine and published online in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study found that a certain type of bacterial DNA can be engineered to replace disease-causing genes with ones that kill or cripple bacteria.

Researchers from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology have demonstrated pre-clinical success for a universal flu vaccine in a new paper published in Nature Communications. Influenza is thought to be a highly variable virus, able to mutate and escape immunity built up in the population due to its circulation in previous seasons. However, influenza seasons tend to be dominated by a limited number of antigenically and genetically distinct influenza viruses.

Researchers at King's College London have discovered a vicious feedback loop underlying brain degeneration in Alzheimer's disease which may explain why so many drug trials have failed. The study also identifies a clinically approved drug which breaks the vicious cycle and protects against memory-loss in animal models of Alzheimer's.

Taking a low-dose aspirin daily does not prolong healthy living in older adults, according to findings from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial published online Sept. 16 in three papers in the New England Journal of Medicine. The large clinical trial, which began in 2010, aimed to determine the risks and benefits of daily low-dose aspirin in healthy older adults without previous

A table in a recently published paper tells the story of 30 families who have, sometimes after years of searching, finally received an answer about the condition that has plagued one or more family members. The Brigham Genomic Medicine (BGM) program, an integrated, multi-disciplinary clinical and research program, brings together world-class experts from across

As mammals age, immune cells in the brain known as microglia become chronically inflamed. In this state, they produce chemicals known to impair cognitive and motor function. That’s one explanation for why memory fades and other brain functions decline during old age. But, according to a new study from the University of Illinois, there may be a remedy to delay the inevitable: dietary fiber.

A treatment for highly aggressive and commonly fatal pancreatic cancer is being developed, reports a University of Houston researcher who has designed a new medicine that can inhibit two of the major pathways of the deadly disease. Ruiwen Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. and Robert L. Boblitt Endowed Professor in Drug Discovery, has published his findings, along with research associate professor of pharmacology Wei Wang, M.D., Ph.D., in Cancer Research Journal.