The success of proteasome inhibitors such as VELCADE® (bortezomib) and Kyprolis® (carfilzomib) for the treatment of multiple myeloma has shown that protein homeostasis, which is how cells maintain a balance of protein synthesis and degradation, is a valid pathway for developing drugs to treat cancer. However, attacking the proteasome in solid tumors has not worked to date.

Engineers at the University of Sheffield have discovered that tiny spherical bead-like devices can be guided by physical structures while swimming inside fluids. This opens up a wealth of future possibilities, such as using structures in the body to guide drug delivery, or cracks in rocks to direct environmental clean-up and exploration.

A controversial new paper by James Cook University scientist claims many useful new treatments are being left on the shelf by medical researchers. JCU's Dr David Kault, a medical doctor and mathematician, has examined the way clinical trials of medical treatments are judged.

A new study finds that a component of aspirin binds to an enzyme called GAPDH, which is believed to play a major role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute and John Hopkins University discovered that salicylic acid, the primary breakdown product of aspirin, binds to GAPDH, thereby stopping it from moving into a cell's nucleus, where it can trigger the cell's death.

A team of researchers led by UNSW Australia scientists has discovered how connections between brain cells are destroyed in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease - work that opens up a new avenue for research on possible treatments for the degenerative brain condition.

Researchers at The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a key mechanism by which radiation treatment (radiotherapy) fails to completely destroy tumors. And, in the journal Nature Immunology, they offer a novel solution to promote successful radiotherapy for the millions of cancer patients who are treated with it.

University of Notre Dame researchers have discovered a compound that accelerates diabetic wound healing, which may open the door to new treatment strategies. Non-healing chronic wounds are a major complication of diabetes, which result in more than 70,000 lower-limb amputations in the United States alone each year.