Yearly Archives: 2016
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
Bibliometric analysis of scientific output on influenza in Mexico, 2000-2012
During the spring of 2009, H1N1 influenza became the first pandemic of the 21st century. In the last years, bibliometrics studies have proliferated seeking to provide data on world research. There are no bibliometric studies in Mexico
Combining a range of different imaging techniques to better understand the roles metals play in biology
Microscopes in various forms have helped identify disease-causing bacteria, miniaturize microprocessors and engineer superior metal alloys. However, in biology some things remain very difficult to see even at the highest levels of magnification. Metal ions (e.g. calcium,
Improvement of critically sized bone fracture healing by using conductive tissue engineering scaffolds
Bone is the second most prevalent transplant tissue after blood. Healing the critically sized bone defects caused by tumor or trauma are among the major challenges for orthopedic surgeons. Although, allografts and autografts are commonly used for
AMPK, an energy consumption supervisor, regulates hedgehog and may be a cancer therapeutic target
A cell can be thought of as a factory with many machines controlling different processes. Cell growth is the process by which a cell divides and multiplies. It is a highly energy-consuming process. Therefore, supervisors are needed
How to get the lowest production of sewage sludge by using ozone
Wastewater needs treatment before discharge into rivers or lakes or to the sea, to avoid pollution of these water bodies and prevent waterborne diseases. Biological processes are usually the core of wastewater treatment plants. In these processes,
Gene therapy: a promising candidate for cystic fibrosis treatment
An improved gene therapy treatment can cure mice with cystic fibrosis (CF). Cell cultures from CF patients, too, respond well to the treatment. Those are the encouraging results of a study presented by the Laboratory for Molecular
Pollen and vegetative microspores as sensitive systems for ozone
The high ground-level ozone concentrations (higher than 0.1 μl/l per hour, in which there is a characteristic odor) is an biggest danger for human health. In environmental biomonitoring of O3 hazardous concentrations in air or chronic levels
A novel miniaturized Reveal LINQ insertable cardiac monitoring system, the guarding angel of your heartbeat
An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. It means that your heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or with an irregular rhythm pattern. When the heart beats faster than normal, it
Endocrine regulation of Alzheimer’s disease. The Achilles heel of dementia and other neurological conditions
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common disorder of the central nervous system and the most frequent cause of devastating dementia in the elderly. Typified by loss of memory and by cognitive decline, AD lowers the quality
Extracorporeal life support in polytraumatized patients
Major trauma is a leading cause of death, in particular amongst young patients, causing more than 5 million victims every year worldwide. Early causes of death (usually related to severe hemorrhage, pulmonary failure, cardiovascular shock or extensive
Small fish can help finding antimalarial drugs with less severe side effects
In 2012, over 200 million cases of malaria have been reported. Vaccines for malaria are under development; however, no generally accepted vaccine that also works for adults is yet available. Therefore, drugs will in the foreseeable future
Ultrasensitive detection of influenza viruses by glycan biosensors
These days there is a considerable interest to develop devices, which are able to detect various diseases at early-stage with a high speed and reliability to enhance efficiency of subsequent disease treatment. The first step towards this goal
