Biology

For many years, Dr Matthew Boisen, Director of Diagnostics Development at Zalgen Labs, has focussed on trying to understand Lassa fever. Part of the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, his group’s objectives are threefold: first, to develop fast and accurate...

Research into animal fear typically utilises laboratory techniques based on Pavlovian fear conditioning, but these approaches are limited. Professor Jeansok Kim, from the Department of Psychology, University of Washington (USA) has developed a much more realistic way...

To accomplish even a simple goal, our brain must coordinate thousands of pieces of information, remember which parts are relevant, and ignore anything that is extraneous. Professor Mark D’Esposito of the University of California, Berkeley, studies how different parts...

The brain is the most mysterious organ in the human body – despite decades of research, we have just begun to scratch the surface in understanding how the brain works and how we can help it to heal following an injury. Professor Mark D’Esposito of the University of...

Two-dimensional transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy is the standard method for prostate cancer diagnosis. However, the technique is limited in one respect – it can be prone to sampling error. Cancers can be missed, or their severity grossly underestimated. To...

The US dairy industry has undergone major restructuring over the past couple of decades, with growing herd sizes and an increased reliance on labour from outside the family. These changes have brought about new challenges to prevent infectious diseases among cattle....

Our nervous system has such an important function in our body that neurons have their own bodyguards. Known as glial cells, they protect brain cells against injury and prevent damage. Dr Mary Logan and Dr Sean Speese, both based at the Jungers Center for Neuroscience...

Cannabis is a plant that remains largely stigmatised, along with people who consume or condone it. However, Dr Andrea Holmes and her colleagues at Precision Plant Molecules are revealing the numerous hidden benefits of cannabis, when processed with precision. This...

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of male cancer deaths worldwide, with one man in every seven likely to contract the disease during his lifetime. As late-stage prostate cancer remains a fatal disease resistant to conventional treatment, the need for effective new...

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. With up to 70% of new cases predicted to occur in the developing world, finding affordable and effective cancer preventive agents for global use is critical. Dr Elizabeth Ryan, from the Department of Environmental and...

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is without doubt one of the most exciting analytic methods available in biomolecular medicine. Applications include structural biology, metabolic studies, disease diagnosis, and drug discovery. However, the use of NMR can be daunting...

For over 30 years, Professor Michael O’Donnell, based at the Rockefeller University in New York, has focused on the mechanisms involved in the duplication of genetic material in cells, a process known as DNA replication. Professor O’Donnell’s work spans from the early...

Injuries to the spinal cord can cause permanent paralysis and even lead to death, with little to no hope of regaining lost functions once the trauma has occurred. Dr Jerry Silver and his team at Case Western Reserve University Medical School, USA, have been working to...

Professor Yubin Zhou, from the Center for Translational Cancer Research at the Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences & Technology, USA, is developing ways to use light to control cellular function. The researcher and his team are responsible for a series of...

Over the last few decades, obesity has become substantial public health concern. Obesity is associated with a myriad of other ailments and is on the rise in most developed countries. As with many chronic diseases, the development of an obese body type is often more...

Designing better vaccines is the end goal for Calder Biosciences Inc., a company that has found a new way to engineer vaccines, ensuring greater stability, prolonging their duration in the body and thereby enhancing protection. Using a natural chemical reaction known...

Since the release of the first human genome, our understanding of genetics has grown significantly. However, keeping up with developments in the field can be overwhelming for students, and even teachers. Dr Charles Wray of The Jackson Laboratory has created a unique...

The research of Professor Charles Carter, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, unravels some of the biggest mysteries of molecular evolution. His research is dedicated to investigating how information flows from genes to proteins found in living organisms...

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) causes significant pain and discomfort to sufferers and severely affects quality of life. Research on IBD focusing on the individual contributing factors has failed to provide truly effective treatment options, and the broader picture...

The catastrophic impact of HIV – human immunodeficiency virus – is well-known worldwide. Not so well known is its distant cousin HTLV-1, human T cell leukaemia virus type 1, which also has the potential to destroy lives. The study of HTLV-1 can shed light on HIV...

Over the last two decades, bile acids have gone from being thought of as mere helpers during digestion of fats and fat-soluble vitamins, to crucial players in the signalling pathways operating in the liver. Professor Phillip Hylemon and Professor Huiping Zhou, from...