Author Archives: karen
Obesity protects inflamed dialysis patients
A high body mass index (BMI) is linked to longer survival terms for several serious chronic debilitating diseases. A large European epidemiological study shows that this protective effect does not apply to all patients with a high
Is New Zealand blackcurrant a new ergogenic aid in sport?
The daily consumption of fruit and vegetables in appropriate amounts will provide health benefits. Fruit and vegetables are multi-ingredient foods with the anthocyanin content potentially linked to the health benefits due to its known anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant
Fostering empathy after community violence to promote coping
This study explores the role of empathy for victims and offenders after a violent event, such as a school shooting. Empathy is the ability to experience or comprehend the emotions of another person. In this study, over
Elastic properties of the annular ligament of the human stapes
Stapes – the smallest bone in the human body. It is located in the middle-ear. It constantly vibrates transferring sound from the external word to the hearing organ. The vibrations are possible thanks to the extremely compliant
Exploiting an ‘Achilles heel’ of DNA replication to arrest viral proliferation
In order to proliferate all organisms need to replicate their genomes. In most, this is achieved by a process named DNA replication by which a parental DNA gives rise to two faithful copies of itself. For this
New technology to make your electronic devices thinner and lighter
For photographers, the heavy and bulky photographic equipment to get high quality pictures may bother them a lot, especially when they want to go to open country. For doctors who need to go to an emergency situation
Epileptic rats as perfect models to understand epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a neurological disease that affects about 1% of the population in the world, most of them being children and teenagers. Animals suffering from epileptic seizures can also be found in several species (dogs, cats, chicken,
Posterior cervical fusion may lessen spinal cord compression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may develop inflammation of the joints in the spine, just as they develop inflammation of joints in their hands, feet, and others. The joint between the first cervical vertebra (C1) and the second
A new role for vitamin D3
Mutations in the genome of body cells (somatic cells) can lead to excess activation of signaling pathways and thus to unlimited cellular proliferation and cancer formation. One such cancer-inducing pathway is the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling cascade, which
Nucleus-targeted anticancer drug delivery
Tumor cell nucleus-targeted delivery of antitumor agents is of great interest in cancer therapy, since the nucleus is one of the most frequent targets of drug action. However, efficient nuclear drug delivery upon systemic administration remains a
New kojic acid-amino acid hybrids as potential tyrosinase inhibitors
Melanogenesis is a process by which melanocytes produce melanin initiated by tyrosinase upon exposure of the skin to UV radiation. Tyrosinase plays an important role in the pathway of melanin biosynthesis from tyrosine. It catalyzes two distinct
Muscling in on molecular machines
The concept of a “power stroke” – a free-energy releasing shape change of a protein – appears in almost every textbook that deals with the molecular details of muscle, bacterial flagella, and many other bio-molecular machines. Researchers
A simple way to measure health of the autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) unconsciously regulates the function of internal organs, including the heart. A poorly functioning ANS has been linked to a number of cardiovascular complications, including hypertension and stroke. Thus, simple tests of ANS
Development of amorphous magnesium-calcium phosphate as a bone substitute biomaterial
The research that we report here is related to amorphous magnesium-calcium phosphate (AMCP) materials. The word “amorphous” is of latin origin; “a” means no and “morphous” means shape. The amorphous materials do not have the well-behaved periodic
The role of the thalamic submedius nucleus histamine in modulation of formalin-induced orofacial pain
Pain is one of the most common and disturbing of human experiences. While it has many causes, the appreciation of painful sensation depends on the stimulation of pain receptors (nociceptors) and the conduction of the nerve impulses
Heated red blood cells shed vesicles to indicate distress
When a human or animal are exposed to elevated temperature, the body temperature rises. A small increase in the body temperature may result in health problems that include a headache, dizziness, or fainting. Red blood cells are
New test for assessing hospital water quality can lead to fewer patient infections
The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen that is often found in hospital water systems, from where it can lead to infections of patients, sometimes with severe consequences (e.g. blood infections, and infections in cystic fibrosis
Fainting – a hearty matter
Fainting and feeling like fainting (syncope and presyncope) is a very common symptom, which most people ignore. And in most of the cases, especially in sporadic occurrences with obvious reasons (tiredness, alcohol intake, orthostasis etc), that’s a
The binding of mGluR4 targeting drugs could help the finding novel treatments for PD
One of the key features of drugs is an ability to find the corresponding target molecule (eg. protein) from the body. The target protein has unique structural sites that could be loaded with specific chemicals (drugs). The
