Features

Two decades after a successful crowdfunding campaign, some clinical trial patients have seen improvements—but there’s still no approved treatment for the disease.

Macrophages play numerous roles within tumors, leaving cancer researchers with a choice: eliminate the cells or recruit them.

The neuronal coverings that mediate synaptic changes are involved in everything from memory to psychiatric disorders, affecting autism, Alzheimer’s, and addiction.

Multidrug combinations lead to better results for cancer patients, but efficiently identifying them is proving difficult.

New details of the molecular process by which our cells consume themselves point to therapeutic potential.

Researchers are looking to proteins to explore the biology of ancient organisms, from medieval humans all the way back to dinosaurs.

Research into the biological basis of gender identity is in its infancy, but clues are beginning to emerge.

It has become increasingly evident that, like animals, plants are not autonomous organisms but rather are populated by a cornucopia of diverse microorganisms.

Plants are locked in an ancient arms race with hostile viruses, but genome editing is giving crops the upper hand.

A robot’s gentle nudge could add just the right amount of force to improve walking for patients with mobility-impairing ailments such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke.

The race to develop analgesic drugs that inhibit sodium channel Na_V1.7 is revealing a complex sensory role for the protein.

Immune-like cells in the central nervous system are now recognized as key participants in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain.

Studying cone snail venom has yielded novel pain pathways, but the peptides that function as toxins are difficult to translate into drugs.

Venomous centipedes may harbor a clue to the creation of a successful pain-killing compound for humans.

Arachnids harbor a plentiful array of molecules that target mammalian pain receptors.

In tiny doses, the pufferfish’s tetrodotoxin can be turned into a pain-relieving ion channel blocker.

Compounds in the arachnids’ venom interact with ion channels to both cause and block pain.

If successful, the treatments could alleviate patients’ pain by reducing inflammation.

Decades after their discovery by bioprospectors, amphibian-derived analgesics continue to attract scientific attention.

A cornucopia of toxins in the animal kingdom could provide inspiration for novel painkillers, but so far, effective drugs have proven elusive.