In this issue, we have reduced some 23,000 words down to some 3,700. It is still a rather large issue, but it packs a lot of information. The length of each Digest is dictated mainly by the volume of advances to report, and by our skill at summarizing. We could reduce the volume by selecting, […]

A Michigan startup claims to have developed agents that can prevent viruses from infecting cells. On the face of it, that’s a pretty staggering claim, but you never know. It’s also pretty staggering to claim that a substance is an antidote to obesity, diabetes, and even aging, yet investors have poured US$60 million into a […]

Encouraging preliminary results have been achieved with an experimental anti-angiogenic drug for brain tumors, and Gleevec’s anti-angiogenic properties have worked to prevent prostate cancer metastasis in mice. Some relatively simple but deeply significant interventions that let the immune system run wild have shown success in killing or stabilizing melanoma in patients, and might be used […]

The prospects for artificial blood look anaemic in light of apparently negative results of a clinical trial, though there remains some fight in the company that struggled for 20 years to develop the tested product. A patent has been issued for a way to make nanoparticles for drug delivery. A slew of new drug approaches […]

Wall Street appears to like the prospects for a brain implantto help stroke victims recover motor and speech skills. It could be on the market in early 2009. An artificial pancreasis undergoing clinical trials at nine international research centers. The discovery of how natural bacteria fighting peptidesare programmed has enabled scientists to program artificial peptides […]

If we can’t yet stave off cancer completely, we can at least kill it. Another cancer-killer has emerged from the Petri dish and is likely headed for clinical trials, and yet another promising anti-cancer drug is in the works. Breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s are coming almost as fast as breakthroughs in cancer. One potential cure could […]

A slew of new drugs is a sign that the pharmaceutical giants are shaking off their addiction to the blockbuster drug business model in favor of pharmacogenomic drugs with much smaller “niche” markets. That does not mean they are ignoring blockbusters: With the global demand for diabetes drugsexpected to reach US$25 billion by 2011, drug […]

Definitive results won’t be in for several years, but there is already plenty of evidence pointing to lifespan extension through calorie restriction. But who will go for diets and treadmills when the Holy Grail for the overweight — a weight-loss pill — already seems tantalizingly close. Other items of interest: As concern grows over the […]

Two potential cures for Type I diabetes are in or about to begin clinical trials. It would be needless to say that this could have a huge impact not only on the patients but also on the healthcare system as a whole, were it not for the fact that people who advocate for massive spending […]