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Two new medications have recently been approved for atopic dermatitis (AD).

Although many adults with atopic dermatitis (eczema) develop the disease in childhood and carry it through life, a large number are first diagnosed in adulthood. “Atopic dermatitis (AD) is underdiagnosed in the United States,” says allergist Luz Fonacier, MD, ACAAI board member and presenter at the meeting. “Many adults don’t seek out medical care, preferring to self-treat instead, either with home remedies or over-the-counter drugs. Often, they aren’t aware they have eczema, and they also don’t know treatments have changed a lot in the last few years. There are new drugs and topical medications that can make a huge difference in their quality of life.”

In addition to the itching and discomfort, people with eczema ...

When gold-coated silver nanoplates are irradiated with a pulsed laser, they change shape into a sphere and release silver ions which produces a strong antibacterial effect. Credit: Dr. Takuro Niidome

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are known to have excellent antibacterial properties and are considered by many to be a strong contender in the critical search for an answer to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They block enzymes and can cause bacteria to have irregularly shaped membranes, producing results ranging from inhibited growth to cell death. However, a collaboration of researchers from Kumamoto University, Keio University, and Dai Nippon Toryo Co., Ltd. in Japan found that AgNPs have a propensity to conglomerate, which results in a reduction of antibacterial attributes...

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is a snapshot of about 10,000 galaxies in a tiny patch of sky, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), the HUDF Team

Scientists will use NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study sections of the sky previously observed by NASA’s Great Observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope, to understand the creation of the universe’s first galaxies and stars. After it launches and is fully commissioned, scientists plan to focus Webb telescope on sections of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) and the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS)...

Rick Spurr, surrounded by some of his grandchildren, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, which was discovered on his lungs while he was fighting off a bout of pneumonia. Credit: UT Southwestern

Individuals with certain types of bacteria in their gut may be more likely to respond well to cancer immunotherapy, researchers at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center found in a study of patients with metastatic melanoma. The incidence of melanoma has been increasing over the past 40 years. Immunotherapies have dramatically improved the outlook for patients with metastatic melanoma in the past half-dozen years, but still only about half of these patients go into remission.

UT Southwestern cancer researchers analyzed the gut bacteria of 39 melanoma patients who were treated with imm...