Frogs Help Identify Three Illness-Resistant Drugs

A toad is pictured on the road in Tallinn, Estonia April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Janis Laizans
A toad is pictured on the road in Tallinn, Estonia April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Janis Laizans
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Frogs Help Identify Three Illness-Resistant Drugs

A toad is pictured on the road in Tallinn, Estonia April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Janis Laizans
A toad is pictured on the road in Tallinn, Estonia April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Janis Laizans

Humans may soon owe to a species of small frogs that may give them the power to resist illness. A team of researchers have recently identified a mechanism that gives those ‘super’ frogs the strength to resist pathogens, which opens a new door to repurpose currently used drugs to replicate this power in humans.

During the study, published in the journal Science Advances on June 19, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have discovered genetic and biological mechanisms that enhance the ability of cells and tissues in Xenopus laevis frogs to resist damage in the presence of invading pathogens, suggesting that infections in humans and other animals could one day be treated by increasing their tolerance to pathogens.

The standard approach to treating infections for the last 75 years has been to focus on killing the pathogen, but the overuse of antibiotics in livestock and in humans has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, the super illness-resisting powers Xenopus laevis frogs have inspired the researchers to focus on modifying a host's response to a pathogen rather than killing the pathogen itself.

Research into the biology of disease tolerance has found that it is associated with the activation of stress responses that are normally induced by a low level of oxygen (hypoxia). These cellular responses reprogram T cells, which reduces the amount of inflammation they cause.

As part of the Wyss Institute's ongoing quest to identify drugs that could replicate these biological processes and induce tolerance in humans, the team used a combination of computational techniques and hands-on experiments to tease out the genes and molecular pathways that control tolerance in Xenopus frogs, and then find existing drugs that could activate those pathways and induce a state of tolerance against pathogens in humans.

After examining 30 pharmaceutical drugs, they found three drugs were actually effective for this purpose: FDA-approved deferoxamine, Mimosine, and hydralazine.



Smoke From Canadian Fires Reaches Europe, Says EU Climate Monitor

 This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
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Smoke From Canadian Fires Reaches Europe, Says EU Climate Monitor

 This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)

Heavy smoke from intense wildfires in Canada has reached northwestern Europe, the European Union's climate monitoring service said on Tuesday.

The huge plumes are at very high altitude and do not pose an immediate health risk, it said in a statement.

"Smoke originating from the wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan has been transported across the Atlantic," the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) said.

Satellites tracked the smoke in mid-May, with some plumes reaching as far east as Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.

"A second, much larger, smoke plume crossed the Atlantic during the last week of May, reaching northwestern parts of Europe on June 1," CAMS said.

Additional plumes are expected to shade the continent in the coming days.

Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health.

A high concentration of carbon monoxide is expected to pass over northwestern France, including the Paris Basin, on Tuesday.

The high-altitude smoke headed for Europe is not expected to have a significant impact on surface air quality, but is likely to result in hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets.

Manitoba in central Canada is experiencing its worst start to the fire season in years due to drought, and Saskatchewan to the west declared a state of emergency at the end of May, evacuating thousands of residents.

"Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions," said Mark Parrington, scientific director at CAMS.

Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual this summer in central and western Canada, due in particular to severe or extreme drought.

Elsewhere, extensive forest fires have been raging in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District since early April, particularly east of Lake Baikal, generating carbon emissions of around 35 million tons, Copernicus reported.