Basic Science News at Duke School of Medicine

Duke researchers have created a new antibody that helps the immune system find and attack cancer cells and virus-infected cells that try to hide by using a molecule called HLA-E. In early lab and mouse studies, the antibody boosted immune cells' ability to destroy these hidden diseased cells, raising hopes for a new treatment approach against both cancer and certain viral infections.

Duke University School of Medicineresearcher Amy Gladfelter studies fungal cells to uncover clues about everything from disease and pregnancy to how organisms adapt to stress.

Duke University School of Medicine postdoctoral researcher Drew Schreiner, PhD, has been named a 2026 STAT Wunderkind by STAT News for his work understanding how songbirds learn and develop their song. He is one of 28 early-career doctors and researchers in North America honored by the news outlet this year. 

New research from Duke University School of Medicine points to a surprising possibility: a naturally occurring human gut bacterium produces a sugar molecule that helps obese mice increase energy expenditure and reduce visceral fat that accumulates around internal organs and is associated with diabetes and heart disease.

A discovery that began in a Duke laboratory is now being tested in Duke patients, offering a potential new approach to diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis, which can be life-threatening and difficult to diagnose.

When you feel toothpaste's minty tingle, it's caused by the opening of a molecular "door" found in sensory nerve cells in your mouth. In 2022, Duke biochemists captured images of this door, a protein known as TRPM8, moving from closed to open in response to synthetic cooling chemicals.

Small cell lung cancer is aggressive and often spreads before it’s detected. About 70% of patients have metastatic cancer at diagnosis, and the five-year survival rate remains roughly 7%. Now Duke University School of Medicine researchers have identified a promising new strategy to fight this deadly disease: combining low doses of two cancer drugs to overwhelm tumors that have spread throughout the body.

What if pain relief and addiction didn't have to go hand in hand? Duke researchers report a discovery that could help scientists design safer opioids. Their Nature study found that a small group of brain cells appear to play an important role in reward learning, the process that can lay the foundation for addiction. The team showed that opioid pain relief could be preserved even when drug-related preferences failed to form.

The tool, called Raygun in a nod to science fiction, can create shorter, longer, and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving their structure and function. The findings, published in Nature, open new possibilities for protein engineering and drug development.

The teen years may be a critical window when the gut microbiome and its influence on weight is still taking shape and more open to change.