Monthly Archives: December 2015
Lighting up a flashlight without batteries
What people often do is the usage of batteries to light a lamp or a flashlight for illumination. Herein, researchers from Institute of Intelligent Machines (IIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) shall tell you another way to
Salmonella savors flavors
Salmonella is a common bacterial pathogen that causes a type of food-poisoning in humans (salmonellosis) which is characterized by diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. In general, the illness is self-limiting and most people recover without treatment.
Isovaline, a compound first identified in the Murchison meteorite, shows potential for treating Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a brain disease that affects 65 million people worldwide and is characterized by seizures that arise from hyper-active and hyper-connected brain cells. Typically, the first approach for managing seizures is treating individuals with pharmaceuticals. However,
Core predictors of ‘hassles’ among patients with multimorbidity in primary care
A major problem in current primary care is that services are set up for single long term conditions, whereas many older patients have more than one. Studies conducted through interviews only suggest that patients experience ‘hassles’ in
Chromatin remodeling regulates multiple liver functions
Liver is a one of the largest tissues that has the ability to regenerate itself upon stimulation. The liver also performs a variety of complex functions which support body homeostasis including detoxification and providing essential molecules to
Current perceptions with regard to the causes of shoulder impingement syndrome
One of the most common musculoskeletal complaints of patients seeking medical advice is shoulder pain, with shoulder impingement syndrome being the most commonly diagnosed shoulder disorder. Modern advances in anatomy, biomechanics, and research have gone some way
Bone cells prefer to grow on aligned fibers
The finding of suitable biomaterials allowing the bone restoration of large bone defects is the subject of active research. Non-resorbable biomaterials such as polymers can constitute suitable scaffolds allowing the deposition of new bone. Microfibers made with
The resilient pituitary gland: What happens when the pituitary gland has to be cut during surgery?
The pituitary gland is considered to be the “master endocrine gland”. It is a pea-sized structure located at the base of the brain, important in controlling growth and development and the functioning of the other endocrine glands.
Spectroscopic platform to cut time and resources needed to quantify cancer cell biomarker concentrations
Survivability of a living cell, tissue and ultimately a being is influenced by the state of proteolytic degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components; if the dynamics of the degradation is perturbed, regulation of many biological processes such
Child protection in research undertaken by UK universities
In a review of the literature on child protection in research we showed that there is variation in the way researchers deal with protecting children who participate in research. We also found some concerning practices where researchers
Maps can help in the fight against neglected tropical diseases
Numerous diseases affect the populations of Africa. Some diseases receive a lot of attention and others do not. The World Health Organization has grouped seventeen of these latter diseases into what is now known as Neglected Tropical
Application of bacteria as microbial factories for natural products
Bacteria may be described as tiny chemical factories that take up simple molecules like sugars or alcohols as nutrients and utilize them to build all components that are necessary for basic cell metabolism, thus so called primary
Detecting biological hydrogen sulphide gas using metal-organic frameworks
Remember the unpleasant smell of boiled egg? It’s a Hydrogen Sulphide(H2S) an infamous flammable gas known for its smell and toxic effects.The exposure to H2S causes loss of sense of smell (Olfactory Paralysis) while the prolong exposure
Human blood brain barriers malfunction in Alzheimer’s disease
While the ancient Greeks and Romans already associated old age with dementia, it was not until 1901 that the German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer diagnosed the first case of Alzheimer’s disease in a fifty year old woman. Today,
Using Anthrax toxin (Atx) for drug delivery
When people think of toxins in relation to medicine, they usually think of the use of the toxins’ warhead. This warhead has been used to kill things like cancer cells when directed by a cell-targeting antibody. However,
Genomic characteristics of miscarriage copy number variants
Miscarriage is a stressful event for couples and finding the cause is critical for closure and also future reproductive planning. Gains and losses of genetic material in the miscarriage are one of the possible causes of miscarriage
Minimizing injuries from acute myocardial infarction
Reperfusion therapy is currently the mainstay treatment of acute myocardial infarction, as it salvages myocardial cells from ischemic cell death. However, abrupt restoration of coronary blood flow induces another type of cell death called “lethal reperfusion injury,”
Cigarette smoke enhances the release of proteins that modulates pro-thrombotic midiators in vascular cells
About 6 million people die for use or exposure to cigarette smoke; indeed smoking is the most important evitable cause of death in the developed countries, and it is a major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Chronic
Leukemia cells rely on vesicles from neighboring stromal cells to resist common cancer treatments
Leukemia is a cancer of white blood cells that occurs in both children and adults. Strides have been made in curing most types of leukemia. However, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) continues to resist the same treatment strategies.
Rapid prototyping to explain the biology of seahorse tails
Rapid prototyping employs the use of modern engineering tools, such as computer modeling and 3D-printing, to build physical models of new product design concepts. Applying similar techniques, our team of biologists and engineers built two 3D-printed models
