Articles
Using photodynamic therapy to target circulating tumour cells
Dr Jin Woo Choi from Kyung Hee University & Yi Rang Kim from Oncocross, Ltd. in South Korea, have developed a novel photodynamic therapy (PDT) method which can eradicate circulating tumour cells (CTCs), reducing the risk of metastatic cancer development. In PDT, light is used to illuminate and activate photosensitisers which then produce potent reactive oxygen species which can induce […]
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A daunting challenge for medical schools: The decline of clinical skills
Dr Fabrizia Faustinella, a faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, believes that the most significant challenge currently facing medical education is the decline in clinical skills. Dr Faustinella argues that a deterioration in skills such as history-taking and physical examination can have serious consequences, and must be addressed as part of a thorough, patient-centered approach to medical education. Medical […]
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Revolutionising infant nutrition: Benefits of human milk oligosaccharides
Although it is widely accepted that breast milk provides the best nutrition for new-borns, there is still much we don’t know about it. Up until now, one of the most puzzling aspects has been the presence of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), components that offer no nutritional value. Nestlé is revolutionising our understanding of these elements. Their research shows that HMOs promote […]
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Integer-dimensional fractals of nonlinear dynamics
Fractal dimension was developed as a quantitative measure of complex, irregular objects, essentially because it had been accepted that fractals could not be characterised by integer dimensions. Dr Zonglu He, a Professor of Economics at Kaetsu University, is challenging this basic concept with her novel finding that fractals actually can occur in integer dimensional space-times. Her research demonstrates the consistency of both fractional and […]
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Drosophila Fezf found to be essential in neural circuit formation
Billions of neurons are wired up to into highly organised neural circuits in the brain. The creation of these circuits is a complex process and it is essential that neurons find the correct partners. Matt Pecot and colleagues from Harvard Medical School are interested in understanding this neural circuit formation. In their studies, by using Drosophila, they have identified the […]
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Advances in CNS drug development
The global prevalence of diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS) demands the development of efficacious therapies for these unmet needs. However, drug development for CNS diseases is complicated by a limited ability to measure whether a drug candidate is accessing and affecting the human brain, particularly in early-stage human trials. Research by Dr Eugenii (Ilan) Rabiner and his colleagues: Dr […]
ADHD and its comorbidities: Implications for management
Dr Wen-Harn Pan, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, is interested in the relationship between nutrition and health. One of her most recent projects, published last year, investigated the link between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and whether risk factors such as allergy and anaemia could be modified to improve the ways in which attention deficit hyperactivity is both identified and […]
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Are wildfires following bark beetles more severe?
Bark beetles are responsible for large numbers of dead trees in ponderosa pine forests in the United States. The relationship between tree mortality caused by bark beetles and increasingly severe wildfires has been analysed by Carolyn Sieg and colleagues using a detailed physics-based fire behaviour model. The team seeks to understand if fires that follow beetles are more severe, that […]
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Predicting protein function and annotating complex pathways with machine learning
Dr Daisuke Kihara’s team at Purdue University have created novel computational approaches for predicting protein functions. Instead of following a one-protein-one-function approach, their algorithms can predict the functional relationships of entire groups of proteins related to a specific biological process. The team has also expanded into mining oversighted or previously unknown proteins that have multiple, independent functions. The team’s methods […]
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Secrets of the stalk: Regulating plant temperature from the inside out
Have you ever questioned the reasoning behind hollow stems in some plants? When we think about it there are a surprising number of plants with this feature. A common misconception would be to believe it is solely for nutrient or water transport. In fact, the reality has much more to do with temperature regulation. Dr Peter Kevan from the University of Guelph […]
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