Author Archives: Tigran Dadalyan
Innovative tool, promise for treating Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative brain diseases
If at the dawn of the twentieth century, Alzheimer’s disease was seen as a rare disease, but today the incidence of this disease has taken epidemic proportions and is treated as one of the diseases of civilization.
Smaller cut, same result
The mitral valve is one of the four cardiac valves. It sits in the left side of the heart where it serves to prevent backflow of blood from the pumping chamber of the heart (ventricle) and the
Parenting and social competence in school: the role of preadolescents’ personality
This study of 230 preadolescent students (mean age 11.3 years) from the wider area of Athens, Greece, examined the role of personality in the relation between parenting dimensions and social competence in school. Social competence was defined
Focusing on non-tumor-derived factors for leukemia therapy
Approximately 10-20 million people worldwide are estimated to be infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I), and 1-3% of HTLV-I-infected individuals develop a cancer of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the blood each year. The retrovirus-associated
Rapid detection of cocaine in fingerprints using ambient mass spectrometry
Fingerprint residues, commonly referred to as fingerprints, are the result of an accumulation of sweat at the fingertips which is transferred to any surface upon contact. The composition of the fingerprint residue is therefore dependant on the
Transcience in enzymes
Protein-enzymes catalyze most biochemical processes through high-energy, transient intermediates. Structural characterization of intermediates can lead to stable analogs that inhibit cognate enzymes and serve as pharmaceutical agents. The enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of pyruvic acid to
What heats the sun’s outer atmosphere?
At several million kelvins, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, is a thousand times hotter than the underlying solar surface. Understanding what heats the corona to its extreme temperatures is one of the cornerstone questions in
The fertilization process: a new way to look at an old phenomenon
The union of the egg with the sperm at fertilization has fascinated many philosophers and scientists. Most of our knowledge on fertilization derives from studies on marine organisms that release eggs and spermatozoa into the sea water.
Undertreatment of men in their seventies with aggressive prostate cancer
Prostate cancer may be cured by either surgery or radiation treatment, but these “radical treatments” often cause permanent side effects that negatively affect the quality of life. Small prostate cancers usually grow very slowly, so more elderly
Are health-related posts on Twitter evidence based?
In recent times, health care professionals in the Middle Eastern countries are using Twitter®, a free social networking website, to tweet health related information. This includes creation of public awareness about health and diseases, communication with other
A cysteine residue is a key commander of SOD1-related neuronal toxicity in ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a life-threatening disease of motor neurons that gradually affects muscle strength of the whole body. The disease occurs familially in some cases, and 25 to 30% of the
Can surgeon operated ultrasound increase the safety of laparoscopic surgery?
Laparoscopic (aka minimally invasive or keyhole) surgery is a modern surgical technique that allows surgeons to perform complex abdominal surgery through much small incisions than conventional “open” surgery. When compared to open surgery, laparoscopic surgery offers patients
How the marmoset can help us develop new therapies for Parkinson’s disease
New advances in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease heavily depend on valid animal models of the disease that allows for the evaluation of symptoms over extended time periods. The marmoset is a primate that shares several important features
You better know than no your money: are you saving enough for retirement?
Are we saving enough for retirement? What would help us better prepare for retirement? These questions and others are a subject to constant public debate and a major cause for concern. Most people do not save enough
Harmonine – the defense compound of the Asian lady beetle is active against Leishmania major parasites
The Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) is known to consume large numbers of aphids and mites and has been, therefore, used as biological control of these pests worldwide. However, some populations began to establish locally and H.
Global warming: implications for human brain evolution
Climate change is an inherent and complex phenomenon of our planet. Changes in global temperatures can occur directionally in the case of gradual increases or decreases in temperature, and also in terms of greater or lesser variation
Measuring walking in daily life: the impact of commercial wearables
Wearables or body worn monitors (BWM) provide continuous and objective measures of community-based walking and can be useful in clinical or population-based studies to monitor adherence to a rehabilitation strategy or generic public health guidelines, e.g. walk
Plasma filtering techniques for nuclear waste cleanup
The development and production of nuclear weapons throughout the cold war period led to the proliferation of radioactive waste. Significant quantities of liquid waste were released directly to the environment. Only the most highly radioactive fraction (in
Race horses submitted to reduced training may show similar lactate threshold
For Standardbred race horses, training starts already as 1-year-olds with the goal for horses to race at the age of two or three. However, injuries and health problems are common among horses in training and historically less
Wearables: walking the walk
How you walk, or your ‘gait’, is a simple test that can provide highly accurate and objective data about ones cognitive decline, falls status, quality of life and general health. Therefore, accurate measurement of gait is becoming
