Drugs

It’s not easy to spot filopodia. Thin wisps of protein less than a micrometer across, they dangle from the surface of a cell, probing its surroundings much as we might grope our way around a darkened room. Usually, they help the cell explore and communicate with its neighbors. But recently, a team of researchers imaging…

Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157 can cause severe, potentially fatal food poisoning. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. E. coli O157 and other disease-causing E. coli strains produce a potent toxin called Shiga. The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases estimate that Shiga toxin-producing E. coli causes around 265,000 infections each year…

Nature, means that doctors can immediately start treating hospitalized patients with dexamethasone. This is a cheap, readily available steroid that has been in widespread use for decades.Drugs with a proven safety record, such as dexamethasone, have a clear advantage over novel treatments and vaccines; after a relatively swift clinical trial, national drug regulators can immediately…

By Michael Le Page We may need to build a covid-19 treatment from scratch, instead of relying on known antiviral drugsMICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images Several hundred trials of potential treatments for the coronavirus are now underway around the world. Early results suggest a few might slightly reduce the risk of dying from covid-19 but…

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.As Americans cope with coronavirus-related stress -- facing a public health and economic crisis rolled into one -- they are increasingly turning to alcohol and drugs, a new survey showed.According to the survey, conducted by The Recovery Village, a Florida-based network…