Monthly Archives: February 2016
Natural selection favours large size
In many animal populations, bigger individuals often seem to mate more successfully and have a better chance of survival than smaller individuals. On a far larger scale, fossil evidence from some groups of animals suggest that species
Exorcising autoimmunity
Moderately intense physical exercise, performed at regular intervals, is now firmly recognized as a safe and effective intervention by which to enhance quality of life. Despite this awareness, for many of us, as our age increases, so
A new target in the fight against breast cancer
Cancer cells differ from normal cells in many ways, including their abnormal growth and their ability to change shape and migrate to other tissues. These differences are partly caused by changes in the production of proteins and
Blogging as a research methodology
The Arthriting study, the larger study this paper is from, was done to improve our understanding of the daily experiences of young people (aged 11-19) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), the commonest type of arthritis in young
HCV controls the export machinery of infected cells to increase its own spread
When a virus infects a cell it changes a lot of the cells functions and behavior to its own benefit. The virus reproduces inside the cell and forces it to release many new virus particles which can
New insights in how nitrite can be involved in cardioprotection
Nitrite, an inorganic ion which abundantly occurs in green leaves and other vegetables, is known to help to prevent and counteract cardiovascular diseases, but the mechanisms involved are still partially unclear. In the attempt to cast light
Inner ear damage affects brain chemistry
Our ability to hear is brought about by the function of our ears. Besides the visible external ears, we have middle and inner ears. Our left and right inner ears, called cochleas (singular cochlea), translate sound vibrations
The source of adipocytes in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy
Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive fibro-fatty substitution of the heart, arrhythmias and sudden death. It affects mainly young people and athletes. The clinical manifestations, often devious in early phases, are variable. The
Music therapy eases depression, soothes agitation in nursing home residents with dementia
Did you know that around the world there are more than 35 million people living with dementia? People who are diagnosed with dementia, a progressively worsening disorder that affects memory, often experience a sad mood, agitation, and
Ancient DNA supports the western Carpathian Basin as a corridor of the Neolithic expansion
Szécsényi-Nagy et al. reported in a recent paper an exceptional large Neolithic mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y-chromosomal DNA dataset from the East-Central European Carpathian Basin. The study region was an essential waypoint on the Continental route of the
Major amputation in the management of advanced limb melanoma
Melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer that can recur at the original excision site or spread to nearby areas of the body (called “in-transit” metastases), to the lymph nodes that drain that region and/or to
Simple method to assess health risk of vehicle interior pollution
In recent years, a vehicle cabin has been recognized as an important indoor environment for people often go working, shopping, traveling, school and home with vehicles. Unfortunately, people can exposure to airborne VOCs pollution in vehicular cabins.
The stromal vascular fraction: a regenerative reality?
In 2001, researchers discovered that fat tissue contains stem cells, which they termed adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs). To obtain these stem cells, fat tissue is taken from the abdomen of healthy adults undergoing liposuction and processed
Glaucoma: are people still going blind?
We have seen large advances in preventing, slowing down and reversing vision loss for patients with many eye diseases. Despite these advances, many people with eye disease end up losing their vision. What is the difference between
Are you eating genetically modified food?
There are some foods on the supermarket shelves now that are produced by a new food production, namely from a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) or Genetically Engineered (GM). The GMO food products are basically altered from the
Diminished disease-free survival following lung cancer surgery
Treatment of lung cancer requires removal of a portion of a vital organ, which may reduce life expectancy. This would be acceptable when surgery prevents death from cancer. It is harmful in cases identified by screening in
Psychosocial dispair in adolescents with Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is among the diseases that cause high death rates and disability around the world. The most common complications of diabetes that lead to death and disability include heart diseases, neuron, kidney, eyes and foot ulcers diseases.
Neural Networks for identifying drunk persons using thermal infrared imagery
Neural networks were tested on infrared images of faces for discriminating intoxicated persons. Two different experimental approaches were thoroughly investigated. In the first one, each face was examined, location by location, in order to find out those
