Future cancer drugs that are activated by light and don’t cause the toxic side-effects of current chemotherapy treatments are closer to becoming a reality, thanks to new research made possible by the Monash Warwick Alliance, an intercontinental collaboration between the University of Warwick (UK) and Monash University (Australia).

Because they can be programmed to travel the body and selectively target cancer and other sites of disease, nanometer-scale vehicles called nanocarriers can deliver higher concentrations of drugs to bombard specific areas of the body while minimizing systemic side effects. Nanocarriers can also deliver drugs and diagnostic agents that are typically not soluble in water or blood as well as significantly decrease the effective dosage.

A research team from Tongji University in China have made a breakthrough in human lung regeneration technology. For the first time, researchers have regenerated patients' damaged lungs using autologous lung stem cell transplantation in a pilot clinical trial. The study can be found in the open access journal Protein & Cell which is published by Springer Nature.

As the fight against drug-resistant infections continues, University of Leeds scientists are looking back at previously discarded chemical compounds, to see if any could be developed for new antibiotics. In the heyday of antibiotic development in the mid-20th century many different chemical compounds with antibacterial properties were examined, but only a small proportion were selected for development into drugs.

Researchers have recommended changes to international guidelines used in the development of clinical trials in an effort to gain information about the impact of the treatment on participating patients and their quality of life. Protocols describe how a clinical trial will be conducted, including its objectives, design, methodology, statistical considerations and organisation, and ensures the safety of participating patients as well as the integrity of the data collected.

After years of investigation, researchers at Johns Hopkins, the University of California, Davis, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have discovered how the immune system might protect a person from recurrent bacterial skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (staph). The findings, publishing online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, open new doors to someday developing vaccines to prevent staph skin infections, which account for 14 million outpatient visits, nearly 500,000 hospital admissions and $3 billion to $4 billion in inpatient health care costs in the U.S. per year.

While a couple of glasses of wine can help clear the mind after a busy day, new research shows that it may actually help clean the mind as well. The new study, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports, shows that low levels of alcohol consumption tamp down inflammation and helps the brain clear away toxins, including those associated with Alzheimer's disease.