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The line between poison and medicine can often be a slim one. Medicines like morphine can be toxic if you overdo it, while poisons like cobra venom are being investigated in the hopes of uncovering their medicinal qualities. The latest case in point? Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are reporting that nanoparticles loaded with the venom that gives bees their sting could one day mean a new weapon in the battle against AIDS.

Beer is wonderful and good for you -- I've always known this, and I've said it regularly and loudly to anyone who will listen. Also, to people who would rather not listen. Now, science offers the latest proof that beer is medicine. Or rather that the structure of some of the molecules that make up beer and give hops it's bitter bite, could be, in moderation and after years of careful research, used to offer treatments for diabetes. If the research pans out, it could mean a brand new breeds of drugs. If it doesn't, that's a shame, but we could still finally develop the world's first truly perfect IPA. While that outcome is certainly less good than new lifesaving drugs, I would humbly submit that that doesn't make it "not good."

Researchers sifting through the artifacts of a 2,000-year-old shipwreck have uncovered an unexpected treasure --  one not of gold or silver, but simple, unassuming zinc. A tin full of zinc tablets contained within the wreck may be one of the earliest examples of a modern, prepared medicinal compound, say researchers in a story published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

British mathematician Max Little and his team have built a speech algorithm that can diagnose Parkinson's disease from just a phone call, and they need you to help make it better.

Virologists working at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada announced last week that they are approaching a cure for the highly deadly Ebola virus. Their work may lead to the first consistently effective treatment for the Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF), of which there have been a number of serious outbreaks in Central Africa. The world of medicine has taken an important step in ridding the world of one of its most fast-acting and deadly viruses once and for all.

Spinal cord injuries that lead to paralysis can be devastating. The inability to use one's limbs drastically changes the quality of life for those afflicted with such injuries. Thanks to a research team led by Grégoire Courtine of the Federal Institute of Technology a significant number may be able to walk again eventually. The team has found that rats with partially severed spinal cords can be taught to walk once more with the right combination of stimulus and pharmaceutical drugs.

San Francisco researcher Richard Din died this past Saturday of a meningococcal infection -- the bacteria which causes meningitis. However, Din was not just a random individual struck down by a deadly disease; he was a researcher working with the very bacteria which killed him.

The Nobel Prize committee announced its winners for achievements in medicine today, naming cellular biologist Ralph Steinman worthy of the prestigious award. Steinman's award winning work began in 1973 when he identified a new type of cell, the dendritic cell, which plays a key role in the human immune system. Thanks to his ground breaking work, medicine now has a far greater understanding how the body fights off invaders, and how it can sometimes turn on itself. Though Steinman is certainly worthy of the award he is, unfortunately, dead. According to the Seattle Times, Steinman died three days before the Nobel announcements were made leaving the committee unaware of his demise. This puts the Nobel committee in a bit of a tricky situation, since posthumus awards are no longer given by the organization. Two other scientists named in the award, Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann, seem to be in no danger of losing their award, though there is no word whether their shares of the $1.5 million prize will be increased. The Nobel committee has not announced how they will handle the situation, but it is certainly a tragic moment for Steinman's family. Congratulations Dr. Steinman, wherever you are. (via Seattle Times)

I would be totally fine with this trick shot "doctor" working on me, right up until he does the thing with what looks like a jar of ether. That's a bit over the line for me doc, but you can throw tongue depressors at my face all day. (via Neatorama)

Jörg C. Gerlach has invented a revolutionary technique for regenerating skin after severe burns that makes perfect sense to us. After all, airbrushing works so well in Photoshop, why shouldn't airbrushing stem cells directly onto burn sites work in real life? We've posted the video behind the jump because it's got some pretty graphic pictures of burned skin in various states of healing. International viewers can find a video here.

Why put medicine in the pills when you can print it on the pills?

A team of researchers led by Dr Nik Kapur, collaborating between University of Leeds, Durham University, and GlaxoSmithKline, has found a way to dissolve  some medicines down into a liquid, then transform that liquid into a printable ink. From here, the medicine could be printed onto the surface of a generic tablet.

LactoPharma, a New Zealand-based pharmaceutical company, devotes its research to finding medically valuable biologically active compounds in milk. In itself, that'd be a cool enough line of research, but they've outdone themselves with their latest, experimental delivery system: putting biomedicine in ice cream.