“A new part of the immune system has been discovered and it is a goldmine of potential antibiotics,” scientists say. “They’ve shown a part of the body known to recycle proteins has a secret mode that can spew out an arsenal of bacteria-killing chemicals. The researchers in Israel say it transforms our understanding of how we are protected against infection. And gives a new place to look for antibiotics to tackle the growing problem of superbugs that resist our current drugs,” reports the BBC:
The discovery centers on the proteasome – a tiny structure that is found in every cell of the body.
Its main role is to chop up old proteins into smaller chunks so they can be recycled to make new ones.
But a series of experiments, detailed in the journal Nature, shows the proteasome detects when a cell has been infected by bacteria.
It then changes structure and role. It starts transforming old proteins into weapons that can rip open the outer layer of bacteria to kill them.
In other news, British scientists have developed a new DNA sequencing program to fight superbugs that can kill people.
A cancer-fighting substance was found in bird poop by a middle-school student.
“In a small trial, nearly half of pancreatic cancer patients who received an mRNA vaccine had no signs of relapse after three years,” reports Science Friday. Moderna is also developing a cancer vaccine that is expected to dramatically cut cancer survivors’ risk of death or recurrence. It, too, is an mRNA vaccine.
A new lung-cancer drug radically increases survival rates. New personalized cancer vaccines cut death rates by 40-50% for some people suffering from skin or breast cancer.
A virus is being used to cure deafness in new gene therapy. Researchers also discovered that a plant virus could be used to save crops from root-eating pests.
Scientists have engineered a virus to steal proteins from the HIV virus, in hopes of eliminating AIDS.
