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Author: Bruce Goldman

Stanford researchers have shown in rats that pharmacologically active amounts of a fast-acting anesthetic drug could be released from nanoparticle "cages" in small, specified brain areas at which the scientists had aimed a beam of focused ultrasound. In principle, the same approach could work for many drugs with widely differing pharmacological actions and psychiatric applications, and even for some chemotherapeutic drugs used to combat cancer.

Stanford researchers have shown in rats that pharmacologically active amounts of a fast-acting anesthetic drug could be released from nanoparticle "cages" in small, specified brain areas at which the scientists had aimed a beam of focused ultrasound. In principle, the same approach could work for many drugs with widely differing pharmacological actions and psychiatric applications, and even for some chemotherapeutic drugs used to combat cancer.

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Your trillions-strong ecosystem of gut microbes, in addition to its many other responsibilities, operates as a homespun pharmaceutical factory.

Your trillions-strong ecosystem of gut microbes, in addition to its many other responsibilities, operates as a homespun pharmaceutical factory.

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Much of what we know about the immune system comes from experiments conducted on mice.  But lab mice are not little human beings. The two species are separated by both physiology and  lifestyles. Stanford immunologist Mark Davis is calling on his colleagues to shift their research focus to people.

Much of what we know about the immune system comes from experiments conducted on mice.  But lab mice are not little human beings. The two species are separated by both physiology and  lifestyles. Stanford immunologist Mark Davis is calling on his colleagues to shift their research focus to people.

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Low levels of a substance, acetyl-L-carnitine, in the blood are associated with depression. Could this "mood mirror" be a cure for the blues?

Low levels of a substance, acetyl-L-carnitine, in the blood are associated with depression. Could this "mood mirror" be a cure for the blues?

How our brains blend cues from multiple senses to estimate our speed and position in space depends on where we are and how fast we seem to be moving.

How our brains blend cues from multiple senses to estimate our speed and position in space depends on where we are and how fast we seem to be moving.

What if you could stitch together single cells any way you wanted to? Potential medical and even industrial applications abound.

What if you could stitch together single cells any way you wanted to? Potential medical and even industrial applications abound.

Antiretroviral therapy, a breakthrough treatment for HIV infection, suppresses the levels of circulating HIV viral particles in the blood. When it works, cancer rates drop, according to a new study. Still, even when the therapy is successful, HIV-positive individuals retain elevated rates of cancer.

Antiretroviral therapy, a breakthrough treatment for HIV infection, suppresses the levels of circulating HIV viral particles in the blood. When it works, cancer rates drop, according to a new study. Still, even when the therapy is successful, HIV-positive individuals retain elevated rates of cancer.

A hitherto unheralded set of telltale enzymes may prove to be perfect targets for shooting down a gang of nasty bacterial pathogens collectively called S. aureus.

A hitherto unheralded set of telltale enzymes may prove to be perfect targets for shooting down a gang of nasty bacterial pathogens collectively called S. aureus.

The discovery, in mice, of a pair of nerve clusters regulating fearful versus bold responses to a visual threat could help people with excessive anxiety, phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder lead more normal lives.

The discovery, in mice, of a pair of nerve clusters regulating fearful versus bold responses to a visual threat could help people with excessive anxiety, phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder lead more normal lives.