Author Archives: karen
The first medical school in America
The founders of first American medical school in Philadelphia, John Morgan and William Shippen, Jr, had received a fine medical education at the University of Edinburgh. As students, they discussed the need for such training in the
High-throughput, motility-based sorting of microswimmers for gene discovery
Organisms’ motility varies with genotype, disease progression, drug treatment, aging, and environmental conditions and can serve as a useful metric to access drug effectuality, to identify drug resistant strains, and, more generally, various genotypes. In 1974, Sidney
Why do older people get so much kidney disease?
To celebrate Sir William Osler’s 70th Birthday on July 12th 1919 his pupils and co-workers contributed scientific articles that were collected and published. One of these articles, by William Councilman pathologist-in-chief at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, noted
Recursion. How did it evolve?
“It was a dark and stormy night. The crew said to the captain, “Captain, tell us a story.” The captain said to the crew, ‘It was a dark and stormy night …” -A story from popular culture
Neurocysticercosis: a mayor public health problem
Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the most frequent parasitic disease of the central nervous system, and it occurs when the larvae of the tapeworm Taenia solium infects the central nervous system. This disease is endemic in most developing countries
Awful knee pain, rounding up the unusual suspects
If you have had persisting severe knee pain following an arthroscopy you might wonder why. When this happens many people will have a repeated MRI following the surgery despite the fact that one was done before the
Health benefits of haskap: Possible control of inflammation-mediated chronic disorders
Biologically active phytochemicals present in cool climate berries such as haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) offer a great alternative therapy for mitigation of most of the chronic disorders. In general, polyphenols in fruits have shown the potential to
Busy traffic – risk of having cardiac disease
Air pollution from vehicles has been related to cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. There are many pollutants; most harmful of them is considered to be particulate matter (PM). Small in size, they are composed of toxic heavy
Mass spec: a powerful weapon in the battle against illegal polypeptide drugs
The occurrence of illegal medicines is a well-established global problem and concerns mostly small molecules (Molecular weight below 900 Da), including sildenafil (active pharmaceutical ingredient of Viagra® and Cialis®) and analogues, anti-biotics, HIV medication, anti-malaria products, anabolic
What is injured: motor neuron or motor nerve?
All movements, whether simple or very complex (ballet dancing, playing the piano, speaking) are the results of the complex interaction between nerve cells (neurons) from different departments of the brain. But the final arbiters of movement patterns
New biomimetic materials for muscle regeneration
Skeletal muscle formation derives from a coordinated sequence of molecular and cellular changes, ultimately leading to the expression of large, multinucleated contractile fibers, characterized by a highly ordered assembly of striated myofibrils. To form contractile fibers, developing
Understanding the evolution of protein dynamics can lead to more effective non-toxic drug therapies
Proteins are macromolecules that play important roles in all living organisms. They protect the body from viruses and bacteria, control chemical reactions, transmit signals between cells and organs, and transport other molecules to places in the body
Natural compound-drugs are trending
Doing scientific research on natural compounds isolated from herbs and other plants is a very exciting, and can have a direct influence on human health, since such compounds have the potential to be developed in very successful
Changing the image of Gout
Gout is the most common arthritis of patients over 40 years of age. Many phycians treat these gouty attacks but do not realize that they should also care for the underlying urate accumulation. It is not only
Blood-based biomarkers for multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated, inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). MS is classified in: relapsing–remitting (RRMS), characterized by acute attacks followed by partial or complete recovery periods; primary progressive (PPMS),
The interplay of the ticking clock and miRNA in differentiation of endothelial precursors
Our day-today activities like sleep-wake cycle, hormone release, body temperature and other important bodily functions follow a characteristic rhythm over 24 hours called a circadian rhythm. A ‘master clock’ in brain termed as suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) co-ordinates
Promoting resilience to cognitive impairment associated with sleep deprivation
Chronic sleep loss is a common problem in our society; an estimated 50-70 million adults in the United States have sleep or wakefulness disorder (Institute of Medicine, 2006). Insufficient sleep is co-morbid with chronic problems such as
When sulfur meets oxidant
Transition-metal-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling between boronic acids and heteroatom nucleophiles has been well known as the Chan−Lam reaction and emerged as a powerful protocol for the construction of carbon-nitrogen bonds or carbon-oxygen bonds, due to a variety of
Two views on the protein folding puzzle
Protein chain folding is a miracle. The protein chain is gene-encoded and initially has no structure (Fig. 1, left panel). Its intricate structure (Fig. 1, right), with every atom in its unique position, results from spontaneous folding.
Protein expression is useful to screen high risk patients for cancer
Endometrial cancer is the most common type of uterine cancer in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates 54,870 newly diagnosed endometrial cancer cases and 10,170 deaths caused by endometrial cancer in 2015. Most patients (~80%) have a subtype called
