THE MEDICAL NEWS

Evolutionary changes in key protein synthesis enzyme, isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS), may help bacteria fine-tune how quickly proteins are made, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan; the University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Croatia; and ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

A new study has found that in US counties that ended COVID-19 pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments, child maltreatment rates went up.

For medical imaging, innovative contrast agents are in high demand. Materials scientist Robert Nissler has therefore developed an ultra-bright near-infrared nano-pigment designed to provide high-resolution images of intricate brain structures.

Thriving alongside trillions of bacteria in the human digestive tract is a vast population of viruses. Ever since one such denizen of the gut microbiome, known as picobirnavirus, was first spotted decades ago, researchers thought it directly infected human tissue and played a role in gastrointestinal illness.

Researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a promising new strategy to make cancer-fighting immune cells stronger and potentially longer-lasting, a discovery that could help improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies that use a patient's own immune cells to attack cancer.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis, yet antiviral treatment remains largely limited to the off-label use of ribavirin. Ribavirin can cause substantial toxicity, is contraindicated during pregnancy and does not reliably benefit every patient.