Monolithic, steerable, mid-infrared laser realized with no moving parts
In an ever-changing world, a system must adapt to its surroundings. This is especially true for applications like aircraft protection, where a laser must actively engage a missile moving at great speed. Another example is in mobile
Biological applications of Brewster angle microscopy
Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) is an imaging technique that allows for the visualization of the film architecture of monolayers without the use of exogenous dyes. This is a relatively new system that was developed independently and concurrently
Novel arginine demethylase function of JMJD1B gene controls cell fate decision of blood progenitors
Epigenetic modifications such as post-translational modifications (PTMs) of histone proteins and DNA methylation dynamically changes in cells to fine-tune the expression of genes required for normal cellular function. These epigenetic modifications involve in nearly all cell fate
Neutralization assays of biological activities of snake venoms by polyclonal anti-BnSP7 antibodies
The venom of the snakes contains a great diversity of molecules, which are toxic to animals, so that the symptomatologies developed in the victim’s body are related to multifactorial and synergistic actions of toxins, which are still
Labelled sunscreen SPFs overestimate protection in natural sunlight
The concept of the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) was popularised by the Austrian scientist Franz Greiter in the 1970s and subsequently adopted by many regulatory authorities and the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries as a measure of the
Metabolomics-based investigation of microbial contribution to fermented food
Soy sauce is one of the most important Japanese fermented seasoning. Its demand has been increasing all over the world in recent years. It is fermented by koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae), lactic acid bacterium
Turkey model for flexor tendon research – can it replace the canine model?
Battlefield hand injuries accounted for 20 to 30% of combat wounds during Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which, soft tissue injuries compromised the majority in hand trauma. Flexor tendon injuries are among the most severe of hand injuries,
Codon usage bias study in cyanobacteria
Codon is a series of three nucleotides (a triplet) that encodes a specific amino acid residue in a polypeptide chain. There are 61 codons encoding different amino acids and 3 stop codons but only 20 different amino acids
Bacteria with a split personality outsmart the immune system
Bacteria, whether beneficial or harmful, must adapt to changes in their environment in order to survive. This is especially true for bacteria that reside within the human respiratory tract. The bacterium nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, or NTHI, asymptomatically
Is there a link between hematologic malignancy and ischemic optic neuropathy?
Ischemic optic neuropathy is the most common acute optic neuropathy in patients over the age of 50. The ischemic injury may be localized to the anterior part of the optic nerve – anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION),
Back pain research: Skirting around the edges?
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The fact that it is seldom possible to identify a specific nociceptive cause is thought to be a major barrier to its successful management. At the same
How the seasnake lost its bands
Across Europe, the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s blackened the trees with soot. That shift in color exerted strong evolutionary pressure on many species of insects that were camouflaged against natural tree-trunks but very obvious (to
Asymmetric vestibular stimulation reveals persistent disruption of motion perception in unilateral vestibular lesions
A unilateral vestibular lesion (UVL), typically due to acute vestibular neuritis, induces vertigo, imbalance, asymmetry of the vestibule-ocular reflex (VOR) and problems with the perception of self motion. This study examined the question of whether the disruption
Lower TSH and higher free thyroxine predict incidence of prostate but not other common cancers
The pituitary gland signals production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland through secretion of thyrotropin (TSH). There are two types of thyroid hormones produced by the thyroid gland. These include thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyroinine (T3). These
Biomarker panel for detecting early pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most prevalent type of pancreatic cancer, is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA. Most of the PDAC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease and their
PREMM: A mobile application to drive your own hereditary cancer prevention
In the recent publication, ‘Community Practice Implementation of a Self-administered Version of PREMM1,2,6 to Assess Risk for Lynch Syndrome’, Dr. Luba and colleagues at the Monterey Bay GI Consultants Medical Group in Monterey, California, present the use
New psychoactive substances and drugs of abuse inhibit neuronal activity
New psychoactive substances (NPS), also known as ‘legal highs’, ‘bath salts’ or ‘research chemicals’, appeared on the drug market around a decade ago. Even though they account for only a small proportion of the market, NPS encompass
SERS substrates by vacuum-free dealloying of Au-based metallic glass ribbons
Plasmonics has become an important photonic device due to the advancement of fabrication technologies in recent decades. It has many applications including solar cells, nonlinear optics, metamaterials, photocatalysts, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), etc. Among those, SERS
Calcium ion by replacing magnesium ion unravels an unexpected role for the mitochondrial F1FO-ATPase
The F1FO-ATPase/synthase is universally known as a complex enzyme machinery which, embedded by the FO portion in the inner mitochondrial membrane and the catalytic F1 sector protruding in the matrix, matches the transmembrane proton flux which occurs
Costly reputation maintenance behavior is a building block of human cooperation
Reputation plays a crucial role in human cooperation. This is because people tend to cooperate with someone with a good reputation. For example, if Anne knows that Bob helped Cathy before, and Bob is now in need,
