Featured
-
-
Career Column |
Why I wrote an impact CV
It’s not easy to demonstrate research impact, says Katherine Andrews — even when there’s a clear clinical need, as in malaria drug development.
- Katherine Andrews
-
News |
Why scientists are racing to develop more COVID antivirals
The first crop of antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 is promising. But new drugs will be needed to counter the looming threat of resistance.
- Max Kozlov
-
Outlook |
The biological clean-ups that could combat age-related disease
Could targeting autophagy — often likened to a cellular trash management system — extend life? Some researchers are unconvinced.
- Elie Dolgin
-
-
News & Views |
A virtual drug-screening approach to conquer huge chemical libraries
A computational method has been devised to identify drug-candidate molecules from a library of billions of molecules using 100 times less computational power than is used by standard methods.
- Charlotte Deane
- & Maranga Mokaya
-
Article |
Synthon-based ligand discovery in virtual libraries of over 11 billion compounds
V-SYNTHES, a scalable and computationally cost-effective synthon-based approach to compound screening, identified compounds with a high affinity for CB2 and CB1 in a hierarchical structure-based screen of more than 11 billion compounds.
- Arman A. Sadybekov
- , Anastasiia V. Sadybekov
- & Vsevolod Katritch
-
News |
Merck’s COVID pill loses its lustre: what that means for the pandemic
Molnupiravir was initially heralded by public-health officials as a game-changer for COVID-19, but full clinical-trial data showed lower-than-expected efficacy.
- Max Kozlov
-
News |
Half of top cancer studies fail high-profile reproducibility effort
Barriers to reproducing preclinical results included unhelpful author communication, but critics argue that one-time replication attempts don’t tell the whole story.
- Asher Mullard
-
Article |
Structures of the σ2 receptor enable docking for bioactive ligand discovery
Crystal structures of the σ2 receptor are determined and used to perform a docking screen of nearly 500 million molecules, identifying σ2-selective ligands and providing insight into the role of σ2 in neuropathic pain.
- Assaf Alon
- , Jiankun Lyu
- & Andrew C. Kruse
-
Article |
Structural basis of inhibition of the human SGLT2–MAP17 glucose transporter
Using cryogenic electron microscopy, the structure of the human SGLT2–MAP17 complex captured in the empagliflozin-bound state reveals the inhibitory mechanism of these anti-diabetic drugs.
- Yange Niu
- , Rui Liu
- & Lei Chen
-
Article |
Structural basis for ligand reception by anaplastic lymphoma kinase
Analysis of crystal structures of anaplastic lymphoma kinase elucidate the mechanism by which ligand binding and the glycine-rich domain regulate its activity.
- Tongqing Li
- , Steven E. Stayrook
- & Daryl E. Klein
-
Article |
Structure, function and pharmacology of human itch receptor complexes
Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the MRGPRX2–Gi1 trimer in complex with polycationic compound 48/80 or inflammatory peptides provide insights into the sensing of cationic allergens by MRGPRX2, potentially facilitating the design of therapies to prevent unwanted pseudoallergic reactions.
- Fan Yang
- , Lulu Guo
- & Jin-Peng Sun
-
News Explainer |
More Alzheimer’s drugs head for FDA review: what scientists are watching
Eli Lilly and other pharma firms have begun submitting their anti-amyloid drug hopefuls for approval. But questions linger over the controversial precedent set by Biogen’s aducanumab.
- Asher Mullard
-
Nature Podcast |
Coronapod: new hope from COVID antiviral drugs
Two antiviral drugs could change the course of the pandemic, but scientists still have questions.
- Noah Baker
-
News |
New FDA chief will face COVID woes and calls for drug-approval reform
After long delay, US President Joe Biden picks Robert Califf to once again head the US Food and Drug Administration.
- Max Kozlov
-
News Explainer |
COVID antiviral pills: what scientists still want to know
Drugs such as molnupiravir and Paxlovid could change the course of the pandemic if clinical trial results hold up in the real world.
- Heidi Ledford
-
World View |
Simplify drug labelling to show benefits clearly
Regulators and researchers should give patients and physicians meaningful information to guide decisions.
- Jonathan J. Darrow
-
Book Review |
The vaccine shots that rang around the world
Two books follow key runners in the historic race to immunize the world against COVID.
- Natasha Loder
-
Outlook |
The fluoride wars rage on
There is little question that supplemental fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces decay. But at what cost?
- Lauren Gravitz
-
Research Briefing |
Bacterial drug resistance overcome by synthetic restructuring of antibiotics
Chemical synthesis, guided by crystal structures of antibiotics bound to the bacterial ribosome, has been used to discover a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics that overcomes bacterial multidrug resistance. Biochemical and crystallographic studies reveal the mechanism of action, including how one mode of resistance is circumvented.
-
News |
How antiviral pill molnupiravir shot ahead in the COVID drug hunt
The Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment, forces the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death.
- Cassandra Willyard
-
Research Highlight |
An abandoned antibiotic makes a comeback to fight a common illness
Hygromycin A doesn’t work well against most bacteria, but it shines as a treatment for Lyme disease.
-
News & Views |
A step towards therapeutics for dengue
Finding a treatment for dengue, the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral disease in humans, has been difficult. A compound called JNJ-A07 displays promising activity against dengue virus in mouse models of infection.
- Scott B. Biering
- & Eva Harris
-
Article |
A pan-serotype dengue virus inhibitor targeting the NS3–NS4B interaction
The small molecule JNJ-A07 interferes with the interaction between the NS3 and NS4B proteins of dengue virus and reduces the viral load in mice even when first administered at peak viraemia.
- Suzanne J. F. Kaptein
- , Olivia Goethals
- & Johan Neyts
-
Article |
Positive allosteric mechanisms of adenosine A1 receptor-mediated analgesia
MIPS521, a positive allosteric modulator of the adenosine A1 receptor, has analgesic properties in a rat model of neuropathic pain through a mechanism by which MIPS521 stabilizes the complex between adenosine, receptor and G protein.
- Christopher J. Draper-Joyce
- , Rebecca Bhola
- & Arthur Christopoulos
-
Outlook |
Sickle-cell disease
A condition that affects many people of African descent is finally meeting its therapeutic match.
- Herb Brody
-
Outlook |
The sickle-cell drug boon
A growing number of promising treatments is set to bring hope to people living with the disease.
- Benjamin Plackett
-
Outlook |
Why severe sickle-cell pain has been neglected
Pain in sickle-cell disease is poorly understood — and patients face both medical and socioeconomic problems when seeking delivery from discomfort.
- Bianca Nogrady
-
News Round-Up |
COVID vaccine enthusiasm, astronomy bullies and an enzyme chip
The latest science news, in brief.
-
Book Review |
The COVID vaccine makers tell all
A book from the Oxford–AstraZeneca team, and a documentary, go behind the scenes in the race to vaccinate the world.
- Heidi Ledford
-
News |
Single chip tests thousands of enzyme mutations at once
The technique vastly speeds up understanding of how the proteins function and how to target drugs.
- Sara Reardon
-
Outlook |
Alopecia areata: why the battle isn’t over
Molecular geneticist Angela Christiano explains why one treatment is not enough for this neglected autoimmune disease that causes hair loss.
- Laura Vargas-Parada
-
Obituary |
Ei-ichi Negishi (1935–2021)
Organic chemist whose cross-coupling reaction builds many drugs.
- Kit Chapman
-
News |
Controversial Alzheimer’s drug approval could affect other diseases
Aducanumab’s fast-tracking has researchers both worried and hopeful about the future of drugs for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s and Parkinson’s.
- Asher Mullard
-
Outlook |
A drug to block fat intake and combat cancer spread
The start-up ONA Therapeutics is developing an antibody directed at cells that initiate metastasis in cancer.
- Elie Dolgin
-
Outlook |
Turning transient structures into drug targets
Start-up Sibylla Biotech has developed a drug-discovery platform to look for protein folding intermediates to target therapeutically.
- Elie Dolgin
-
-
Comment |
A white-knuckle ride of open COVID drug discovery
In early 2020, a spontaneous global collaboration came together to design a new, urgent antiviral treatment. There are lessons in what happened next.
- Frank von Delft
- , Mark Calmiano
- & Annette von Delft
-
Outlook |
Immune cells that remember inflammation could offer treatment targets for atherosclerosis
A type of immune-cell priming called trained immunity is helping researchers to understand the disease mechanisms behind the build up of fatty deposits in arteries.
- Amanda B. Keener
-
Outlook |
Cells or drugs? The race to regenerate the heart
Researchers are debating how to convince the heart to heal itself instead of laying down scar tissue after a heart attack.
- Benjamin Plackett
-
News |
Landmark Alzheimer’s drug approval confounds research community
Many scientists say there is not enough evidence that Biogen’s aducanumab is an effective therapy for the disease.
- Asher Mullard
-
Article |
Nasal delivery of an IgM offers broad protection from SARS-CoV-2 variants
An engineered IgM antibody administered intranasally in mice shows high prophylactic efficacy and therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, and is also effective against multiple variants of concern that are resistant to IgG-based therapeutics.
- Zhiqiang Ku
- , Xuping Xie
- & Zhiqiang An
-
Article |
BNT162b2 vaccine induces neutralizing antibodies and poly-specific T cells in humans
In a phase-I/II trial in healthy adults, the BNT162b2 vaccine induces neutralizing antibodies and poly-specific T cells against SARS-CoV-2 epitopes that are conserved in a wide range of currently circulating variants.
- Ugur Sahin
- , Alexander Muik
- & Özlem Türeci
-
News Feature |
The mini lungs and other organoids helping to beat COVID
Virologists have infected millions of miniature organs with SARS-CoV-2, to learn how the virus wreaks havoc and how to stop it.
- Smriti Mallapaty
-
Nature Podcast |
Audio long-read: How harmful are microplastics?
Scientists are trying to figure out whether these pervasive plastic specks are dangerous.
- XiaoZhi Lim
- & Benjamin Thompson
-
Article |
In vivo CRISPR base editing of PCSK9 durably lowers cholesterol in primates
In a cynomolgus macaque model, CRISPR base editors delivered in lipid nanoparticles are shown to efficiently and stably knock down PCSK9 in the liver to reduce levels of PCSK9 and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood.
- Kiran Musunuru
- , Alexandra C. Chadwick
- & Sekar Kathiresan
-
News |
Mice with severe COVID symptoms could speed vaccine effort
A new rodent model of COVID-19 promises an easier and quicker way to test treatments and vaccines.
- Ewen Callaway
-
News |
Failure of genetic therapies for Huntington’s devastates community
Hopes were high for drugs designed to lower levels of a mutant protein, but development has stalled.
- Diana Kwon
-
Article |
ARAF mutations confer resistance to the RAF inhibitor belvarafenib in melanoma
The development, characterization and phase I clinical testing of the RAF inhibitor belvarafenib in cancer and a new resistance mechanism mediated by ARAF mutations are described.
- Ivana Yen
- , Frances Shanahan
- & Shiva Malek