Yearly Archives: 2016
Transcience in enzymes
Protein-enzymes catalyze most biochemical processes through high-energy, transient intermediates. Structural characterization of intermediates can lead to stable analogs that inhibit cognate enzymes and serve as pharmaceutical agents. The enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of pyruvic acid to
What heats the sun’s outer atmosphere?
At several million kelvins, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, is a thousand times hotter than the underlying solar surface. Understanding what heats the corona to its extreme temperatures is one of the cornerstone questions in
The fertilization process: a new way to look at an old phenomenon
The union of the egg with the sperm at fertilization has fascinated many philosophers and scientists. Most of our knowledge on fertilization derives from studies on marine organisms that release eggs and spermatozoa into the sea water.
Undertreatment of men in their seventies with aggressive prostate cancer
Prostate cancer may be cured by either surgery or radiation treatment, but these “radical treatments” often cause permanent side effects that negatively affect the quality of life. Small prostate cancers usually grow very slowly, so more elderly
Are health-related posts on Twitter evidence based?
In recent times, health care professionals in the Middle Eastern countries are using Twitter®, a free social networking website, to tweet health related information. This includes creation of public awareness about health and diseases, communication with other
A cysteine residue is a key commander of SOD1-related neuronal toxicity in ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a life-threatening disease of motor neurons that gradually affects muscle strength of the whole body. The disease occurs familially in some cases, and 25 to 30% of the
Can surgeon operated ultrasound increase the safety of laparoscopic surgery?
Laparoscopic (aka minimally invasive or keyhole) surgery is a modern surgical technique that allows surgeons to perform complex abdominal surgery through much small incisions than conventional “open” surgery. When compared to open surgery, laparoscopic surgery offers patients
How the marmoset can help us develop new therapies for Parkinson’s disease
New advances in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease heavily depend on valid animal models of the disease that allows for the evaluation of symptoms over extended time periods. The marmoset is a primate that shares several important features
You better know than no your money: are you saving enough for retirement?
Are we saving enough for retirement? What would help us better prepare for retirement? These questions and others are a subject to constant public debate and a major cause for concern. Most people do not save enough
Harmonine – the defense compound of the Asian lady beetle is active against Leishmania major parasites
The Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) is known to consume large numbers of aphids and mites and has been, therefore, used as biological control of these pests worldwide. However, some populations began to establish locally and H.
Global warming: implications for human brain evolution
Climate change is an inherent and complex phenomenon of our planet. Changes in global temperatures can occur directionally in the case of gradual increases or decreases in temperature, and also in terms of greater or lesser variation
Measuring walking in daily life: the impact of commercial wearables
Wearables or body worn monitors (BWM) provide continuous and objective measures of community-based walking and can be useful in clinical or population-based studies to monitor adherence to a rehabilitation strategy or generic public health guidelines, e.g. walk
Plasma filtering techniques for nuclear waste cleanup
The development and production of nuclear weapons throughout the cold war period led to the proliferation of radioactive waste. Significant quantities of liquid waste were released directly to the environment. Only the most highly radioactive fraction (in
Race horses submitted to reduced training may show similar lactate threshold
For Standardbred race horses, training starts already as 1-year-olds with the goal for horses to race at the age of two or three. However, injuries and health problems are common among horses in training and historically less
Wearables: walking the walk
How you walk, or your ‘gait’, is a simple test that can provide highly accurate and objective data about ones cognitive decline, falls status, quality of life and general health. Therefore, accurate measurement of gait is becoming
Quadriceps performance under activation of foot dorsal extension in healthy volunteers
The muscle (m.) quadriceps femoris on the front of the thigh stretches the leg in the knee joint and is the strongest muscle in the human body. It is important in activities of daily living as walking
Withaferin-A, a phytochemical, has potential to reduce liver injury due to acetaminophen overdose
Acetaminophen (APAP), also known as paracetamol, is the most popular over-the-counter drug used for common illnesses such as head and body ache, cold and fever. When administered in therapeutic doses (≤ 4 grams/24 h for an adult),
The matrix reloaded: how a self-produced extracellular matrix controls the development of multicellular microbial communities
In nature, many bacteria live in multicellular communities called biofilms. Biofilms offer their resident bacterial cells protection from environmental insults and assaults, and better attachment to hosts. For humans, they have medical and industrial costs, but also
Age-dependent impairments in spatial learning in mice with reduced BDNF levels
The protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) belongs to the family of nerve growth factors (neurotrophins). Therefore, one of its major functions is related to the maturation and differentiation of developing nerve cells in the brain. But BDNF
The evidence for wheat bran related to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
Wheat is a leading human cereal crop. Wheat bran (WB) is a by-product of conventional milling of wheat grains and is a concentrated source of dietary fiber. Interest in WB as a source of dietary fiber and
