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Designing a new drug is not enough; it has to be delivered to its target, which can be achieved via a cornucopia of vehicles, from nanoparticles and microneedles to red blood cells and microalgae.
The elimination of malaria from China relied on local decision-makers who tested and implemented interventions, combined with a centralized drug discovery program. This holds lessons for other malaria-endemic countries.
Ethnicity information is often missing from health data, impeding action on inequalities. Recording and using ethnicity data will require training, efforts at standardization, and policy changes, while engaging with patients and the public.
Global sequencing and surveillance capacity for SARS-CoV-2 must be strengthened and combined with multidisciplinary studies of infectivity, virulence and immune escape, in order to track the unpredictable evolution of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
People with less-severe Ebola virus disease may go undiagnosed, but they can still suffer long-term sequelae; this highlights the public health value of testing close contacts to identify and adequately treat all infections.
Nanoparticle vaccines show promise in preclinical models; clinical evaluation is warranted to assess whether they could help reduce the burden of disease associated with EBV in humans.
To maximize the benefits of patient-reported outcomes data while protecting patient welfare, a panel of experts set out ethical guidelines for the incorporation of these into clinical research.
We are raising the standards on reporting on sex and gender in research. Starting this June, authors will be prompted to provide details on how sex and gender were considered in study design.
With the increase in genomic data available and the advent of new technology for mining it, balancing the needs for data sharing and data protection becomes more challenging. Different disciplines must come together to find new solutions.
An online program developed in collaboration with the English National Opera could help with rehabilitation, by improving mental health and symptoms of breathlessness.
A study reveals that previously undescribed variation in the TLR7 gene can cause childhood-onset lupus, offering mechanistic insights that could pave the way for better treatment.
A rationally designed treatment for Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease — the first of its kind — appears to safely reach target levels in the brain, which provides justification for further clinical trials.
Publicly funded research leads to the development of many new drugs, but the profits are largely reaped by big pharmaceutical companies through exclusive licensing deals, mergers and acquisitions, which can reduce competition and patients’ access to medicines.