Monthly Archives: May 2016
Malaria mosquitoes in the Solomon Islands are a single population that bite early and outdoors
Malaria transmission is controlled with interventions placed to protect people when they are indoors and sleeping, being bednets and indoor residual surface sprays. These interventions are most effective against mosquitoes that bite people when they are indoors
Failure to launch: Boredom in the brain
We’ve all been bored at one time or another. Nothing like the popular notion of the “couch potato”, we define boredom as an inability to engage with one’s environment despite the motivation to do so – a
Immunogenicity of Virus Like Particles (VLP) with modified envelope (Env) protein
HIV uses a special strategy to evade the immune system during the course of infection in a human, based on features of envelope protein. The HIV Env glycoprotein that forms spikes on the surface of virus particles
How to make astronauts more resilient on long-term missions
NASA plans to send people to Mars in about 20 years. A great deal of research is now being performed to identify and mitigate the major known risks to human health and performance during these types of
Wireless patient monitoring systems: Can Black hole and Selective forwarding attacks be stopped?
In the past decades there have been advancements in technology and medical science. The two field are going hand-in-hand for providing better care to the people. For example, an automated patient monitoring system allows the vitals of
An efficient, water soluble and biocompatible sensor for the detection of PPi and application in cancer diagnosis
Detection of pyrophosphate anion (PPi) has become an important area of research due to its chemical and biological significance especially in early cancer diagnosis. PPi involves in various biological processes (ATP hydroloysis, cellular metabolism, DNA & RNA
Kv7 potassium channels’ subunit composition determines their physiological regulation in arterial smooth muscle cells
Arteries have the remarkable ability to adjust the amount and force of blood that flows through them. Such adjustments are made possible by contraction or relaxation of arterial smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) within the walls of the
How to measure maximum animal performance
Scientists are often interested in the performance capabilities of animals, measuring how fast they can run or how hard they can bite. This information helps scientists understand how the bodies of different animals work and how they
X chromosome inactivation and escape: skipping Lyon’s law causes sex differences and disease
The sex chromosomes differ between males (XY) and females (XX) in mammals. The present-day sex chromosomes evolved from a pair of look-alike progenitor chromosomes that stopped recombining once sex was determined by a gene on the Y
Do doctors understand what helps patients with hepatitis C stay on and complete their treatment?
To be cured of hepatitis C, patients must take their medications as prescribed without missing doses and complete the full course of treatment. However, almost half of patients with hepatitis C find it difficult to take their
Targeting cancer’s sweet tooth
The primary source of energy for nearly all living cells is glucose. This simple molecule of sugar, a so-called monosaccharide can be found not only in sweets but also from the digestion of more complex carbohydrates molecules
Modalities to overcome cancer cells safeguard
The increase of intracellular concentration without raising the applied drug doses is big challenge for cancer treatments. Cancer cells employ multiple mechanisms to resists the anticancer drugs action. One of the mechanisms involves P-glycoprotein. The role of
Discrete research “love” of a Nobel price winner
Nobel price award provokes usually some questions concerning a wider background related to the interests of nominated scientists. Dr William Campbell got the Noble award in the year 2015 for his studies on the control of some
Biotransformation of bufadienolides in human liver microsomes
Bufadienolides are a family of cardiac aglycone compounds with the inhibitory activity of Na+/K+-ATPase. They exist extensively in both animal and plant species, such as Crassulaceae, Ranunculaceae, Bufonidae and Colubridae families. In traditional Chinese medicine, bufadienolides are
Osteoporosis and erythroid cells: is there a connection?
The skeleton is an extraordinary structure paramount not only for our movement but for multiple other functions as well. Bones are dynamic organs that continuously remodel through life in a process where mature bone is removed by
Faceted liquid droplets wag their tails
Nature typically strives to minimize the energy of a system. Making water flow downhill and a stretched rubber band shrink when released are just two examples. A commonly experienced consequence of this universal principle is the spherical
Neurocysticercosis
Neurocysticercosis is an infection of the nervous system and commonly resulted by the ingestion of Taenia solium eggs (pork tapeworm) after consuming undercooked pork, or contaminated water. The parasite can grow in the brain and spinal cord
Swiss physicians’ perspectives on advance directives in elective cardiovascular surgery
Advance directives (AD) are a written document in which patients express their wishes regarding care and treatments in case they would become incompetent. When patients lose competency due to coma or confusion, for instance, AD can help
The fundament of food, crop protein production, is threatened by climate change
Income growth, urbanization, and changes in lifestyles and food preferences combined with continuing population growth lead to increasing demand for plant protein production worldwide. All the proteins we eat are produced by crops, including the proteins we
Older Australians in nursing homes have limited access to complementary medicines for pain relief
In Australia and elsewhere, older people living in the community use complementary medicines (CM) to manage the symptoms of chronic illnesses, especially pain, and to supplement ‘conventional’ medical treatments for the same conditions. The bulk of CM
