Health & Medicine
Fermentation: Enhancing favourable health properties of cod liver oils
There are three competing ways to get cod liver oil from cod: you can heat the cod liver, you can extract it using chemical refining, or you can ferment it. Most commercial cod liver oils are extracted using one of the first two, but manufacturers of fermented cod liver oils claim that their product contains more antioxidants, meaning the fatty […]
Managing behavioural symptoms of dementia in Latinos
Dr Diana Lynn Woods, Azusa Pacific University, has dedicated her research to the greater understanding of dementia and the methods used to treat behavioural symptoms of dementia. Her recent work has focused on Latinos with dementia who exhibit behavioural symptoms of dementia and ways to incorporate genetic and cultural factors into intervention strategies. Humans are living longer than ever. However, […]
Identifying the mitochondrial DNA mutations that cause cancer
Mutations that affect the mitochondrial DNA may play a key role in cancers. However, the exact mutations that are involved in cancer are still unknown. Dr Fatimata Mbaye and collaborators, from the University of Dakar in Senegal examined the sequences of two regions of the mitochondrial genome to identify and compare the mutations occurring in different cancers. Understanding the relationship […]
FLASH radiotherapy: What, how and why?
Ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) radiotherapy is a new way of treating tumours caused by cancer. Higher doses of radiotherapy are associated with trauma to the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour, whereas FLASH radiotherapy demonstrates a sparing effect of the healthy tissues without compromising the anti-tumour action. Dr Kristoffer Petersson at the Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, University of Oxford, along […]
Australian Genomics: Integrating genomic testing into healthcare
Over the past few years, researchers have developed many new techniques to collect information from our genome. This can help identify inherited conditions and some types of cancer, for example. However, these methods have often been kept within the limits of scientific research. Now, Australian Genomics is keen to push their use into a clinical setting, where they can benefit […]
Climate change impacts the transmission of vector-borne diseases
Climate change is responsible for changes in temperature and rainfall patterns as well as more frequent extreme events such as floods. These changes may cause insect displacements to regions that are more favourable to them. This can prove to be problematic for local human populations as some of these insects carry diseases: vector-borne diseases are illnesses caused by parasites, viruses […]
Reactive oxygen species are at the heart of innate immunity
Our innate immune system is our first line of defence against disease. At the heart of this response is an enzyme complex, called NADPH oxidase, which produces a form of reactive oxygen molecule to destroy invading pathogens. Professor Edgar Pick of Tel Aviv University, has made a huge contribution to this field of research, enhancing our understanding of the foundations […]
Autism spectrum disorder and social hierarchy in rats
Autism spectrum disorder impacts the social interaction and behaviour of affected individuals. Valproate is a drug which might induce autism in the children of pregnant women treated with it. It also has a similar effect in rats. Using a rat model, Professor György Lévay of Gedeon Richter Plc., first author Péter Pelsőczi and colleagues studied the behaviour of a group […]
Neuronal cultures to study the brain and neurological disorders
Understanding the brain is essential, for example to treat neurological disorders that affect one in six people worldwide. However, studying the brain is challenging: it is so complex and difficult to access. Cell biologist Dr Daniel Tornero and neurophysicist Dr Jordi Soriano, from the University of Barcelona, developed neuronal cultures that can be used to study mechanisms involved in brain […]
Overcoming resistance to cancer immunotherapy
Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, is a great step forward in cancer treatment. Unfortunately, however, it is currently ineffective in most patients. This resistance can be caused by a type of cell called a cancer-associated fibroblast, which builds protective defences around tumours. In a recent study, Professor Gareth Thomas and his team at the […]