Yearly Archives: 2015
A new understanding of the mechanism of action of insulin sensitizing drugs provides insight into treating metabolic disease
It has been known for some time that there is a connection between diabetes and other diseases that increase with age, including important neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Interestingly, all of these diseases are
CRIC: studying the silent epidemic of kidney disease
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health problem affecting more than 20 million Americans, and far more worldwide. Although CKD typically begins with no noticeable symptoms, it is a progressive disease which if untreated often leads
Memory mechanism demonstrated in humans
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the pricipal candidate synaptic mechanism underlying learning and memory. LTP has been studied extensively in laboratory animals, but until recently, inquiry into the functional significance of LTP has been hindered by the absence
Which regions of the skull contain the most information about genetic relatedness in monkeys?
The primate fossil record is plagued by issues with assessing phylogeny (genetic relationships among species) due to the fact that fossilized specimens are composed entirely of rock and contain no DNA. Paleontologists studying the primate fossil record
Silver clusters change form and color with each atom
Metal clusters are particles consisting of a few (usually between 2 and 100) metal atoms. Very often, metal clusters possess properties that differ markedly from both the constituting atoms and the bulk. Furthermore, they show nonscalable size
Bush-cricket males use genital titillators to stimulate females during mating
Mating and the transfer of the sperm from the males to the females are crucial for siring offspring. If a male is unable to attract a female for mating he cannot spread his genes to the next
Evaluation of a new test for the diagnosis of Amebiasis
Amebiasis is a parasitic infection caused by Entamoeba histolytica and one of the most common parasitic infections world-wide, infecting about 50 million people and resulting in 10,000 to 40,000 deaths per annum. The diagnosis of E. histolytica
New generation Opto-Electronic Patch Sensor (OEPS): CareLight
In recent decades, the number of people suffering from chronic diseases has increased dramatically. Referring to the report of British Heart Foundation (BHF), almost 2.6 million people in the UK are living with heart and circulatory disease.
Pass the salt, please! Understanding how cells deal with high salt
Table salt, a molecule made up of the charged ions sodium and chloride, is an essential nutrient fundamental to life and once worth its weight in gold. Historically a precious commodity, salt also helped civilizations develop because
The drug that can inhibit infection by reovirus
Cellular diversity is, to some extent, determined by the molecules present within specific cells. For example, cells that make up the endothelium, the part of blood vessels that come in contact with blood, make specific proteins that
On their way out: Structural HIV proteins team up before escaping from infected cells
The human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) infects and eventually destroys the immune cells of infected patients. This causes the life-threatening medical condition called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( AIDS ). A cure for HIV/AIDS does not exist,
Zinc – a promising supplement for the immune system
Zinc is essential for basic functions within cells of the human body. Hence, zinc deficiency is associated with impaired immune functions as dermatitis, dysfunction of the immune system, hypogonadism, and growth retardation. Under normal conditions only low
How my physician could adapt his or her behaviors to my preferences?
Nowadays, the recommended approach in physician – patient interaction is patient – centeredness. As the name suggests, patient – centeredness implies to put the patient in the center of the consultation and to take his or her
The hidden link between aquaculture production and freshwater appropriation
The aquaculture sector is steadily growing and so is the demand for aquafeed. Each fish and crustacean has certain needs in terms of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, among others. The question is how those needs can
The social gap in lifetime in good health increased during the financial crisis in Denmark
The trend of increasing social health inequality persisted during the financial crisis in Denmark. In addition to about 4 extra years of life 50-year-old Danes with a high educational level could expect to live more than 9
The walking brain
Walking is the most common locomotion strategy to move from one to another place. Normally, we do not think about our steps and we would consider walking as a natural and automatic behaviour. However, more challenging environmental
Non-invasive real-time prediction of inner knee temperatures during therapeutic cooling
Measurements in biomedicine are often difficult to perform because human subjects are involved. Many examples can be found, particularly in clinical procedures, where in vivo measurements are often not as accurate as desired, difficult, dangerous or even
Exploring the link between the baby boom and aging prisoners
America’s prisoners are getting older and concern over this problem is rising. Not only are inmates over the age of 50 the fastest growing prison population in the U.S., the increased need for healthcare services among this
Employment of migrant care workers by Italian families assisting older Alzheimer’s disease patients
A rising phenomenon across the European Union (EU) is the increasing presence of migrant care workers (MCWs), privately employed by families of older people in need, who take over different tasks: supervision, drug administration, support in mobility
A wearable UV-LED medical device for automatic disinfection of stethoscope membrane
The medical literature has demonstrated the importance of healthcare-associated infections ( HAI ), which are an huge worldwide problem because of health complications, mortality ( EU + USA 140.000 death/year ), length of hospitalization and costs for
