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Two small companies developing therapeutic vaccines against hypertension are blazing a trail for immune treatments that address diseases of lifestyle with massive markets. But doubts linger over the safety of eliciting an immune response to normal body constituents. Jill U. Adams investigates.
The blood-brain barrier has confounded the development of many neurological treatments over the years. Now, several companies are claiming they can tackle the problem. Alan Dove reports.
One bottleneck in next-generation sequencing is genomic sample selection. As research groups tackle the problem, companies are seizing a market opportunity. Ken Garber reports.
Companies offering direct-to-consumer genomic information face tough questions about who regulates them, where they fit in health care and how to value their services. What will it take to move them from niche services to a broader customer base? Jeffrey Fox reports.
Deep sequencing technology could soon be competitive with certain array applications. But the jury remains out on which of the myriad platforms will have the greatest impact and broadest application. Amy Coombs investigates.
The FDA's Office of Oncology Products has come in for stinging criticism from drug developers, advocates and even a US legislator over the use of surrogate endpoints. Has the agency struck the right balance between speed and caution? Malorye Allison investigates.
Receiving only a fraction of the investment set aside for biofuels, biomaterials will likely have to piggyback on technological advances in energy production to compete with petroleum-based products in the marketplace. Emily Waltz reports.
Although dendrimers have not yet taken the drug industry by storm, biomedical research and industrial applications of these tiny, highly branched molecules continue to grow. Vivien Marx reports.
Despite tightened legislation against animal rights extremism, activists are increasing attacks on academics and researchers in big pharma. How much of a threat do they pose to researchers working in biotech? Brady Huggett investigates.
The special protocol assessment introduced only six years ago by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to facilitate clinical trials is gaining popularity. Randy Osborne finds out why.
From yeast to mice, limiting food intake slows aging and extends lifespan. Activators of the sirtuins, enzymes famously linked to this process, promise a wealth of new drugs—but the sirtuin hypothesis is now coming under fire. Ken Garber reports.
With the genome of the grapevine in hand, how likely are enologists and wine growers to resort to genetic engineering to tackle the problems facing viticulture? Laura DeFrancesco reports.
Follow-on biologics, changes to the patent system, new rules from the FDA and the prospect of a new party in the White House dominate the policy outlook for biotechs. Aaron Lorenzo reports.
