Killers

Natural Killers Could Lead to New Hepatitis Treatments

Researchers have discovered that natural killer T (NKT) cells, the immune system's sentinels, patrol the labyrinthine blood vessels of the liver for invaders or signs of tissue damage and demonstrate a dogged behavior not seen before in other T cells. The new studies show that NKT cells crawl along vessel walls, even upstream against blood flow. They halt only when they receive a chemical...

Thinking the pain away? Study shows the brain's painkillers may cause 'placebo effect'

Sham painkiller prompts brain to release endorphins, bringing real relief to those in pain The study provides the first direct evidence that the brain's own pain-fighting chemicals, called endo...

Ibruprofen and other commonly used painkillers for treating inflammation may increase the risk of heart attack

When it comes to the deadly skin cancer melanoma, studying functional tissue rather than cell lines may better provide insight into the disease's development, according to new research from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine. Though multiple genetic alterations are associated with melanoma development, scientists have not been abl...

Can two killers make a cure?

Regulators in the US could soon be asked to approve a human trial of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis that uses a hybrid of the HIV and Ebola viruses. Tests on monkeys show the hybrid virus delivers genes to the lungs far more efficiently than any other method developed so far. And while the idea of combining two killer viruses sounds horrifying, the risks should be low. Despite much effor...

Brazilians sequence genes of pig and poultry killers

Brazilian researchers have sequenced the genomes of two bacteria that cause significant damage to pig and poultry farming in Brazil and elsewhere. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae causes pneumonia in pigs and costs the B...

A new target for painkillers

A brand new approach to treating severe nerve pain ?by aiming drugs at a previously unrecognized molecular target ?has been discovered by University of Utah scientists who study the venoms of deadly, sea-dwelling cone snails. "We found a new way to treat a chronic and debilitating form of pain suffered by hundreds of millions of people on Earth," says J. Michael McIntosh, a University of...

FDA causes unnecessary scare about common painkillers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has caused an unnecessary scare about some pain relievers by adding a warning to drugs that are safe, says Curt Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. At the same time, he says the agency has failed to recognize the harm of a pain reliever that should be taken off the market. "The FDA is adding 'black box' warnings...