Monthly Archives: November 2015
Predictors of 360-day survival in centenarians
Healthy aging assumes the combination of longevity and quality of life. Quality of life in old age is associated with mental and physical well-being allowing for independent living and social function. Appropriate scales can be used to
Can Beautyberry treatment improve the success rate of lung transplantation?
Ischemia/reperfusion injury is a type of organ damage that occurs when blood supply returns to the organ after a period of ischemia and a direct consequence of oxidative stress. It significantly contributes to the risk of mortality
Osmoregulation in phytopathogenic fungi
Osmosis is a phenomenon in which water moves always from higher to lower chemical potential, commonly towards the area with higher solute concentration. Living cells are semi-closed systems with membranes permeable for water but not for many
Rat model of small opaque eyes open the door to eye research
Ocular diseases in elderly persons, such as cataract and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the main causes of vision loss in developed nations, are paid great attention nowadays. The eye is a complicated organ constructed with
Modulation of immunity and gut microbiota
Animal bodies have many bacterial cells and a large part of them live in our digestive system. The relationship of gut bacteria to many aspects of wellness and health including immunity it is known. Regrettably, the current diet is
Exploring the amazing capacity of many bacteria to swim towards specific chemicals
Many bacteria possess flagella, which are flexible filaments attached to the bacterial surface. These filaments can rotate which in turn propels the bacterium forward and enables them to swim. However, this swimming behavior does not simply occur
Cancer risk in opposite-sex and same-sex twins
Twin pregnancies are characterized by simultaneous development of two fetuses that share the womb. An interest in opposite-sex (OS) twins, twin pairs consisting of one male and one female, comes from animal studies that showed that exposure
A promising biointerface for endothelial cells assembled from mixed poly(dopamine) film
When implants are put into a patient’s body, there will be contact between this material and the surrounding tissue. Successful implantation requires that the body integrates the foreign materials. The surface of implants plays an important role
Can mathematics help defeating acquired blindness?
Sight threatening pathologies of the eye retina, the light sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye, are an increasing health concern in the ageing population. A number of risk factors, including high intraocular pressure, high blood
Image processing as a facile method to determine pore size distribution in porous scaffold
Scaffold for tissue engineering are porous devices which allows the regeneration of living tissues such as bone, cartilage or other tissues. Some studies demonstrated that the regenerative properties of the scaffold are strongly dependent both on the
Operationally simple reactions with unprotected carbohydrates – an application of organocatalysis
Carbohydrates are ubiquitous in nature. They play an important role as an energy reservoir as well as they are the resource of countless biomaterials, such as cellulose or chitin. This importance has challenged chemists at all times
How does bladder chemotherapy given before surgery change bladder cancer cells?
It is estimated that there will be 74,000 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed in the United States and approximately 16,000 deaths due to bladder cancer in 2015 alone, according to statistics from the American Cancer Society.
Hong Kong as a hotspot of microplastic pollution
Small plastic debris, known as microplastics, is an emerging global environmental issue affecting different water environments, in particular, the oceans. Most scientists classify microplastics as plastic debris with a particle diameter of less than 5 mm. They
Transplanted cells reveal potential for functional neural regeneration
Patients suffering from spinal cord injury and from neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and multiple sclerosis have high hopes for cell transplantation therapy. Successful transplantation depends on the donor cells
Conditional mutations in drosophila
In 1865, Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of inheritance for the traits of living organisms. Reproduction, the major property of living matter and mode of its existence in the Universe, found itself in the spotlight of biology.
New role of microbes in the construction industry
Such well-established areas of Biotechnology as Medical, Agricultural, and Environmental Biotechnology have thousands of valuable applications but Construction Biotechnology, which is science and engineering of using of microorganisms in construction industry, is just arising. Before that, microbes
Using Darwin to discover new advanced materials
The process of evolution, first described in detail by Charles Darwin, has resulted in the amazing diversity of plants and animals in our world, each subgroup shaped by the effects of the different environments in which they
The challenge of creating specialist surgical centres in Australia
The past decade has seen an increasing number of publications linking improved surgical outcomes with increased surgical volume. But most of our hospitals are not set up as specialised centres concentrating on a small number of highly
Transformative nanomaterial synthesis using biological conditions
One area of promise and concern when using nanomaterials is their potentially high level of reactivity. This comes from the massively increased surface area of the material when it is segmented into much smaller pieces. A copper
Improved nursing home care for veterans
Patients who reside in long-term care facilities represent a frail and vulnerable population. All nursing facilities certified to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding must be surveyed by state agencies every 9-15 months. Surveyors examine processes and outcomes
