Health News

How cancer prevention drives aging
For the first time, researchers have found how cellular senescence, the well-known mechanism for preventing cancer, can trigger aging and age-related disease by changing the local tissue environment. ANI

Scientists unveil genes vital to vital to adult heart function
In a study on fruit fly Drosophila, scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have found that genes involved in embryonic heart development are vital to adult heart function in both fruit flies and humans. ANI

Psychiatric disorders common among college-aged
A new study has revealed that psychiatric disorders appear to be common among 18- to 24-year-olds, with overall rates similar among those attending or not attending college. ANI

New drugs that may help fight superbugs bacteria

Researchers at the Institute for Animal Health are developing new drugs, called virulence-blocking agents, that will help fight superbug bacteria by neutralising the poisons they produce.

London, Nov 4 : Researchers at the Institute for Animal Health are developing new drugs, called virulence-blocking agents, that will help fight superbug bacteria by neutralising the poisons they produce.

The research team, led by Dr Edouard Galyov, said that the study could provide a vital tool for fighting bacteria that are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

Drug-resistant bacteria are usually kept in check by "friendly bacteria" that live in people naturally, but when patients are treated with antibiotics they kill off these good bacteria, allowing the resistant strains to take a foothold.

However, the new class of drugs do not kill off any bacteria. Instead, they "disarm" disease-causing bacteria by preventing them from releasing the harmful toxins. This allows friendly bacteria to keep any resistant strains under control.

The new drugs have been shown to prevent harmful bacteria such as salmonella from causing disease.

"These inhibitors hold great promise, but a lot more research is needed to ensure they are delivered to the relevant site and at the right time," the Telegraph quoted Galyov, as saying.

ANI