The secret behind silkworm's hardy stomachs
Silkworms have a unique ability to eat toxic mulberry leaves without feeling ill, and researchers have come one step closer to understanding why: silkworms contain a special digestive enzyme that is not affected by mulberry's toxic chemicals. view more (2008-05-28)
Potentially harmful chemicals found in forest fire smoke
Researchers have detected common plant toxins that affect human health and ecosystems in smoke from forest fires. The results from the new study also suggest that smoldering fires may produce more toxins than wildfires - a reason to keep human exposures to a minimum during controlled burns. view more (2009-04-30)
Chemists synthesize herbal alkaloid
The club moss Lycopodium serratum is a creeping, flowerless plant used in homeopathic medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. view more (2009-04-16)
Antimalarial substances found in New Caledonian sponges
Living organisms are an enormous reservoir of natural compounds potentially active against viruses, bacteria or cancerous cells, that could lead to the development of new medicines. Out of about 145 000 natural substances described today, 10% come from marine organisms. Among the few such organisms studied for their chemical composition, sponges... view more... (2004-07-13)
Caltech engineers build mini drug-producing biofactories in yeast
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a novel way to churn out large quantities of drugs, including antiplaque toothpaste additives, antibiotics, nicotine, and even morphine, using mini biofactories--in yeast. view more (2008-08-18)
The first gene-encoded amphibian toxin isolated
Researchers in China have discovered the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian -a 60 amino acid neurotoxin found in the skin of a Chinese tree frog. This finding may help shed more light into both the evolution of amphibians and the evolution of poison. view more (2009-08-18)
Ayurvedic nightshade deadly for dengue mosquito
Mosquitoes responsible for spreading disease are increasingly becoming resistant to synthetic insecticides. Now research published in the online open access journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggests that the berries of a weed common to India, Solanum villosum (S villosum), have potential for keeping mosquitoes at bay. view more (2008-04-03)
Could 'hairy roots' become biofactories?
Rice University bioengineers have reported an advance in tapping the immense potential of "hairy roots" as natural factories to produce medicines, food flavorings and other commercial products. view more (2007-10-31)
E. coli engineered to produce important class of antibiotic, anti-cancer drugs
Researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have taken a major step forward in the field of metabolic engineering, successfully using the bacterium Escherichia coli to synthesize a class of natural products known bacterial aromatic polyketides, which include important antibiotic and anticancer drugs. view more (2008-12-23)
Screening the herbal pharmacy
Curing cancer with natural products - a case for shamans and herb women? Not at all, for many chemotherapies to fight cancer applied in modern medicine are natural products or were developed on the basis of natural substances. view more (2008-03-05)
Parasites trigger healthy eating in caterpillars
Some parasites trigger their own destruction by altering their hosts' behavior, researchers at The University of Arizona and Wesleyan University report in Nature. view more (2005-07-29)
New treatment option studied for bladder cancer
A chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced bladder cancer who aren't eligible for standard treatment is under study at the Medical College of Georgia. view more (2007-10-30)
Migraine treatment and prevention in women
Migraines are more common in the United States than diabetes, osteoarthritis or asthma. Of the 28 million people who experience migraines in this country, 18 million are women. view more (2006-09-07)
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