Author Archives: karen
A cost-effective approach to new drug discovery and chemical safety
Modern lifestyle is highly dependent on the use of thousands of chemicals in the form of life-saving drugs as well as specialty substances like pesticides, herbicides, cosmetics, solvents, etc. Today the discovery of a new drug costs
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of genomic DNA from in vitro grown tomato
Conservation of plant genetic resources is necessary for food security and to safeguard biodiversity which is essential for genetic engineering and plant breeding programmes. Conservation of plant resources can be achieved either in their natural habitats (in
Defeating cancer by taking advantage of its inbuilt frailties
The treatment of cancer is a conflicting and complex process; the drugs that are used to kill cancer cells are also toxic to your healthy tissues. However, the different physiology of tumors provides a route to deliver
Bad news for people with a penicillin allergy
There are over 500,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S. in which patients will have a reported allergy against first line antibiotics. Beta-lactams are the largest group of antibiotics which include penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems. These antibiotics are
When the going gets tough: Sleepy lizards’ personality affect the way they use space
Animal movement affects various ecological processes such as disease spread, nutrient recycling and biological invasion. Hence, understanding how animals use space (and why) is important for both basic ecological science and for applied aspects such as effective
The “other” concussion: spinal cord concussion
It was a breezy Sunday afternoon at a football game and the crowd falls silent as they watch the star running back lie motionless after a tackle. The medical team rushed over; the player is conscious and
Blast exposure causes brain injury due to pressure waves
Improved body armour and medical treatment have resulted in an increase in troops surviving blast from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during recent conflicts. However, these survivors exhibit the highest number of severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) since
Tracing aluminium adjuvants in viable cells
To improve the effect of a vaccine, adjuvants are often included in the vaccine formulation. An adjuvant is a molecule that potentiates the immune response induced by the vaccine, and commonly used adjuvants in vaccine formulations are
Evaluating methods for detecting deadly skin cancers
Melanoma is a rare, but potentially deadly, type of skin cancer that develops in skin cells called melanocytes, which are responsible for producing the pigment in your skin. According to the American Cancer Society, the probability of
Disguising insulin as an antibody: a Trojan horse for type 1 diabetes prevention
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an auto-immune disease. These diseases appear when our own immune system, which normally protects us from foreign pathogens (viruses, bacteria,…), attacks our own cells. In the case of T1D, T lymphocytes, which
Trends in expected lifetime without and with activity limitations in Denmark
In Denmark life expectancy has increased since the mid-1990s after many years of stagnation. Moreover, during the past more than 20 years expected lifetime in good health among older Danes increased more than life expectancy. The multiplicity
Africa’s roads to ruin?
Africa’s natural environments and spectacular wildlife are about to face their biggest challenge ever. In a recent paper, my colleagues and I assessed an infrastructure-expansion scheme for Africa so sweeping in scope, it is dwarfing anything the
Medicare at 50: a long political struggle
Medicare came into being 50 years ago. In the context of the long history of struggles to obtain national health insurance in the USA, this was a momentous act. Organized efforts to attain national health insurance in
HDL cholesterol: sometimes more is not necessarily better
Lipoproteins are complex particles that are responsible for transporting the water insoluble molecule, cholesterol, through the blood stream. Cholesterol is transported from the liver to peripheral tissues. Excess cholesterol in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is deposited in the
A synaptic receptor with a dual personality
Learning and storage of information in the brain at the cellular level involves dynamic modification of synapses, the place where information passes from a neuron to another. The efficacy of this transmission of information changes and depends
Parkinson’s alpha-synuclein assembles in the disease prone stable dimers
The self – assembly of proteins into amyloid – type aggregates is a widespread phenomenon associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). According to the current model for PD, the aggregation of alpha-Synuclein (α-Syn) and
Importance of updating prognostic predictions: an example from breast cancer
Today prognostic prediction models are an integral part of clinical practice in many fields. They are typically used to access the risk of an event in the future after a well-defined starting point, for instance the risk
Heat-alkalinity-time pasteurization can efficiently inactivate PEDV in porcine plasma
Emergence of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in North America and Asia resulted in massive losses to the pork industry. The virus is spread by the fecal-oral route and infection can cause acute diarrhea, dehydration and vomiting
Sexual dimorphism in pituitary prolactin tumors
The pituitary is located in the middle of the skull base, under the brain. This gland weight less than 1 g but its five cell types control growth, lactation and hormonal production by the thyroid, adrenals and
European Pharma Summit 2016
Organizer: GTCbio Start date: May 11th, 2016 End date: May 13th, 2016 We invite you to attend the European Pharma Summit 2016, which will take place on May 11-13, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. This event seeks to
