British physician and microbiologist Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin nearly 100 years ago, was the first to warn of the dangers of antibiotic resistance.

In his 1945 Nobel Prize speech, 27 years after his breakthrough discovery, Fleming put the world on notice foretelling a potentially dark future for his miracle drug in the event of abuse or overuse of the medication. It was a warning that spelled trouble ahead for a vast segment of the pharmacopeia known as antimicrobial drugs.

Now, microbiologists in Hungary and China are collaborating on ways to predict drug resistance among strains of Staphylococcus aureus when exposed to antibiotics in the drug development pipeline—drugs that have yet to reach the marketplace.

Elad Harel is used to shining a light on the mysteries of the natural world.

Working at the cutting edge of ultrafast spectroscopy—the use of short laser pulses to analyze molecular dynamics—the Michigan State University associate professor seeks to uncover how microscopic phenomena impact large complex systems.

One promising frontier Harel has been working on is the development of new methods of microscopy that will allow researchers to observe molecular and atomic landscapes in motion rather than through static imagery. Such work has earned Harel MSU’s 2023 Innovation of the Year award, as well as MSU’s first-ever grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

The key breakthrough? Finding a gene small enough to fit inside a viral delivery system. Early results in lab models suggest this therapy could be a game-changer, but further research is needed before it reaches clinical trials.

The Urgent Need for Better Arrhythmia Treatments

Cardiac arrhythmias affect millions worldwide and contribute to one in five deaths in the Netherlands. Current treatment options range from lifelong medication to invasive surgeries. However, new research from Amsterdam UMC and Johns Hopkins University, published today (February 20) in the European Heart Journal, marks a significant step toward a potential one-time gene therapy that could enhance heart function and prevent arrhythmias.

It’s a breakthrough in cancer treatment, and UChicago Medicine is one of the first hospitals to offer it.

It’s not just one treatment, but can eventually become a whole new way to treat cancer.

Alla Pinzour has been fighting skin cancer for around 15 years—but not anymore.

Paul Workman has researched untreatable chordoma for years. Now new technology points towards to a potential drug to beat it.

Targeted Radiation: A Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment

Radiation is one of the most powerful tools for destroying tumors, but traditional radiation therapy can’t distinguish between cancerous and healthy cells, often causing harmful side effects.