Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) reported encouraging results from an early clinical trial that tested a new dual vaccine against Lassa fever and rabies. The study, published today in the journal Nature Medicine, found that the vaccine was safe and induced immune responses against both viruses. There are currently no vaccines against Lassa fever on the market.

Researchers commonly test drugs in simplified lab conditions, often at room temperature. Northwestern scientists discovered drugs behave differently at body temperature and with physiologically relevant calcium levels. Findings could improve drug screening and lead to therapies that work only in diseased cells.