Bones found at the site of an ancient fish-processing plant were used to genetically identify the species that went into a fish sauce, often known as garum, eaten throughout the Roman Empire
Category: biotech/medical – Page 98
Novartis receives approval for first malaria medicine for newborn babies and young infants
Basel, July 8, 2025 – Novartis today announced Coartem® (artemether-lumefantrine) Baby has been approved by Swissmedic as the first malaria medicine for newborns and young infants. The new treatment, also known as Riamet® Baby in some countries, was developed in collaboration with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to treat the potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease.
Eight African countries also participated in the assessment and are now expected to issue rapid approvals under the Swiss agency’s Marketing Authorization for Global Health Products procedure.1 Novartis plans to introduce the infant-friendly treatment on a largely not-for-profit basis to increase access in areas where malaria is endemic.
“For more than three decades, we have stayed the course in the fight against malaria, working relentlessly to deliver scientific breakthroughs where they are needed most,” said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. “Together with our partners, we are proud to have gone further to develop the first clinically proven malaria treatment for newborns and young babies, ensuring even the smallest and most vulnerable can finally receive the care they deserve.”
Platform enhances purity and reproducibility of extracellular vesicle proteomics
A group of researchers at the VIB‑UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology has developed a new platform to isolate and analyze extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanosized particles secreted by cells and playing a role in cellular communication and disease development. Called FAEVEr, the method increases the throughput of EV enrichment and is significantly more cost‑efficient than existing methods. The study is published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small particles that carry proteins, RNA, and other biomolecules from their cell of origin. They hold much promise for diagnostics and therapeutics, but isolating them from complex biofluids at high purity and throughput remains a major challenge. EVs are incredibly small—between 30 and 150 nanometers in size.
To capture these tiny containers of messengers, scientists need to rely on sophisticated equipment such as ultracentrifuges. Unfortunately, these traditional methods of EV enrichment are time‑consuming and resource‑intensive with relatively low throughput.
Late eating is associated with impaired glucose metabolism
Our metabolic processes differ depending on the time of day and many of them are more active in the morning than in the evening. Although studies show that eating late in the day is associated with an increased risk of obesity and cardiovascular diseases, little is known about how the time we eat affects glucose metabolism and to what extent this is genetically defined.
Prof. Olga Ramich from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) and her team recently investigated this using data from a twin cohort from 2009-10. Their article was published in the journal eBioMedicine.
The circadian system is a hierarchically structured 24-hour time control system in the body that regulates behavior and metabolism via a central clock in the brain and peripheral clocks in organs such as the liver or pancreas. As a result, our metabolic processes differ depending on the time when we eat, which leads to diurnal fluctuations in glucose metabolism and the release of hormones after a meal.
Bioinformatics software detects cancer-related changes in single-cell studies
In recent years, the analysis of single-cell and spatial data has revolutionized biomedical research, making it possible to observe what happens in biological samples with an unprecedented level of detail. Interpreting this data, however, is not easy because different software offers different results which are hard to compare.
Taking this issue as the starting point, a research group from the University of Trento has developed the “Cell Marker Accordion,” a bioinformatics tool that makes the identification of cell types in the new generation data clearer and more robust. The results of the research, conducted in collaboration with Yale University (United States), the University of Trondheim (Norway), Policlinico di Milano and the Institute of Biophysics of the National Research Council—CNR, are published in Nature Communications.
“With Cell Marker Accordion we wanted to build a tool that helps researchers not only to classify cells, but also to understand why they have been classified in a certain way,” explains Emma Busarello, a Ph.D. candidate in biomolecular sciences at the University of Trento and first author of the work.
Hidden role of ‘cell protector’ opens cancer treatment possibilities
Landmark research on MCL-1, a critical protein that is an attractive target for cancer drug development, helps explain why some promising cancer treatments are causing serious side effects, and offers a roadmap for designing safer, more targeted therapies.
The WEHI-led discovery, published in Science, has uncovered a critical new role for MCL-1, revealing it not only prevents cell death but also provides cells with the energy they need to function.
The findings reshape our understanding of how cells survive and thrive, with implications for both cancer treatment and developmental biology.
Physicists reveal how a lone spinon emerges in quantum magnetic models
Researchers from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw and the University of British Columbia have described how a so-called lone spinon—an exotic quantum excitation that is a single unpaired spin—can arise in magnetic models. The discovery deepens our understanding of the nature of magnetism and could have implications for the development of future technologies such as quantum computers and new magnetic materials. The work is published in Physical Review Letters.
Magnetism has been known to humanity since ancient times, when naturally magnetized magnetite was discovered. This finding soon found highly practical applications. The first compasses were created in the 11th century in China, and began to be used for navigation.
Today, magnets play an important role in many technologies that surround us, from computer memory and speakers to electric motors and medical diagnostics. Interestingly, alongside photography, magnets have also become a common souvenir of travel, occupying a prominent place in our homes.