Articles Archives

Health & Medicine

MicroRNAs as promising biomarkers and therapeutic tools in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic disorder that results in potentially fatal blood vessel abnormalities. Currently, there is no cure or universally effective treatment for the condition, which remains underfunded and underdiagnosed. MicroRNAs have emerged as new biomarkers for human diseases and hold great promise for the improved diagnosis and treatment of HHT. A recent review publication by Anthony […]

Health & Medicine

When the body turns against itself: Amyloid-based diseases

Often, the body is its own worst enemy. Diseases such as cancer are caused by faults in the natural replication processes of our own cells. It is thought that both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease may be caused by amyloids – aggregates of our own proteins that can disrupt nerve signalling and other functions. Dr H. Robert Guy of Amyloid Research […]

Biology

Protecting bottlenose dolphins from coastal construction

Professor Ann Weaver of Good-Natured Statistics Consulting, USA, has studied dolphins living free at sea for 20 years. Her numerous scientific discoveries about dolphin behaviour yield ample evidence of intelligence and of sophisticated social behaviour at sea. Drawing from many years of intensive studies in primates, she undertook an impressive 18-year ethological study of the social behaviour and impact of […]

Biology

Moisture regulation in finger pad ridges can ensure optimal grip

The ridges on the pads of our fingers, and the fingerprints we produce, have several benefits, including identification purposes. However, this was not the evolutionary purpose of ridged skin on the finger pad, and it is more likely to have evolved to optimise grip and touch. Professor Gun-Sik Park, Seoul National University, has explored how the finger pad has its […]

Health & Medicine

Trypan blue venography: Evaluation and treatment of glaucoma

Glaucoma is linked to a build up of pressure in the eye as a result of impaired aqueous humour fluid outflow. However, there are limited options to evaluate aqueous outflow systems. Patrick Gooi, University of Calgary and Gavin Docherty, of the University of British Columbia, Canada, have developed a technique known as trypan blue venography, allowing simultaneous surgical intervention and […]

Health & Medicine

Covid-19 highlights the importance of defibrillation in in-hospital resuscitation

Many aspects of the healthcare system have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the response to cardiac arrests both outside and within hospitals. Early recognition of cardiopulmonary arrest, early defibrillation when indicated, and early advanced life support (ALS) are some of the common practices that fall under in-hospital resuscitation. John A. Stewart, an independent researcher and retired […]

Thought Leaders

The troubling allure of predatory publishing

Predatory publishing has become increasingly ubiquitous across the sciences and beyond. Importantly, Dr Nicola Alberto Valente, Adjunct Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, compiled and studied the barrage of invitations he received over the course of an academic year. He then attempted to quantitatively assess the impact these invitations had on him and his work. […]

Education & Training

Training a new generation of problem solvers: Innovation in STEM education

Humankind faces unprecedented environmental, social, and economic challenges. There is a critical need for STEM education to foster both science learning and the application of learning to problem solving. At the University of Utah, Professor Nancy Butler Songer and her collaborators have developed a suite of interdisciplinary instructional and field-based data collection resources offering elementary and secondary students the chance […]

Business & Economics

Piggy in the middle: Backing the right horse in China vs USA

The focus of global geo-political power sits squarely within the Asia-Pacific region, but China’s rise has resulted in face-off with the United States. Canadian foreign policy has three main options in light of China’s rise to dominance: pivot to China, place itself equidistance between Beijing and Washington, or align with the US strategy. Professor Kenneth Holland of O.P. Jindal Global […]

Physical Sciences

Highly efficient modelling of electronic structure

Chemistry can be defined as the study of electron motion in the field of nuclei, which obeys the rules of quantum dynamics. The electronic structure of a given system of N electrons is best described by an N-electron wave function built up with one-electron wave functions (orbitals) subject to the antisymmetry principle. The major issue is that the orbitals may […]