MIT uses machine learning to develop powerful antibiotic
The drug works in a different way to existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by setting AI loose on vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds.
Medicine
This archive tracks meaningful advances in medicine — from new treatments and diagnostics to health policy wins and research breakthroughs. Stories here focus on what is working, who is driving progress, and how medical science is improving lives across the globe.
AI system develops new drug for OCD patients, cutting costs and moving it to trail faster
AI could reduce costs of labor and R&D of pharmaceuticals by 80%. The front-loaded savings means that more drugs for more diseases can be synthesized and moved into trials.
New drugs improve late-stage melanoma survival rate in the U.K. from 5% to 52%
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and kills nearly 2,300 people each year. Doctors said this new intervention marked an extraordinary and rapid transformation in care.
Washington state launches statewide standing order for Naloxone
Naloxone (or Narcan) is a medication that can save lives by reversing the effects of an opioid overdose. Now anyone in Washington state who needs naloxone can get it at a pharmacy.
Human organs can be stored for three times as long in major breakthrough for transplants
Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed a method to preserve livers for 27 hours, using a super-cooling method which ‘freezes’ the organ at -4C.
British boys will receive HPV vaccine to prevent ‘thousands of cancers’
In total, the HPV vaccine program could prevent over 100,000 cases of cancer by 2058, officials said.
Colorado becomes first state in the United States to cap price of insulin
Diabetics in Colorado who use insulin to control their blood sugar levels won’t pay more than $100 per month for the drug starting in January.
New research suggests MDMA lets PTSD victims form new bonds and memories to overcome trauma
Research from Johns Hopkins University finds that MDMA seems to re-open a window of opportunity for social bonding and rewiring trauma-related faulty connections in the brain.
U.S. FDA approves first ever treatment for postpartum depression
The newly-approved drug, sold under the brand name Zulresso, was shown to relieve depressive symptoms within hours of being administered in three different clinical trials — and it continued to show success throughout their 30-day followups.
Prices of nearly 400 anti-cancer drugs in India slashed by up to 87%
Hundreds of lifesaving cancer medications will now be available to Indian patients at a much cheaper cost, according to the government’s pharmaceutical department.