Monthly Archives: August 2016
Is Metformin a new risk factor for Parkinson`s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that takes place when the neurons of the substantia nigra, a brain structure involved in the movement control, die. This leads to several symptoms including motor and cognitive dysfunctions, progressive loss
Image Cytometer – NucleoCounter® NC-3000™
The NucleoCounter® NC-3000™ is an advanced image cytometer utilizing fluorescence imaging to characterize cell properties. The NC-3000™ can perform high speed cell count and viability determination and includes plug-and-play analytical assays of mammalian, yeast and insect cells.
Gene duplication catalyzes the evolution of new traits in a human pathogen
How do organisms with common ancestry evolve unique traits and eventually diverge from each other? This question has been at the core of evolutionary biology since the theory of common descent was proposed over a century ago.
Pediatric insomnia: Review and recommendations
Insomnia, characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, is the most commonly reported sleep problem among children and adolescents. Nonetheless, pediatric insomnia is not typically assessed and is generally left untreated. One study found that primary care
NucleoCounter® NC-200™ – Automated Cell Counter
The NucleoCounter® NC-200™ is a high precision automated cell counter utilizing state-of-the-art image cytometry. With user adaptable protocols and specialized assays for counting a wide range of mammalian cells, including adipose-derived stem cells, T cells, aggregated cells
Staphylococcal biofilms: building up “bacterial cities” through a proteinaceous matrix scaffold
Do you know that bacteria, microscopic organisms not visible by the human naked eye, can live in complex communities just like we humans do? They are perfectly able to stick together, grow and multiply in what is
Lymphatic drainage of the heart
Someone once said that each man is his own island. I would make the analogy that our body is a country, where each organ is a city, each cell a building or factory in the city, and
Reliable molecular imaging of bioluminescence and NIR fluorescence in vivo
In vivo molecular imaging is a powerful tool for non-invasive analysis of cellular and molecular mechanisms. Whole-body optical imaging of small animals is now widely used in preclinical research to explore disease mechanisms, evaluate drug candidates, and
Centrifugal capillary-based microfluidic methods for synthesis of artificial cell-like systems
For decades, researchers have attempted to construct artificial cell – like systems using biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids. Artificial cell – like systems are microcapsules constructed from giant liposomes or water-in-oil (W/O) microdroplets that
Proteome view on how leukemia cells communicate with their environment to escape chemotherapy
Relapse continues to pose a major challenge to successful chemotherapy of adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Even though 80% of AML patients achieve remission, in which the bone marrow is virtually clear of leukemic cells, still almost
Sex pheromones attract adults to sex, larvae to safe food
For over half a century we have regarded sex pheromones as powerful lures for male insects to female of the same species, but now we discover that the same molecules are also attractive for the larvae, which
Inflammatory bowel disease as a paradoxical effect of anti-TNF alpha therapy
Anti-TNF alpha therapies are used in the treatment of different inflammatory conditions as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Specifically, IBD is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of gastrointestinal tract, particularly of colon. It includes Crohn disease and
An entangled flexible MOF for capture of CO2 and store/ separation of (C1-C3) hydrocarbons
Globally the swift growth of industrial sectors has immensely shuddered the environmental balance, particularly due to large quantity of greenhouse gas emission from the fossil fuel combustion. Therefore the capture of greenhouse gas, such as CO2 and
How Vitamin C affects the immune system
DNA contains four bases, A, C, G and T (Fig.1). There are 3 billion of these bases in the human genome, and they code for about 22,000 genes. Because each cell carries the same genetic information –
Retromer in polarized protein transport
In living organisms, all cells contain different compartments called organelles. Each organelle, surrounded by lipid membranes, includes a characteristic set of resident molecules. Maintenance of such precise set of components in each organelle is critical for proper
PDGF-D – a potential novel treatment for kidney diseases with scaring
Estimates suggest that a huge number of people, more than 10% of the world-population, are suffering from chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease eventually leads to complete loss of kidney function, which is fatal if not treated
Ethnic classification in the New Zealand health care system
In New Zealand a section of the Maori population experiences inter-generational low health status. Evidence from numerous studies, in that country as elsewhere, show that differential health status is strongly associated with socioeconomic status and inequalities in
Polymer-brush lubrication: How your artificial knee lasts longer
The desire to minimize friction between surfaces is as old as human civilization. While the architects of the Egyptian pyramids used water and sand, modern machine parts typically are lubricated by oil. Nature has found superior solutions.
Modeling the nonlinear interaction of ultrasound and stable cavitation gas bubbles in liquids
The propagation of ultrasound in a liquid in which a population of tiny nuclei of gas exists, due to the presence of impurities in the liquid or crevices on solid surfaces in contact with the liquid, can
Complete solids retention activated sludge process
While biological treatment offers great treatment performance with relatively low cost, it also entails significant sludge production due to the growth of bacteria and the accumulation of inactive sludge (influent inert solids and cell debris from dead
