Author Archives: karen
A better, safer clot buster for heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases
A clot that obstructs blood flow triggers the onset of most heart attacks and 85% of strokes, the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Reestablishing blood flow rapidly limits damage to the heart or brain, saves
Special molecular mechanism makes CD147 an interesting drug target in cancer or autoimmune diseases
T cells are important players of the immune system, recognizing foreign or dangerous agents with their unique receptors. They defend the body from these agents either directly by killing or by recruiting or regulating other immune system
Can we select best sperm?
About 48.5 million couples worldwide have been unable to birth a child after five years or more, and have used assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Male infertility is a cause in 30-50% of these cases. Infertile men tend
Collateral damages and self-inflicted scars by inflammation in cardiovascular diseases
Inflammation is a double-edged sword used by the body to initiate the healing process. However, persistence of immune responses can cause progressive destruction of tissues culminating in self-destructive autoimmune reactions which is a hallmark of many diseases.
The composition of the breadcrumb influences acrylamide formation in a breaded product
Dietary habits have changed over the last years, decreasing the consumption of fresh foods and increasing the consumption of processed foods such as fast foods, where battered and breaded products are included. Breaded products are characterized by
Who are the people waitiing to have talking therapies?
Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) is a national programme across the England offering access to psychological therapies for people with depression and anxiety. These include cognitive behavioural therapy and other “talking therapies”. A way to monitor
Using Google Search engine for predicting popularity and harm of psychoactive agents
Misuse of psychoactive agents is one of the most serious social issues. They are often illegal but readily available on the black market. Psychoactive drugs may lead to addiction, affect human brain, human behaviour, mood or perception
Nails can help detect arterial disease in legs
When insufficient blood supply is delivered to legs is called peripheral artery disease (PAD), which has several stages. Initially it can be asymptomatic but can evolve into gangrene in severe cases. It frequently manifests in the elderly,
Versatile fabrication for aerogels by freezing and subsequent freeze-drying of nanoparticle solutions
Aerogels are fascinating materials because they are lightweight, highly porous and exhibit huge surface areas. They consist of more than 99% air, while the rest is a well interconnected network of small inorganic or organic particles or
Water on the brain? Putting the “Hydro” on the “Cephalus”
Hydrocephalus, in the most basic sense, means an increased amount of fluid in the spaces of the brain. This fluid is specifically called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with “cerebro” referring to brain and “spinal” referring to the spinal
Improving the care of lung cancer patients who need major surgery
We report the impact of several factors on procedure times for major lung surgery for cancer, focusing on staff turnover within the surgical team. We propose a new definition of surgical team turnover which allows us to
Uncovering the microRNA landscape in the crop pest nematode Meloidogyne incognita
Plant-parasitic nematodes are small roundworms that predominantly feed on roots and cause crop yield losses. The root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita is among the most damaging pests of several crops including cotton, tomato, and soybean. The infective stage
Does the ethnomedicinal uses of the sour plum tree correlate with its ethnopharmacological properties?
Ximenia caffra Sond. (Fig. 1), commonly referred to as “sour plum” is a common and popular medicinal and fruit tree in the dryland zone in central, eastern and southern Africa. The generic name ‘Ximenia’ commemorates a Spanish
Nonadherence to immunosuppressive therapy in kidney transplant recipients
End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is an increasing worldwide illness that compels patients to accept either dialysis or kidney transplantation that is the best choice because ensures high quality of life. But, living or cadaveric kidney donation is
HIV/AIDS-associated tryptophan depletion as part of the influence of inflammatory mediators on general nutritional status
The essential amino acid tryptophan cannot be synthesised in the body and must be acquired through dietary intake. Tryptophan is an important substrate for protein synthesis and for synthesis of the neuroactive substances serotonin, melatonin and tryptamine.
A tug-of-war helps shape membranes inside human cells
Imagine if you had to construct an intricate factory consisting of layered platforms interconnected with long tubes, using Lego pieces. The task would become more complex if this assembly would have to be periodically dismantled and rapidly
Polar bears and flame retardant chemicals as environmental pollutants
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are man-made chemicals that were used on many industrial and consumer products to reduce fire risk. The commercial PBDE mixture that was used extensively in North America for application to polyurethane foam, textiles
Using electrochemistry to address current needs in micro imaging
When one thinks of microscopy, usually imagined is something like a compound optical light microscope, which dates back before the 1600’s. For hundreds of years following, the optical microscope has served the scientific community by helping visualize
Understanding asthma using the maths of the stock markets
To unpack the wealth of results emerging from a massive seven-year study of several hundred people with severe asthma, researchers in Southampton and Portsmouth are turning to the mathematics of the financial trading markets. Asthma is a
Psoriasis: New treatments can completely clear the rash
Psoriasis is a very common skin disease that affects around 3.2% of adults in the US. People with psoriasis develop itchy and often chronic rashes that can be difficult to treat. Psoriasis can be a debilitating disease
