Monthly Archives: August 2016
Inhibitors that reduce the acquisition of antibiotic resistance
The rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance is a worldwide crisis, endangering the efficacy of antibiotic treatment. A recent article in Scientific America (December 16, 2014) highlights the importance of developing strategies for reducing antibiotic resistance and prolonging
Simultaneous integrated analysis of biological datasets: an evaluation of O2PLS
The rapid progress in high throughput technology made it possible to measure biological processes at several levels: DNA markers (genetic code), gene expression (which represents the process of reading the code of a gene), proteomics (proteins are
Your DNA goes places you have never been: What does this mean for forensic scientists interpreting DNA found at a crime scene?
During a criminal investigation, items are commonly examined for DNA to try to identify a potential suspect (Fig. 1). But is this DNA really from someone involved in the crime or has it got there through innocent
Early-onset Alzheimer disease: what are we missing?
Memory is the first brain function that starts to fade away when Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology affects the brain of a patient. Decline of additional cognitive functions, shortly follows. This progressive and irreversible disease, intrudes the life
Improved biosafety of genetically modified cyanobacteria
Biosafety is a major concern in biotechnology when genetically modified (GM) organisms are used in a process. With increasing interest for cyanobacterial biotechnology and synthetic biology, it is astonishing that there has been, up to now, no
Finechemical production by photosynthesis
The foreseeable depletion of fossil resources and the increase of atmospheric CO2 leads to a urgent demand of to increase the sustainability of our industry. The pharmaceutical and chemical industries belong to the most waste-intensive and energy
Mutations in the SORL1 gene affect risk of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, leading to an enormous burden on societies worldwide. In brains of patients with AD, abnormal tangles of a protein called tau are found within nerve cells, in
How to tailor flow-induced nanostructures of nanomaterials of cellulose nanofibrils?
Cellulose nanofibrils (NFCs) are the elementary reinforcing constituents of plant cell walls. They are isolated from cellulose fibers in the form of slender semi-crystalline nanofibers (Fig. 1) with outstanding intrinsic mechanical properties, e.g. a longitudinal elastic modulus
Evaluation of heart rate measurements in clinical studies – Which way to do it right?
100.000 times a day – this is the daily number of heart beats in human beings. This huge workload normally will pass by unobserved in a healthy being, but in a patient with heart disease any alteration
Is the best cancer offense a good defense?
Although the unique DiRas (Distinct subgroup of the Ras family) family of small GTPases shares homology with the pro-oncogenic Ras GTPases, it has tumor-suppressive actions. DiRas1 (also known as Di-Ras1 or Rig) has been reported to be
Ionic liquid mixtures as safe electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries
There is an intense drive in the present scenario towards the efficient generation and storage of energy for carrying out the various power driven mechanics of life. The energy demand for development and sustenance of the world
Telesurgical robots: The future of chest traumas
Chest trauma is a leading cause of death occurring in a quarter of all trauma patients. One third of patients with chest injuries die before they reach the hospital and forty percent of the remaining two thirds
Brain imaging of the oldest old who aged successfully
The oldest old, defined as 90 years and over, is the fastest growing segment of the population worldwide. Dementia is one of the major health challenges at this age, since the risk of dementia increases steadily with
Three pathogens coinfection in a dolphin
Stranded animals provide an exclusive opportunity to investigate the health and conservation status of free-ranging cetaceans across the globe. Based upon the scientific literature hitherto available on this topic, cetacean strandings frequently have a multifactorial aetiology, with
Children and the rejection of foods before tasting – the role of visual familiarity
Familiarity with different foods is one factor that has been proposed to explain childhood eating behaviours such as picky/fussy eating and the rejection of uncommon or novel food stuffs. Some research has suggested that this rejection of
Fuzzy logic, where blur makes more sense than clear
86⁰F, hot or warm? 65⁰F, cool or cold? 100 mL glass contains 30 mL of water, empty or full? Same tricky questions in daily life happen in engineering world as well. The Boolean logic of either being
Human respiratory tissue test reveals e-cigarette vapour produced similar result as air
Scientists at British American Tobacco and MatTek Corporation used a unique combination of tests to investigate the potential adverse effects of e-cigarette vapour on airway tissue compared with cigarette smoke. ‘By employing a combination of a smoking
Can metal-exposure induce innate immune reactivity in brain cells and thus contribute to neurotoxicity?
Use of metals in dentistry is quite common for braces, crowns, fillings, implants. Problems sometimes occur, such as allergy, locally inflamed mucosae, or vague symptoms throughout the entire body. However, alternatives such as methacrylates will never completely
Brucellosis, tuberculosis and caprine arthritis-encephalitis, are goats and sheep in El Salvador affected?
Brucellosis and tuberculosis are two animal diseases that occur in Salvadoran cattle and humans may get infected by drinking raw milk. When herds get infected for the first time with brucellosis, massive abortions in the last third
BRAF inhibitor and interferon alpha combination for melanoma treatment
In recent years approval has been granted to many therapeutic agents for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma. They include small molecule inhibitors, such as the selective inhibitors of the mutant BRAF (BRAF-I) or of MEK (MEK-I), and
