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An enlightened approach to “illegal” drugs will revolutionise medicine and science

OPINION: Let logic prevail! It is time for all countries to review their support of the current UN approach to recreational drug control and allow medical research on illegal substances.

Conflict between alternative medicine and medical sciences stretches back to the 19th century

Unorthodox healers recommended ‘morally correct’ remedies such as less sex or eliminating certain foods from the diet, while the medical establishment prescribed mercury and narcotics.

Human implants are invaded by microorganisms

A multitude of microorganisms depend on human implants to survive, shows new research. Scientists do not yet know whether they have a health impact.

Medicine in Antiquity: From ancient temples to Roman logistics

A showdown with religious dogmas, an early scientific approach, and diligent use of plants were some of the ingredients of ancient medicine. Welcome aboard a historic journey to Greek temples, body fluids, and Roman hygiene.

Clay tablets from the cradle of civilisation provide new insight to the history of medicine

Ancient “doctors” mixed magic and medicine to heal patients.

New tool can track resistant malaria at unprecedented speed and detail

Scientists have discovered a smart way to monitor the spread of resistant malaria parasites.

Stem cells could fix a damaged heart

A new clinical trial could benefit heart patients who do not have any other treatment options left.

Snakebites still exact a high toll in Africa. A shortage of antivenoms is to blame

OPINION: The global snakebite community has declared an antivenom crisis to attract international attention to this neglected tropical disease.

Human organs-on-chips may one day replace animal testing

Scientists have developed more than ten different human organ chips, including devices to mimic critical functions of the lungs, kidneys, intestines, liver, and bone marrow. Eventually this technology could render animal testing obsolete.

Immunotherapy does not work for everyone

New research reveals why some patients do not benefit from immunotherapy treatments.

Many women needlessly take cholesterol-lowering drugs

More than half of middle-aged women who take cholesterol-lowering medicines called 'statins' have neither cardiovascular disease or diabetes, shows new research.

Antipsychotics can make you fat

Psychosis medications can also lead to an increased appetite, shows new research. It could explain why some people react so dramatically to treatment.

One in three mentally ill patients with diabetes can be saved

Individualised treatment plans for patients suffering from both type-2 diabetes and mental illness could reduce their mortality by 33 per cent.

Pills to fight fungal infections increase risk of miscarriage

Pregnant women who take fluconazole pills to treat vaginal fungal infections are more likely to miscarry than women who take a suppository, shows new research.

Surgeons are training robots to become their new assistants

In the future surgeons will leave routine surgical tasks to robots. But first, they need to be trained.

Cancer patients have too much faith in trial drugs

Some of the sickest cancer patients have unrealistic expectations of being cured through trials of new medicines. A Swedish study shows that they often underestimate the risks of participating in a research project.

Psychedelic mushrooms' effect on the brain to be tested in new study

Participants in a new health study will take psilocybin to let scientists examine the effect of the psychedelic substance on the brain.

Can cortisol indicate dementia?

High levels of the stress hormone cortisol could indicate memory problems in the elderly, but scientists do not know why.

Are ADHD drugs prescribed needlessly to disadvantaged children?

ADHD medications are prescribed more than three times as much to children of parents with low-skilled jobs, compared with the children of more educated parents, new research shows.

Meet the nano-sized rabbit made of DNA

Scientists have developed a new automated method to fold DNA strands into complex 3D structures. The new results will help pave the way for DNA nanotechnology in medicine over the next 10 years.

Scientists: Sleep therapy beats sleeping pills

More people with severe sleep disorders should receive sleep therapy. It is at least as effective as sleeping pills, but without the side effects, concludes a new health report.

Scientists discover enzyme that allows cancer to spread into bone

Slowing down the enzyme's effect prolongs the lives of patients, indicates the new study.

New study could change the treatment of blood clots

Doctors find new method to treat patients with blood clots in the heart that reduces risk of death by 44 per cent.

Treatment during the embryo stage can help haemophiliacs

Some haemophiliacs develop immunity to their treatment. New study aims to change that.

Can HIV be eradicated?

Scientists set out to eliminate HIV entirely from the body.

Scientists to investigate a strange fungus that attacks millipedes

Little known parasitic fungi will be examined closely for the first time.

Scientists discover new way of preventing death from blood poisoning

New method will ensure that blood poisoning patients receive the correct amount of fluid after admission to the hospital.

Scientists catalogue all human proteins

New protein catalogue will be key instrument in the development of new types of medicine.

Why immunotherapy is such an effective cancer killer

An international team of researchers find molecular mechanism that makes new cancer drugs so effective.

Depression patients experiment with their medicine

Half of all patients suffering from depression start experimenting with the medication during the first year of their treatment.

Scientists uncover how our body fights off blood clots

Our body has its own system to combat blood clots and a team of Danish scientists have found out how it works.

Danish doctors: saving Ebola patients could be this simple

Thousands of Ebola patients could be saved if they were offered simple treatment consisting of salts and fluids, say Danish doctors.

Scientists sneak Alzheimer medicine into the brain

Scientists have succeeded in creating molecules that can escort Alzheimer's medicine through the impervious sheath that separates blood vessels from neurons and safely into the brain. According to a Danish PhD student involved in the study, the method can also be used in treating other diseases.

Side effects from asthma medicine are underreported

Danish scientists find evidence of underreporting of severe side effects from asthma medicine in clinical trials.

Danish scientists are turning CO2 into medicine

We should find more ways to reuse CO2, says scientists who just developed a method to turn the greenhouse gas into medicine.

What are the major challenges to modern medicine?

Modern technology has revolutionised health sciences and people are living longer than ever. At the same time, more and more are becoming seriously ill.

Football can make your heart ten years younger

If you suffer from high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, playing football could render blood pressure drugs unnecessary and make your heart younger and stronger, according to new research.

Essential migraine mechanism discovered

Scientists have identified a key factor in migraine attacks. The discovery of the mechanism may pave the way for improved migraine drugs.

Cancer cells on a mission to the ISS

As part of an international project, a Danish professor will soon be sending a batch of thyroid cancer cells out into space. The aim is to figure out why the absence of gravity inhibits the growth of thyroid cancer cells, and to examine the cells’ ability to produce and secrete proteins that can open up new possibilities for cancer treatment.

Blood poisoning doubles risk of heart attack and stroke

Patients with blood poisoning from pneumonia and urinary tract infection have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke than other hospitalised patients.

Mutant gene protects against type 2 diabetes

Scientists have identified genetic mutations that lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by 65 percent. Pharmaceutical companies are already looking for ways to develop a drug based on the new discovery.

Intensive schizophrenia treatment shows great promise

A new study has looked into the effect of intensive treatment programmes for young people with schizophrenia. The results show that we should stick with the intensive treatment.

3D-scans may help curb widespread fish disease

The bacterium that causes enteric redmouth disease can now be tracked with a special 3D scanner. “The scans exceed our wildest dreams,” say researchers.

Paracetamol may increase risk of ADHD

A new study indicates that the risk of giving birth to a child with ADHD increases if women take paracetamol during pregnancy.

A new angle on cognitive failures

The ability to pay attention to our surroundings is associated with the levels of the GABA neurotransmitter in the visual parts of the brain, new study reveals.

New type of tuberculosis vaccine developed

Danish scientists have developed a new vaccine against tuberculosis. The vaccine was created in an entirely new way and may potentially save millions of lives, say the researchers.

Cannabis can kill cancer cells and curb MS

We are generally advised against self-medicating with cannabis. However, research shows that cannabis can actually relieve pains and nausea, fight cramps and even kill cancer cells.

Colon cancer screenings turn away from faeces

Scientists seek to provide better colon cancer screenings by analysing blood samples instead of faeces.

Tolerant bacteria make antibiotics fail

New research project suggests that we need to rethink antibiotic treatment of infections. The bacteria are far better prepared for the doctors’ treatment than we think.

Light exercise improves mental health

Just 15 to 20 minutes of training a few times a week has a big impact on mental health. In fact it does more than pills.

Antidepressants in pregnancy do not cause autism

Contrary to recent research, a comprehensive new study shows that the use of antidepressants during pregnancy does not increase the risk of autism in the child.

Beta blockers can kill during surgery

Doctors should administer beta blockers to heart patients during surgery in a more nuanced way than previously believed. Incorrect use can have no effect and can in the worst case cost lives.

Implanted electrodes curtail Parkinson’s

New research documents why electrical stimulation of the brain enables Parkinson’s patients to reduce medications.

New micro pills make swallowing easy

New research project aims to make pills easier to swallow by encapsulating medicine in micro-containers. The containers can be used for all types of medicine – including those currently taken by injection.

Virus link ruled out in breast cancer and brain tumours

Viruses cause some 10 to 15 percent of all human cancers, but breast cancer and the most common malignant brain tumour – glioblastoma – are not among them.

Promising results in bird flu vaccine trials

Danish researchers are working on a bird flu vaccine and expect to have it ready before new types of viruses start to spread from human to human – and not just in the way we’re seeing now, from birds to humans.

A targeted defence against harmful hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is both vital and life-threatening. A new project sets out to find out how the body deals with the problem of harmful hemoglobin, and how this knowledge can be used to save lives.

Intestinal researchers: We're wasting huge sums on overtreatment

Too much money is being spent on expensive treatment for patients with intestinal diseases who don’t need the treatment, argue researchers.

Key mechanism in essential enzyme uncovered

Scientists know that when certain steroids bind to the essential enzyme known as the sodium pump, it can both kill and cure. Now they have also solved the mystery of how this molecular binding occurs.

Patients wear down their artificial hips

Implanted hip prostheses often need to be replaced after only 15-20 years because the metal they are made of wears down and causes pain. A new research project aims to find new ways of improving artificial hips.

A new way of making complex anticancer compound

Ingenol, a substance known for its anticancer potential, has so far been extracted from plants, but now scientists have achieved the first efficient chemical synthesis of the substance.

New cancer drug looks promising in human trials

Initial human trials of a new Danish-American cancer drug reveal encouraging results.

New allergy cure in the pipeline

A new allergy cure is currently being tested. If the trials are successful, we may be seeing a new way of treating allergies as early as next year.

Malaria's deadly grip explained

Scientists have identified the protein that the deadliest malaria parasites bind to in humans. Now the way is paved for a malaria vaccine.

Mathematician discovers possible diabetes cure

A new mathematical analysis reveals that a simple boost of the immune system may cure type 1 diabetes. Swedish research confirms the mathematical calculations.

Red clover eases menopausal discomfort

Women who take red clover extracts every day experience fewer hot flashes and hormonal fluctuations and less osteoporosis than those who receive no treatment.

Synthetic substance inhibits bone cancer growth

Some cancers depend on a certain protein in order to grow. Researchers have now created a substance that can block this protein in living cancer cells.

Gamblers get a kick out of making risky decisions

Compulsive gamblers get more excitement and pleasure from making risky decisions than from winning, new study shows.

Cutting diabetics’ amputations by half

Relatively simple interventions to treat diabetic foot sores can reduce amputations significantly, according to Swedish orthopaedists.

Cheese waste can replace antibiotics in pig feed

Farmers are feeding their pigs with so many antibiotics that we are becoming increasingly resistant to them. Now a Danish researcher has discovered that cheese waste with added bacteria can replace some of the antibiotics used by farmers.

Industry-sponsored researchers twist drug data

Industry-sponsored studies overestimate the effects of drugs and withhold information about their side effects, new study shows.

Mother’s antibiotics can give baby asthma

Taking antibiotics during pregnancy increases the risk of the baby developing asthma. Disrupted bacterial composition appears to be the culprit.

Paracetamol increases asthma risk in children

New study confirms suspicions that paracetamol increases the risk of asthma in children.

Health registry helps doctors assess vaccine safety

Our worries about side effects after vaccination can be kept in check by using data on actual disease incidences in the population.

Dying women brought new life to PhD project

Observing several episodes of faulty treatment at a Tanzania hospital inspired a Danish doctor to change the focus of his PhD project.

Flu vaccine may cause narcolepsy

The influenza vaccine Pandemrix has been associated with an abrupt increase in the incidence of childhood narcolepsy in Finland and Sweden.

Tomorrow’s super surgeon is a robot

Scientists have developed a mathematical method to guarantee the patient’s safety when the surgery is performed by a robot.

New invention looks deep into the soul of cancer cells

Danish scientists have invented a method that makes MR scanners up to 100,000 times more sensitive. This makes it possible to tell instantly whether a cancer treatment is effective.