Newsroom

Most medicines work by binding to and blocking the effect of disease-causing molecules. Now, to accelerate the identification of potential new medicines, bioengineers have created a computer model that mimics the way molecules bind.

Promising intracellular protein-based therapeutics have been of limited use due to the difficulty of delivery into diseased cells. Now bioengineers have developed nanoparticles that can deliver these therapeutics to their targets—avoiding degradation and toxic interactions with healthy tissues.

Engineers have developed a light-sensitive material that allows gastrointestinal devices to be triggered to break down inside the body when they are exposed to light from an ingestible LED.

New camera technology that takes up to 1 trillion frames per second is so advanced it can take images of transparent phenomena, U.S. researchers say. The camera builds on previous research, in which the team used the technology to capture light traveling in slow motion.

Read more at Newsweek.

Millions of people are treated with antibiotics each year for infections or as a preventative measure. Two teams of NIBIB-funded scientists have been working to find alternative solutions for treating bacterial infections, especially antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

After a patient swallows anordinary-looking capsule, the star’s six arms unfold inside the stomach and steadily release ingredients for a week; then the arms break off and leave the body like undigested food. The pill can deliver a variety of prescription medicines.

A first-of-its-kind study on molecular interactions by biomedical engineers will make it easier and more efficient for scientists to develop new medicines and other therapies for diseases such as cancer, HIV, and autoimmune diseases.

Neurologists have observed reduced neural activity during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM). Now MRI imaging during NREM reveals an exchange between brain blood and cerebrospinal fluid that may function to remove neurotoxic waste products.