Daily Archives: January 22, 2016

New materials challenge well-established theory of crystal growth

The classical theory of crystal growth was established over a century ago and is still used today to describe the formation of crystals with highly symmetrical shapes. This theory explains that crystals start as a single seed

Bioresorbable Mg implants modified by nanostructured merwinite/PEO coating for hard tissue repairs

Metallic biomaterials for example stainless steel, titanium, and cobalt – based alloys are using as permanent bone implant materials for orthopedic applications. However, they have some problems : 1 ) the difference between the mechanical properties of

The surgeon general should say that indoor tanning causes skin cancer

It is a widely accepted fact that smoking causes lung cancer. This dates back to 1964, when the Surgeon General’s report clearly acknowledged this link. Fifty years later, the Acting Surgeon General, Dr. Lushniak, was asked to

The potential of chitosan in prevention and treatment of age-related diseases

According to the recent report of The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat the number of elderly (aged 60 years or over) is expected to increase from 841 million people in 2013

Does the tail wag the dog? How the structure of a protein’s “tail” affects its function

Many proteins are attached to cell membranes by a glyco-lipid “tail” known as a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. It is becoming apparent that differences in the composition of these GPIs have profound influences upon protein structure, trafficking and

Accurate genomic evaluation of small dairy cattle populations

Nearly all traits of economic interest, such as milk production of dairy cows, are “quantitative.”  These traits are determined by a large number of genes and are also affected by environmental factors.  Until 2010, breeding of dairy

Antibodies at your pipette tips

Antibodies are essential in our immune system to fight against all sorts of diseases that we could encounter every day. The technological developments over the decade has allowed scientist to isolate target or disease-specific antibodies in the

Modulating drug release from Polyox matrix tablets: influence of Polyox molecular weight, drug solubility and vitamin E

Polyethylene oxide (polyox) has been extensively used as a controlled release excipient to modulate drug release from solid hydrophilic matrix preparations. The attraction of polyox as a polymer matrix is due to its high swelling ability, compressibility

Beethoven’s autopsy revisited: a pathologist sounds a final note

Ludwig van Beethoven had multiple medical problems besides deafness for most of his life, and his illnesses are believed to have profoundly influenced his music.   Beethoven himself also thought these physical ailments were responsible for his self-acknowledged

The H5N2 avian epidemic: prognosis of the next influenza outbreak

Influenza is a viral infectious disease that afflicts millions of people every year with fatalities of thousands; sometimes significantly more when it emerges in a pandemic form. The Spanish Flu of 1918 was probably the most severe

Advancing medicine and agriculture using proteins that control energy and sugar production

Except for bacteria , most living organisms contain specialized cellular compartments termed mitochondria , that are responsible for breaking down sugars to produce energy for the cell. Plant cells possess a second compartment called chloroplasts , which

Active-state of AT1 receptor attenuates inverse agonism of ARBs through changes in specific ligand-receptor interactions

G protein – coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute one of the largest gene superfamilies in the human genome. The angiotensin II ( Ang II ) type 1 receptor ( AT1R ) belongs to G – protein coupled receptor