Clinical Research

 Piper longum Linn (Piperaceae) used in  Ayurvedic medicines helps cure leprosy.  Proessor Ashwani Kumar Habit and Habitat A climber occurring in the hotter parts of India, from Central Himalayas to Assam, Khasi and Mikir hills, lower hills of Bengal, and evergreen forests of western ghats from Konkan to Travancore:  and also from Car Nicobar Islands.   Uses:  The fruits as well as the roots are attributed with numerous medicinal uses, and may be used for diseases of respiratory tract, viz. cough, bronchitis, asthma, etc.; as counter-irritant and…

I love NPR. I listen almost every day. I just want to get that that up front and center, because right now I am staring at the NPR story on my computer with a "WTF?" look on my face, and this is not my typical NPR look.* The headline, "Dog Hair May Shed Light On Cancer," appeared in my RSS feed inbox. I clicked on it because (a) I am a sucker for stories about dogs, and (b) I was hoping for pictures of said cute puppy puppy puppies. I was slightly disappointed on the first point; not at all on the second. Say it with me: "Awwww..." The story started off innocently enough: Scientists have…

There once was a battle of the sexes, when some women and men believed the genders were basically the same.   Then there was a cultural détente, which regrettably involved a lot of pantsuits, before settling into the modern realization that a uni-sex society was not going to happen but gender differences do not warrant different paychecks. New research by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the University of Chicago's Department of Comparative Human Development says that  the sexes may have more in…

New research led by Michael Symonds, Professor of Developmental Physiology in the School of Clincal Sciences at The University of Nottingham, says Brown adipose tissue (BAT), the brown fat found in abundance in hibernating animals and newborn babies, could be the key to new ways of preventing obesity. Studies have previously shown that BAT activity in adults is reduced with obesity, so logically  promoting BAT function could prevent or reduce obesity in some people.  Symonds now says that daylight is a major factor in controlling BAT activity.  “Our research has suggested a…

If you feel lethargic or that your memory is slipping, diet may be a factor.   A new research study says that in less than 10 days of eating a high-fat diet, rats had decreased ability to exercise and experienced significant short-term memory loss. The researchers say the results show an important link between what we eat, how we think, and how our bodies perform.  Andrew Murray, co-author of the study and currently at the University of Cambridge, and colleagues studied rats fed a low-fat diet (7.5 percent of calories as fat) and rats fed a high-fat diet (55 percent of calories as…

How to Write and Illustrate a Scientific Paper, 2nd ed.  by Björn Gustavii link Copyright Gustavii 2003, 2008 ISBN-13978-0-511-39463-8 About the Author BJÖRN GUSTAVII became an editor of Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica for 8 years and has been teaching courses in scientific writing for doctoral (Ph.D.) students in medicine for 25 years.  His book is intended for use of all the writers in biological and medical disciplines. Things to Remember for the Scientific Language:1. Do not include observations that depart from the main theme,p52. Seventeen words are enough,p63.…

Stem cell researchers trying to understand the mechanisms that determine whether stem cells divide or differentiate, and what types of cells they become and how to control them to develop new treatments, may have gotten some much needed help. Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a comparative, large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated derivatives. The study was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Protein phosphorylation, the biochemical process…

Scientists may be closer to understanding how to grow replacement bones with stem cell technology.  Many scientists are trying to create bone-like materials derived from stem cells to implant into patients who have damaged or fractured bones or who have had parts of diseased bones removed. The idea is that, ultimately, these bone-like materials could be inserted into cavities so that real bone could meld with it and repair the bone.  So far, scientists have found they can grow small 'nodules' of what appeared to be bone-like material in the laboratory from different types of bone…

Scientists have linked an overactive response by one of the immune system's key weapons against infection, natural killer (NK) cells, to the onset of biliary atresia in infants, a disease where blocked bile ducts can cause severe liver damage and death. Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center also report that blocking a gene that helps NK cells attack bile duct tissues lessens damage and may be a way to treat the most common cause of chronically progressive liver disease in children. The study, to be published in the Aug. 3 Journal of Clinical Investigation, is posted…

Mayo Clinic investigators say a proof-of-concept study has demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to treat heart disease.  iPS cells are stem cells converted from adult stem cells so don't involve the ethical concerns involved in using human embryonic stem cells. In their study, the researchers reprogrammed ordinary fibroblasts, cells that contribute to scars such as those resulting from a heart attack, converting them into stem cells that fix heart damage caused by infarction. This is the first application of iPS-based technology for heart disease therapy.…