News Feature in 2012

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  • The most common genetic killer of infants, a disease known as spinal muscular atrophy, is caused by mutations in a single gene. The human genome contains its own backup system—near-identical copies of the defective gene—yet these secondary sequences rarely get used correctly. As Elie Dolgin finds out, drug companies hope to change that, with the first wave of targeted therapies that reboot the body's backup system now entering clinical trials.

    • Elie Dolgin
    News Feature
  • Synthetic biology has historically relied on bacteria as a testing ground for engineering cell behavior through genetic signals. But a small group of researchers have their sights set on redesigning mammalian cells, which have more complex genetic machinery. Daniel Grushkin meets the scientists aiming to reprogram our bodies' cells for a new generation of tailor-made treatments.

    • Daniel Grushkin
    News Feature
  • The idea of using bacteria-fighting viruses as a weapon against hard-to-treat infections is making a surprising comeback, but with a twist on how it has been attempted for nearly a century. Researchers and companies are now tweaking and deconstructing these bacteria killers in an effort to develop a new arsenal against antibiotic-resistant superbugs—one with more potency and a better likelihood of regulatory approval. Lauren Gravitz reports.

    • Lauren Gravitz
    News Feature
  • When it comes to clinical trials, physicians almost always run the show. But a determined group of nurses is taking the reins, which some hope will lead to improved patient recruitment, particularly in women's health. Rebecca Hersher looks into whether the nurse is the principal investigator of the future.

    • Rebecca Hersher
    News Feature
  • Drugs designed to protect or rescue neurons from damage wrought by stroke have repeatedly failed in clinical trials, prompting a mass flight of pharmaceutical companies from the field. A small Canadian startup is bucking the trend—and it hopes that monkey data will help the field evolve. Elie Dolgin reports.

    • Elie Dolgin
    News Feature
  • Humans and other animals suffer from many of the same ailments. Yet, aside from cases in which diseases cross the species barrier, veterinarians and physicians rarely work together to tackle common health problems. That may soon change. Katharine Gammon profiles one cardiologist who is pioneering a species-spanning approach to biomedical research.

    • Katharine Gammon
    News Feature
  • Everyone from rock stars to nonagenarians experiences hearing loss, but no drugs have ever been approved specifically to prevent or treat this problem. Recently, a handful of drug companies have started to make some noise, with a number of experimental compounds now in human trials. Elie Dolgin sounds off on what could be a multibillion dollar market.

    • Elie Dolgin
    News Feature
  • The long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have created greater awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition in which people relive the agony of past events over and over again. Preliminary evidence has hinted that medicines currently used to treat high blood pressure or to terminate pregnancy might help treat PTSD by erasing painful memories. Cassandra Willyard looks at whether repurposing these drugs will work or whether experimental compounds being tested in rats might offer a more promising solution.

    • Cassandra Willyard
    News Feature
  • Brain scans that map differences in how brain regions communicate while people lie idle in the imaging machine could one day provide clues about afflictions ranging from Alzheimer's disease to attention disorders. Roxanne Khamsi finds out why these so-called 'resting state' scans have made researchers and drug companies sit up and take notice.

    • Roxanne Khamsi
    News Feature
  • Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the US among people under the age of 45. Yet psychiatrists know remarkably little about what treatments can most effectively prevent people from killing themselves. For the most part, investigators have shied away from studying the problem head-on because designing intervention studies with suicidal subjects is fraught with difficulty. Elie Dolgin talks to the small group of mental health professionals who are hoping to put an end to that.

    • Elie Dolgin
    News Feature
  • Each year, around 100,000 people worldwide receive solid organ transplants, and from the day of their surgery to the day they die almost all of them have to take daily immunosuppressant drugs to prevent the body from attacking the new organ. But an experimental procedure in which patients receive some of the donor's bone marrow in addition to the organ hopes to eliminate the need for lifelong drug therapy. Elie Dolgin talks to the scientists who are rejecting the idea of transplantation as usual.

    • Elie Dolgin
    News Feature