Category Archives: Research
Improved biosafety of genetically modified cyanobacteria
Biosafety is a major concern in biotechnology when genetically modified (GM) organisms are used in a process. With increasing interest for cyanobacterial biotechnology and synthetic biology, it is astonishing that there has been, up to now, no
Finechemical production by photosynthesis
The foreseeable depletion of fossil resources and the increase of atmospheric CO2 leads to a urgent demand of to increase the sustainability of our industry. The pharmaceutical and chemical industries belong to the most waste-intensive and energy
Mutations in the SORL1 gene affect risk of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, leading to an enormous burden on societies worldwide. In brains of patients with AD, abnormal tangles of a protein called tau are found within nerve cells, in
How to tailor flow-induced nanostructures of nanomaterials of cellulose nanofibrils?
Cellulose nanofibrils (NFCs) are the elementary reinforcing constituents of plant cell walls. They are isolated from cellulose fibers in the form of slender semi-crystalline nanofibers (Fig. 1) with outstanding intrinsic mechanical properties, e.g. a longitudinal elastic modulus
Evaluation of heart rate measurements in clinical studies – Which way to do it right?
100.000 times a day – this is the daily number of heart beats in human beings. This huge workload normally will pass by unobserved in a healthy being, but in a patient with heart disease any alteration
Is the best cancer offense a good defense?
Although the unique DiRas (Distinct subgroup of the Ras family) family of small GTPases shares homology with the pro-oncogenic Ras GTPases, it has tumor-suppressive actions. DiRas1 (also known as Di-Ras1 or Rig) has been reported to be
Ionic liquid mixtures as safe electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries
There is an intense drive in the present scenario towards the efficient generation and storage of energy for carrying out the various power driven mechanics of life. The energy demand for development and sustenance of the world
Telesurgical robots: The future of chest traumas
Chest trauma is a leading cause of death occurring in a quarter of all trauma patients. One third of patients with chest injuries die before they reach the hospital and forty percent of the remaining two thirds
Brain imaging of the oldest old who aged successfully
The oldest old, defined as 90 years and over, is the fastest growing segment of the population worldwide. Dementia is one of the major health challenges at this age, since the risk of dementia increases steadily with
Three pathogens coinfection in a dolphin
Stranded animals provide an exclusive opportunity to investigate the health and conservation status of free-ranging cetaceans across the globe. Based upon the scientific literature hitherto available on this topic, cetacean strandings frequently have a multifactorial aetiology, with
Children and the rejection of foods before tasting – the role of visual familiarity
Familiarity with different foods is one factor that has been proposed to explain childhood eating behaviours such as picky/fussy eating and the rejection of uncommon or novel food stuffs. Some research has suggested that this rejection of
Fuzzy logic, where blur makes more sense than clear
86⁰F, hot or warm? 65⁰F, cool or cold? 100 mL glass contains 30 mL of water, empty or full? Same tricky questions in daily life happen in engineering world as well. The Boolean logic of either being
Can metal-exposure induce innate immune reactivity in brain cells and thus contribute to neurotoxicity?
Use of metals in dentistry is quite common for braces, crowns, fillings, implants. Problems sometimes occur, such as allergy, locally inflamed mucosae, or vague symptoms throughout the entire body. However, alternatives such as methacrylates will never completely
Brucellosis, tuberculosis and caprine arthritis-encephalitis, are goats and sheep in El Salvador affected?
Brucellosis and tuberculosis are two animal diseases that occur in Salvadoran cattle and humans may get infected by drinking raw milk. When herds get infected for the first time with brucellosis, massive abortions in the last third
BRAF inhibitor and interferon alpha combination for melanoma treatment
In recent years approval has been granted to many therapeutic agents for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma. They include small molecule inhibitors, such as the selective inhibitors of the mutant BRAF (BRAF-I) or of MEK (MEK-I), and
Is Metformin a new risk factor for Parkinson`s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that takes place when the neurons of the substantia nigra, a brain structure involved in the movement control, die. This leads to several symptoms including motor and cognitive dysfunctions, progressive loss
Gene duplication catalyzes the evolution of new traits in a human pathogen
How do organisms with common ancestry evolve unique traits and eventually diverge from each other? This question has been at the core of evolutionary biology since the theory of common descent was proposed over a century ago.
Pediatric insomnia: Review and recommendations
Insomnia, characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, is the most commonly reported sleep problem among children and adolescents. Nonetheless, pediatric insomnia is not typically assessed and is generally left untreated. One study found that primary care
Staphylococcal biofilms: building up “bacterial cities” through a proteinaceous matrix scaffold
Do you know that bacteria, microscopic organisms not visible by the human naked eye, can live in complex communities just like we humans do? They are perfectly able to stick together, grow and multiply in what is
Lymphatic drainage of the heart
Someone once said that each man is his own island. I would make the analogy that our body is a country, where each organ is a city, each cell a building or factory in the city, and
