Clinical Research
A big puzzle has been solved with regard to fertile XY female Akodon. There are 3 types of X chromosomes noted amongst these XY fertile female Akodon. One type of altered X chromosome results in XY Akodon becoming female.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504708000232
There are several species (including humans) where an X chromosomal gene or an autosomal gene results in an XY individual
being female. Typically these individuals are not fertile.
Therefore the finding of an altered X in fertile Akodon does not explain fertility in these heterogametic XY fertile females…
In gene therapy, one or more desired genes are introduced into an adenovirus, a virus that causes the common cold, which is then administered to the patient. Once in the body, the virus enters targeted cells and delivers the desired genes. In heart disease patients, for example, the virus delivers genes that trigger the growth of new blood vessels in damaged heart muscle.
The virus is not able to reproduce and cause disease so scientists have been trying to use the adenovirus but administering the virus to patients causes an inflammatory reaction; that reaction aids in the use of the virus in…
One of the things I used to enjoy as a youngster was Dundee Cake, a famous traditional Scottish fruit cake with a rich flavour.
Not long ago, one of the reporters on The One Show went up to Bonny Dundee to be put through his paces by Professor Rami Abboud of the Foot Pressure Analysis Lab/Clinic at the university. From work there, it seems that the designers of trainers have done their job only too well, so that today’s joggers put down their heels first when they run, rather than the ball of the foot.
While the trainer does cushion the impact, what remains travels up a straight leg and…
G.D.W. |
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (see figure 1) is a human pathogen that colonizes the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, where it can cause life-threatening infections in patients with a compromised immune system, such as cancer or cystic fibrosis patients. P. aeruginosa is resistant to many antibiotics. Current treatments comprise antibiotic chemotherapy and bacteriophage therapy. However, There are some setbacks to these therapies. The chemotherapy kills many kinds of bacteria, upsetting a healthy human microbiome, and the bacteriophage therapy relies on the use of a virus, which has a limited…
Cancer, diabetes, stroke and transplant patients can all get benefit from one common thing; frog skin.
An international research project is collecting proteins from our amphibian friends (no frogs were harmed in the writing of this article or in the research) and adding to a growing bank of biological data needed to build up our understanding of the naturally occurring medicines in frogs.
They have already found that the peptides (mini-proteins) collected from the Waxy Monkey Frog and the Giant Firebellied Toad can be used in a controlled and targeted way to regulate 'angiogenesis', the…
G.D.W. |
Millions of people are suffering from back pain, making it a major continuous source of physical discomfort for many. Normally, each vertebra in the spine is cushioned by intervertebral discs (see figure 1). But these discs can degenerate due to age or injury, potentially pinching nerves, causing pain and impeding movement. The normal course of treatment for degenerated discs, is the administration of painkillers, physical therapy and steroid injections to ease inflammation. As a last resort, surgery to fuse two vertebra together can be done, limiting back flexibility. Artificial discs have…
Habituation is when people lose interest in something after being repeatedly exposed to it (insert your favorite joke about being married here).
When it comes to diet, it is hypothesized that habituation can decrease caloric intake. That also means caloric intake will increase if you get a lot of variety. Of course, habituation is a no-no in the modern world of nutritional variety. We're not 19th century Irish peasants, we shouldn't just eat potatoes every day in order to stay thin.
The "food addiction hypothesis" purports that some people may overeat because they…
Growing human, perfectly matching organs inside a pig and then transplanting them into humans is not a new idea - it may revolutionize medicine - but a new discovery may also allow pig tissue to be transplanted directly into humans. The research in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology may lead to filling the short term lack of organs for human transplantation.
Altering or overexpressing the human programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) molecule in the endothelial cells of pig arteries reduced the conditions that lead to rejection, it says. This strongly suggests that successful…
G.D.W. |
The three conditions mentioned in the title, malaria, HIV and tuberculosis, are responsible for about 5 million deaths per year and thus constitute some of the most compelling challenges in biomedical research. Slowly but surely, new knowledge is being gathered about these conditions, improving the odds of developing a functional vaccine.
The recent rise of systems biology might also provide an important tool, according to Rappuoli and Aderem (2011). Through using systems biology to analyze data sets obtained during proof-of-concept trials, correlates of protection or signatures of…
A new study finds that stress does not appear to increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).
Researchers studied two groups of women nurses from the Nurses' Health Study. The first group of 121,700 nurses between the ages of 30 and 55 were followed starting in 1976. The second group of 116,671 nurses between the ages of 25 and 42 were followed from 1989. Participants were asked to report general stress at home and at work, including physical and sexual abuse in childhood and as teenagers. Of the first group, 77 people developed MS by 2005.
In the second group, 292…