Recently rediscovered in the western world, phage therapy against bacterial infections is already under investigation in human clinical trials. At the same time, researchers from the JCU Turtle Health Research Facility tested the approach on sea turtles as well. The purpose was to replace antibiotics, commonly administered during turtles' recovery.

Intelligent and curious, they love to interact with each other and also with humans. We look more like dolphins than we think ... for better and for worse. They are in fact the only wild species in the world in which a form of Alzheimer has been found, which is similar to the human one. A "natural" model that has raised the interest of scientists, opening a new line of research that helps to combat the disease even in humans.

Sexual reproduction imposes long and annoying formalities, such as searching and courting a partner. But it is definitely worth it: the genetic mixing prevents the appearance of dangerous mutations and increases the chances of fighting parasites and pathogens. Once again, someone has spoken in favor of sex: a group of researchers from the University of Montpellier has claimed that its evolution could have been driven by the need to combat transmissible tumors.

They are funny to look at, mild and intelligent: that was what we knew about alpacas until 1989. That year, two students discovered by chance one important feature that has long remained unknown. This and other species belonging to camelid family have "miniature" antibodies: smaller than ours and those of most mammals, they can reach even the most difficult targets. Researchers at Boston Children 's Hospital used the so called “nanobodies” to make CAR-T cells better at solid tumors. The study has been published in the journal PNAS.

Many ticks stick to the opossums to feed on their blood ... but only few are able to tell it. The small American marsupial kills more than 95% of pests that have the misfortune to cross its path: a massacre. Even if he does not know it, in this way he helps to fight Lyme disease, caused by a bacterium that is in fact carried by ticks.

What if response to immunotherapy depends on the microbes inside the intestine? An unusual treatment involving stool transplantation from one patient to another could help those who do not respond to immunotherapy.

A 15-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis who suffered from an antibiotic-resistant mycobacterium infection has been treated thanks to a "modern" therapeutic approach, phage therapy. Not so modern actually, given that the first experiments date back to the 20s of the last century. But it has only recently been rediscovered and proposed as a valid alternative to antibiotic therapy, especially in the case of resistant bacteria, which are going to become more and more threatening.

Speaking of unusual cancer patients, the small one with spines could not be missing. African hedgehogs are increasingly becoming popular domestic pets in the western countries. Last year, for the first time, Italian researchers treated one of them with electro-chemotherapy, a revolutionary approach against cancer.