‘Smart’ contact lenses could someday enable wireless glaucoma detection

Intelligent contact lens for quantitative intraocular pressure monitoring

15-May-2024 - Most people with early-stage glaucoma don’t know they have it, even though early treatment is key to reducing vision loss. While detecting a subtle increase in eye pressure helps doctors to diagnose glaucoma, it’s challenging to monitor continuously, especially with the variety of temperatures ...

How mosquito larva guts could help create highly specific insecticides

Did you know that the world’s deadliest animal is the mosquito?

10-Apr-2024 - Aedes aegypti is one of the most dangerous mosquito. This bug spreads viruses that cause dengue fever, which was recently declared as an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports new molecules that label proteins in the unique, alkaline ...

‘Artificial tongue’ detects and inactivates common mouth bacteria

In the future, bacterial dental diseases could also be diagnosed and treated using this sensor system

29-Feb-2024 - From the fuzzy feeling on your teeth to the unfortunate condition of halitosis, bacteria shape mouth health. When dental illnesses take hold, diagnosis and treatment is necessary, but identifying the microorganisms behind an infection can be a lengthy and expensive process. Now, researchers ...

Lighting up Alzheimer’s-related proteins to allow for earlier disease detection

08-Feb-2024 - Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are difficult to diagnose before symptoms begin to appear. However, disease-related biomarkers such as aggregated proteins called amyloids could provide important insight much earlier, if they can be readily detected. ...

AI identifies antimalarial drug as possible osteoporosis treatment

Osteoporotic mice treated with the drug had significantly improved bone density

25-Oct-2023 - Artificial intelligence has exploded in popularity and is being harnessed by some scientists to predict which molecules could treat illnesses, or to quickly screen existing medicines for new applications. Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have used one such deep learning algorithm, and ...

Traditional medicine plant could combat drug-resistant malaria

15-May-2023 - Much of what is now considered modern medicine originated as folk remedies or traditional, Indigenous practices. These customs are still alive today, and they could help address a variety of conditions. Now reporting inACS Omega, a team of researchers have identified compounds in the leaves of a ...

Say ‘ahhh’: This ecofriendly tongue depressor checks vitals

26-Apr-2023 - Doctors often use tongue depressors when peering in a patient’s mouth and throat. But what if that flat wooden spatula could actively evaluate the patient’s health? That’s the premise of an ecofriendly disposable sensor, reported in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry, that can check levels of glucose and ...

Obesity treatment could offer dramatic weight loss without surgery or nausea

03-Apr-2023 - Imagine getting the benefits of gastric bypass surgery without going under the knife — a new class of compounds could do just that. In lab animals, these potential treatments reduce weight dramatically and lower blood glucose. The injectable compounds also avoid the side effects of nausea and ...

‘Glow-in-the-dark’ proteins could help diagnose viral diseases

Diagnose diseases more quickly and easily

17-Mar-2023 - Despite recent advancements, many highly sensitive diagnostic tests for viral diseases still require complicated techniques to prepare a sample or interpret a result, making them impractical for point-of-care settings or areas with few resources. But now, a team reporting in ACS Central Science ...

Triggering bitter taste receptors could someday treat asthma, COPD

Surprisingly, bitter taste receptors are not only located in the mouth, but also elsewhere in the body, including the airways

15-Mar-2023 - Activating those receptors opens up lung passageways, so they’re a potential target for treating asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Now, researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry that they have designed a potent and selective compound that could lead the way ...