Monthly Archives: November 2015
Using genome-scale models to predict biological capabilities
Rapid advances in DNA sequencing and synthesis technologies have revolutionized the study of life sciences. With these new technologies come new challenges. The massive amount of new data generated using these technologies must be curated, managed, and
Nuclear physicists thinking about astrophysics
Nuclear decay data evaluators Valery CHECHEV from the Khlopin Radium Institute (KRI), Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Xiaolong HUANG from the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), Beijing, China, in their research article published in Applied Radiation and
NEURINOX gathers top researchers, patients and industry in an international symposium on innovative concepts for treating neurodegenerative diseases
Press release. Geneva, 5 November 2015. Neurodegeneration leads to chronic debilitating diseases, including age-related syndromes like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and disorders affecting younger people such as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. A common disease mechanism in neurodegeneration
Pharmacist’s role to help patients get the most out of their medications
Many patients do not adhere well to their prescribed medication regimens. Evidence shows that improving medication adherence leads to lower overall health care use and costs. As a result, healthcare stakeholders are increasingly interested in improving patient
Is aging inevitable?
All animals, with very few exceptions, age. It has been difficult to provide a suitable evolutionary explanation for aging since natural selection, the driver of evolution, generally chooses animal traits that enhance fitness. Clearly aging would not
A “bottom” up approach to treating Ebola patients
International institutions organized a “top down” response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Millions were spent to provide volunteer healthcare workers, build Ebola treatment units and organize the delivery of supplies and equipment. These efforts did
How can I create more mobility in my stiff shoulder?
A stiff shoulder, or the so-called “frozen shoulder”, is a disorder characterized by progressive pain and loss of mobility of the shoulder. The annual incidences are 3 to 5% in the general population and even up to
Killing microbes with red light
Photosensitization is a process in which a chemical compound (photosensitizer) that absorbs energy from light is able to transfer that energy to oxygen molecules. As a consequence, reactive oxygen species (ROS), highly toxic to living cells, are
Making it easier to study personalized genomic biomarkers of lung disease
In the past few years, there has been significant progress in understanding how lung disease develops and predict who will respond to certain targeted therapies by obtaining lung tissue from research participants and studying changes in mechanistic
Helpful tool for the characterization of cancer
Follicular lymphoma is a sort of blood cancer and among the most frequent subtypes of indolent (painless) lymphomas. Most patients are diagnosed very late, when the illness is in an advanced stage. The origins of the tumor
Computed tomography in liver cirrhosis
Liver cirrhosis is a disease with many different clinical and patho-physiological aspects, involving digestive and extra-digestive organs and systems. On the base of clinical signs and laboratory tests different scores entered in the common practice. We observed
The management of elderly patients with severe traumatic brain injury
The elderly population is defined by the World Health Organization as those aged over 65 years. Life expectancy has gradually increased but as the population of the elderly has progressively increased so has the incidence of traumatic
Synthetic biology competition inspires young microbiologists to change the world
Synthetic biology is a rapidly expanding area of science that incorporates engineering principles to design and build biological processes for useful and sustainable purposes. In addition, synthetic biology projects often incorporate expertise from the arts and humanities.
Catching the ‘uncatchable smile’ illusion in Leonardo da Vinci’s La Bella Principessa Painting
In 1998 a little known painting believed to be a 19th century imitation of an Italian Renaissance painting by an unnamed German Romantic artist was sold in a New York gallery. Following examination by experts the painting
A novel method of stool DNA analysis for colorectal cancer diagnosis
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent malignant diseases worldwide, with a high rate of mortality. The detection of precancerous and early-stage CRC is central to improve prognosis and the survival rate of patients. Currently,
Geology’s latest gift to molecular biology?
Only a few hardy bacteria and archaea make their home in geothermal springs, but the enzymes of these thermophiles have for decades benefitted biological research. While the value of the bacterial DNA polymerase “Taq” in amplifying DNA
A study to establishing the structural integrity of core−shell nanoparticles
Lanthanide – doped core – shell nanoparticles, such as NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4, have attracted increasing attention for applications in photonics, photovoltaics, and biological imaging and therapeutics. When compared to conventional nanoparticles that suffer from extensive and uncontrollable dopant −
Reducing blood loss in brain surgery with extracranial early devascularization techniques
The anatomical region located under the frontal lobes of the brain, just above the eyes and the nose is called “anterior skull base”. The most common tumors involving this region arise from the soft tissue layers that
Fluorescent micro-RNA for cancer diagnostics
Biomarkers are indicators of biological states or conditions and can therefore provide important information about diseases such as cancer. In clinical diagnostics biomarkers are most often proteins or nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA. Biomarkers that
Adding phospholipid to drug formulation: a promising approach to improve drug absorption
For a patient to benefit from the therapeutic effects of any medicine, the prerequisite is that the drug is adequately absorbed after drug intake. Unfortunately, at least 40% of the marketed drugs and up to 90% of
