Yearly Archives: 2017
Pregnant women exposed to extreme temperatures relative to their usual environment may be at increased risk for having smaller babies
Common environmental factors such as extreme ambient temperatures and air pollution are known to increase the risk of many serious health problems including stroke, heart attack, asthma, and lung cancer. More recently, there is also evidence suggesting
Different perfusion patterns in a patient with acute ischemic stroke
The main goal of the current acute therapies for acute ischemic stroke is to restore perfusion in brain areas supplied by an occluded artery. The use of endovenous thrombolytic drugs and more recently of mechanical thrombectomy by
Computer simulations predict the cause of a drug’s fatal neurotoxicity in a failed clinical trial
A new drug called BIA 10-2474, in development for pain management, caused severe side effects in a clinical trial in France in 2016. In the safety phase of the clinical trial, one healthy participant died from unexpected
A selective AC1 inhibitor relieves pain
Adenylyl cyclases (AC) are proteins expressed throughout the human body. ACs have a central role in cellular and neuronal function. A number of different proteins and ions can interact with ACs and modulate their activity. ACs have
Watching caveolae under stress
The plasma membrane of many cells contain many protein-dense invaginations called caveolae or ‘little caves’. Caveolae are composed of ~140 molecules of caveolin proteins along with other components. Caveolae are thought to act like springs and flatten
Physical deformities in fruit flies on long term exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles
Nano is a unit prefix meaning “one billionth, derived from Greek word nánnos means “dwarf”. The potential of matter at nano scale was given by Dr. Richard Feynman in his lecture “There is plenty of space at the bottom”. His idea
Selective intra-dinucleotide interactions and periodicities of bases separated by K sites
For testing neutrality or selectiveness in theories of molecular evolution, I decided to study the distribution of the two bases of a dinucleotide; the bases may be separated by 0, 1, 2 … K nucleotide sites. With
The relationship between cranberries ingestion and the reduction of the incidence of urinary tract infections
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and are among the most frequent medical conditions requiring outpatient treatment. Approximately 80% of all UTIs occur in women, and 20% to 30% of women with a UTI will have a
Chronic myeloid leukaemia: a success story in cancer therapy
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a haematological malignancy caused by a chromosomal translocation that places the c-ABL oncogene, normally located on the long arm of chromosome 9, under the control of the breakpoint control region (BCR) on
Acylation of soluble polysaccharides in a biphasic system catalyzed by a CE2 acetyl esterase
Acylated sugars attain altered or improved properties comparing to their native form and thus present great commercial significance due to the fact that they can be used in several applications, such as biosurfactants in biomedicine, foods, detergents
Molecular origins of convergence and uniqueness of protein structures!
Protein folding, tagged as an NP hard problem is the process by which a protein sequence acquires its biologically functional native structure, with a high-fidelity rate. Proteins are essential components of all body tissues, muscles and act
Tail regeneration in lizard is driven by key genes of the Wnt-pathway
The importance of lizards as models to analyze the process of organ regeneration is relevant since, differently from the classical amphibian models, these vertebrates are amniotes adapted to the terrestrial environment, therefore closer to mammals and humans.
When your medication backfires and calls in the wolves
Your immune system is like an army inside your body. It is constantly on guard to protect you against attacks from the outside, such as infections. It also protects you from attacks from inside, such as cancer
Early pregnancy regulates Toll-like receptors expression in ovine trophoblasts and peripheral blood leucocytes
Interferon-tau (IFN-t), released from the embryonic trophoblasts, is the first embryonic signal in ruminants and drives the process of maternal recognition of pregnancy. It possesses critical functions such as regulation of prostaglandin secretion, conceptus elongation, immunological tolerance,
Anti-CD20 treatment shows changes not only in B-lymphocytes but also in T-subpopulations
In renal pathology, Rituximab has been proven to be useful in the treatment of some primary glomerulopathies, vasculitis with renal involvement, severe lupus with kidney disease, and especially in renal transplantation, where it is applied during the
The vision thief
Glaucoma is often called the sneak thief of vision because it can develop without obvious symptoms. Although some risk factors, such as high intraocular pressure, are apparent, how these factors contribute to the disease is by no
How does histamine make it hard to breathe?
Histamine is a chemical substance that can be released in the lungs to cause narrowing of the bronchial tubes and difficulty breathing. Airway smooth muscle cells in the bronchioles (small airways) of the lung can contract or
What happened in the dental offices in the 1970s and -80s?
Copper has a long history as an ingredient in mercury based tooth fillings, so called dental amalgams. The old type of copper amalgam (approx. 70% mercury and 30% copper) was provided in the form of tablets and
Assaying protein-protein interaction by the complementation of firefly luciferase catalytic steps
Protein – protein interaction (PPI) assay is a key technology for various fields from basic molecular biology to diagnosis and drug discovery. Previously, PPI assays based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)
