Monthly Archives: February 2016
Sailfish: the fastest fish in the world?
The fascination for speed runs deep in humans: we are in awe of fast cars and the 100-meter race is the most popular event at the Olympics. Similarly, we are intrigued by fast animals, like the cheetah
Electrochemical oxidation of americium and its role in nuclear waste processing
Nuclear energy is a promising source of renewable energy, however, to facilitate its adoption and avoid nuclear proliferation, solutions to the handling, reprocessing, and disposal of nuclear waste must be addressed. In the United States, commercial reactors
Control of cell identity by the nuclear architecture
In a complex organism, all cells use their identical genetic potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types characterized by different morphology, nuclear shape and function. This is possible because only a small subset of genes
Hosts and pathogens: war without end
Theodosius Dobzhansky once famously remarked that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. Nowhere is this truer than in the never ending struggle between animals and the pathogens (viruses, bacteria and parasites) which
Endospore formation: a mechanism for microbial response to unfavorable environment
The strain included in the report is Bacillus sp. CHD6a, a member of the phylum Firmicutes isolated from the shallow-sea hydrothermal vent systems off northeast Taiwan’s coast. Bacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped and ubiquitous in
“Nothing to worry about”? The meaning of a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) diagnosis for patients put on a disease register
We interviewed a group of people who had been recruited to a trial for people with early stage Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The wider trial was concerned with finding out whether helping people with early stage CKD
Combinatorial cancer therapies: too many “good guys” don’t do always good!
“Μέτρον άριστον” (Metron ariston) is an ancient Greek phrase, attribute to Cleobulus (6th century BC), one of the Seven Sages of Antiquity, and is translated, as “Moderation is the best”. This was meant to be applied to
Adenovirus infection in children with bronchiolitis or recurrent wheezing
Adenovirus (AdV) and other viruses as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Meta-pneumovirus (MPV), Rhinovirus (RV) and Para-influenza Virus (PIV) have been detected in the respiratory tract of children with acute bronchiolitis and recurrent wheezing. Adenovirus (AdV) is an
Yarrowia lipolytica: how a yeast becomes a workhorse for biotechnology
Yarrowia lipolytica is a yeast species belonging to the Ascomycota fungi phylum (like the well-known baker’s and brewer’s yeasts, both from Saccharomyces cerevisiae species). This innocuous yeast can be found in a large range of ecosystems (soils,
Quorum sensing concept shed new lights on the collective regenerative behavior through study of hair plucking
Scientists know injuries sometime induce regeneration sometime not. Scientists search for factors that can promote regeneration. Usually, regeneration process is studied by analyzing the regenerative behavior of one organ unit. However, this may not be sufficient to
A factor that regulates the expression of HIV genes
Proteins are the machinery of life. Nearly everything in a cell is manufactured by, regulated by or composed of proteins, which are encoded in genes. When a cell needs a particular protein, the DNA encoding the protein
Evolution of diverse and bizarre stag beetle weapons
Stag beetles evolved an impressive diversity of weapons because the shape and size of the armature hardly influence the cost of flying. Computer simulations of flying stag beetles have shown that the energy cost is solely determined
Back to the future – looking at COPD with new eyes
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a broad term for diffuse lung disease caused by chronic inflammation of the airways. Patients with COPD become increasingly short of breath and often start to feel as if they are
Hemoglobin diseases and their identification
Red blood cells use hemoglobin to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body and to carry carbon dioxide from the body back to the lungs in order to keep all cells alive. Hemoglobin is a big
Guanine-nucleotide exchange factor that promotes loss of polygonal cell shape
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics determines cell shape and movement. Fibroblasts or epithelial cells, for instance, adhere and spread onto planar surfaces adopting an elongated polygonal shape. Underneath the cytoplasmic membrane, local activation of small GTPase enzymes of the
Laboratory mice – ready-made for animal studies?
Laboratory animals, most of them mice, are bred and used to model human diseases. On one hand this offers great possibilities for science, one the other hand this topic is controversially debated. Beside ethical concerns, the major
A new take on walking exercise to stimulate adaptations in the nervous system
Exercise causes adaptations that ultimately make performance of physical activity easier. One way the body adapts to exercise is by re-organization of the central nervous system (CNS). Some neural connections may be strengthened, while others may be
Climate-friendly wastewater management
A major part of the energy loss from new energy-efficient buildings is the emission of warm wastewater to the sewers. This leads to increased interest for heat recovery from domestic wastewater, which may contain up to 800
Novel recombinant JEV vaccine
Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a viral disease, which infects humans and animals. The disease is caused by a mosquito-borne flavivirus named Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV). The disease is endemic in Asian countries but with rapid globalization and
