by admin | Dec 20, 2022 | health and medicine
Increased use of organophosphate chemicals in industry, agriculture and warfare has led to a rising threat of exposure to these neurotoxins in civilian and military populations. Though their danger has been recognised and efforts made to decrease concentrations used, even at low doses these chemicals can still pose significant risks to exposed individuals. Finding effective treatments to counteract the impact of exposure is becoming increasingly important and is the focus of research by Professor Nadezhda Sabeva and Professor Peter Ferchmin at the Universidad Central del Caribe, Puerto Rico.
by admin | Nov 23, 2022 | engineering and tech, health and medicine
Some of the greatest advances in medical history have revolved around the creation of new materials that can replace damaged tissues in the body. Today, many researchers focus on creating materials that can replace damaged bone tissue, which often cannot heal naturally. Dr Susmita Bose and her team at Washington State University have been researching ways to engineer exciting new materials that mimic the structure of natural bone, allowing us to live happier, healthier, and longer lives.
by admin | Nov 18, 2022 | health and medicine
Liver disease is reported to be the third largest cause of premature death in the UK, with 75% of patients being diagnosed too late for any meaningful intervention. Dr Matthew Hoare from the University of Cambridge, and Dr Peter Campbell from the Sanger Institute, lead a team conducting research into the genome changes associated with chronic liver disease to help understand the cause and consequence of these changes.
by admin | Nov 17, 2022 | health and medicine
Following exposure to injury or infection, the body elicits a counteractive immune response which involves many different cell types and processes. Cytokines are substances secreted by cells which play a pivotal role in the regulation of this response. Professor Paige Lacy and colleagues in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, have conducted extensive research into the exact mechanisms underpinning the regulation of cytokine release during the immune response with a particular focus on airway inflammatory disorders.
by admin | Nov 17, 2022 | health and medicine
Human skin acts as an important line of defence against the external environment. To preserve this important function, the regeneration of injured skin is critical. Scientists are now able to artificially replicate aspects of the complex microenvironment in which human skin stem cells reside thanks to the technological advances in the field of biomaterial devices. Dr Ilida Ortega Asencio, from the University of Sheffield, UK, and her team have developed a new approach in which electrospun patches with defined microenvironments can be functionalised with key compounds to aid the formation of new blood vessels in injured skin.
by admin | Nov 17, 2022 | health and medicine
Chemotherapy, one of the mainstays of cancer treatment, can unfortunately act as a double-edged sword. While achieving the intended aim of killing cancerous cells, it also generates an accumulation of cell debris, which in turn, promotes tumour growth by stimulating inflammation in the tumour microenvironment. Dr Dipak Panigrahy and his colleagues from Harvard Medical School, USA, have conducted several studies in mice showing that targeting the tumour cell debris-mediated surge of proinflammatory and protumourigenic factors provides a strategy for enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy.
