Blog

A running collection of observations, research notes, and commentary on dermatology, skin health, and science that catches our attention at the clinic.

Drug-resistant ringworm is spreading worldwide — and our region is close to where it started

September 8, 2026

A drug-resistant ringworm fungus called Trichophyton indotineae has spread to at least 29 countries, with identifications tripling in three years. It shrugs off terbinafine — the standard ringworm pill — and causes large, intensely itchy rashes. It emerged from South Asia, so our region is very much in the picture. The single biggest thing making it worse: over-the-counter steroid-antifungal combination creams.

A vaccine for UTIs? Yes — and it's a spray, not a jab

August 23, 2026

If UTIs keep coming back, there may soon be another way. UTI vaccines — including a needle-free spray under the tongue — are helping women break the antibiotics cycle.

Plot twist: the meningitis jab also fights gonorrhoea

August 20, 2026

Scientists gave teens a vaccine for meningitis. It also cut their gonorrhoea infections by 38%. One jab, two wins — but read the fine print.

Are we on the brink of reversing aging? The science of cellular reprogramming

August 6, 2026

Scientists can now take an old cell and reset its 'biological age' back toward youth — in the lab, and as of 2026, in the first human trial. It's some of the most exciting biology in medicine, and it sits right next to what aesthetic dermatology is all about: younger-looking, better-functioning skin. Here's the real science, and an honest line between promise and hype.

The newest antifungal for tough cases is coming soon

July 27, 2026

A new antifungal drug called olorofim helped roughly three-quarters of patients with a severe, drug-resistant fungal infection (Valley fever) in a recent trial. What makes it exciting isn't just this one disease — it's that olorofim is the first antifungal with a genuinely new mechanism in about 20 years, which matters a great deal as fungal resistance keeps rising.

Tregs — the immune system's peacekeepers, and a possible end to lifelong immunosuppressants

July 13, 2026

For decades, treating autoimmune disease or preventing transplant rejection has meant a lifetime on immunosuppressants — drugs that dampen the whole immune system and raise the risk of infection, cancer, and organ damage. A new class of therapy uses the body's own regulatory T cells (Tregs) to retrain immune tolerance precisely, where it's needed, without shutting everything down. The first Treg cell therapy just won FDA approval.

Immune-cell nanodiscs that hunt down fungal infections

July 11, 2026

Researchers coated tiny biodegradable particles in the membrane of immune cells (macrophages), creating 'nanodiscs' that recognise Candida fungus the way a white blood cell would — then physically tear the fungal cell open. In infected mice they cleared fungus from organs and improved survival. A genuinely novel angle on the growing problem of drug-resistant fungal infection.

Phage therapy, reframed — a three-stage model of phage-bacteria coexistence

July 2, 2026

Phages have long been pitched as 'living antibiotics' — viruses that kill bacteria we can no longer kill with drugs. A new framework argues that's too simple: phages and their bacterial hosts move through three different relationship stages, and only one of them looks like straightforward killing. What we do with phages therapeutically depends on which stage we're in.

A prime-editor for fungi — waking up the silent chemistry inside our medicine cabinets

July 2, 2026

Fungi already gave us penicillin, statins, and cyclosporine — but their genomes are known to hold far more useful chemistry than we've ever managed to switch on. A new prime-editing tool from Penn does exactly that: activate silent biosynthesis. First haul from the technique: 18 complex molecules, eight of them brand new, three of them showing selective anti-cancer activity.

A mirror-image peptide that shreds bacterial biofilms — and might give us a new antibiotic

June 27, 2026

A new synthetic peptide called D-GK17 — engineered as a mirror image of a fragment of our own immune molecule LL-37 — breaks apart bacterial biofilms, kills the WHO's most-feared resistant bacteria, and stays safe at therapeutic doses. Early stage, but a genuinely interesting line of work.

Doxycycline PEP is losing its grip on gonorrhoea — and the bacterium is winning the antibiotic-resistance race

May 15, 2026

Doxycycline taken after sex (doxyPEP) was supposed to cut gonorrhoea cases. A new Lancet study shows the protective effect collapsed within a year of rollout in California — as the tetM gene driving high-level tetracycline resistance spread rapidly through circulating gonorrhoea strains.

Cinnamic acid — a kitchen compound that quietly disarms antibiotic resistance

April 28, 2026

A common food additive — cinnamic acid, the molecule behind cinnamon's scent — has been shown to block the way bacteria share antibiotic-resistance genes with each other. It doesn't kill bacteria; it just stops them passing resistance around. A surprisingly elegant approach to one of medicine's biggest headaches.

Dermatology humour — a small gallery of the comics we love

April 22, 2026

Over the years we've shared a fair few doctor and dermatology comics on our Facebook page. Here's a curated gallery with thumbnails, credits, and links to each artist — because medicine is serious work, but laughing at it is what keeps everyone sane.

A new sulfur polymer that kills fungi and bacteria without harming skin

April 22, 2026

A team at Flinders University has developed a sulfur-rich polymer that is potent against drug-resistant fungi and bacteria yet gentle on human skin cells — a promising step for future topical antifungal treatments.

Why harmless soil fungi may become human pathogens — and how fast

February 10, 2026

Researchers at Kiel University have found that harmless soil fungi and their dangerous human-infecting cousins are genetically almost identical — the real difference is how fast they translate genes into fat-metabolising proteins. That makes the jump to becoming a human pathogen smaller than we thought.

Ancient DNA pushes the roots of syphilis back 5,500 years — and points to the Americas

January 24, 2026

A 5,500-year-old skeleton from Colombia has yielded DNA from an ancient Treponema pallidum lineage — pushing the history of syphilis-like diseases back 3,000 years and pointing to the Americas, not Europe, as a likely origin.

Tick bites, sudden meat allergy, and the immune change behind it

August 20, 2019

Lone Star tick bites can turn a person who has eaten meat their whole life into someone who reacts — sometimes severely — to beef and pork. UVA researchers have now identified the immune cells behind the switch.

How often should kids actually bathe? Less than you'd think

September 14, 2016

Contrary to habit, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends children aged 6–11 only need to bathe 2–3 times a week. Daily bathing before puberty can dry out skin and worsen conditions like eczema.

Mycoplasma genitalium — the quiet STD most patients haven't heard of

December 7, 2015

Mycoplasma genitalium is a sexually transmitted bacterium many people have never heard of — and often have no symptoms from. Research has confirmed it's spread through sex and linked to genital inflammation and fertility complications.

Your skin is a museum of chemicals — the 3D map that proved it

April 2, 2015

UC San Diego researchers built the first 3D map of human skin chemistry and found around 8% of detected compounds came from cosmetics, deodorants, and clothing — residues that hang on well after a shower.

A tapeworm that lived in a man's brain for four years

November 21, 2014

A case report from the UK described a rare tapeworm that migrated roughly 5 cm across a patient's brain over four years — a striking reminder of how some parasitic infections can present in unexpected ways.

Seeds 101 — the small, dense nutrition package worth adding to your diet

March 10, 2014

Chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds are nutrient-dense and worth more attention than most Malaysian diets give them. A short guide to what each one offers.

A simpler, cheaper IVF — can test-tube babies be more accessible?

August 22, 2013

Researchers developed a stripped-down IVF protocol using dramatically simpler equipment, aimed at bringing fertility treatment within reach of couples in lower- and middle-income settings.

Walnuts and sperm health — a small but real diet story

August 16, 2012

A controlled trial found that young men who added walnuts to their diet showed measurable improvements in sperm parameters. One of several fertility-and-diet studies worth knowing about.

Stem cells and stroke recovery — an early, cautious promise

June 11, 2012

A Glasgow-based trial injected neural stem cells into stroke patients' brains and reported early signs of improvement. Stem cell therapy for stroke remains an active research area, with cautious optimism rather than routine clinical use.

A gene that may one day give us a true male contraceptive

May 17, 2012

Researchers identified a gene essential for sperm production in mice — an early but important step toward a potential non-hormonal male contraceptive. A decade on, the work continues.

One in six cancers is caused by an infection — what that changes

May 9, 2012

Around one in six cancers worldwide is caused by an infection — HPV, hepatitis B and C, H. pylori, and others. That means a meaningful chunk of the global cancer burden is preventable with vaccines and treatment.

HPV in men — the oral cancer story that's too often overlooked

January 26, 2012

HPV doesn't only cause cervical cancer. Rates of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer in men are rising in many countries. The vaccine — given early — prevents both.

Neanderthal DNA, immune genes, and why modern humans still carry them

August 25, 2011

Modern non-African humans still carry immune-gene variants inherited from Neanderthals. Interbreeding gave our ancestors useful alleles for fighting local pathogens — part of why human immune responses vary so widely today.

When puberty arrives at seven — what changed, and what parents should know

April 14, 2005

Puberty in girls is arriving earlier than it did a generation ago — sometimes as young as seven. The causes are debated (nutrition, obesity, endocrine disruptors, genetics), and parents often need guidance on what's normal and when to be concerned.