Health and Medicine
Unravelling the Mysteries of Working Memory – Mark D’Esposito, MD, University of California, Berkeley
Understanding Fear in Animals – Professor Jeansok Kim, University of Washington
Original Article Reference https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA372 Share Episode About this episodeResearch into animal fear typically utilises laboratory techniques based on Pavlovian fear conditioning, but these approaches are limited. Professor Jeansok Kim,...
Understanding Lassa virus – Dr Matthew Boisen, Zalgen Labs
Original Article Reference https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA384 Share Episode About this episodeFor many years, Dr Matthew Boisen, Director of Diagnostics Development at Zalgen Labs, has focussed on trying to understand Lassa fever. Part of the Viral...
Lifting Brain Fog – Professor Etienne Sibille and Professor James Cook
Original Article Reference https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA384 Share Episode About this episodeEffective treatments for cognitive dysfunction, such as declines in memory and other mental faculties often associated with depression or old age, may be within...
The Role Of Nanoparticles In Neuroscience – Dr Elizabeth Nance, University Of Washington
Original Article Reference: https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA383 Share Episode About this episodeDr Elizabeth Nance has an impressive track record. Now a Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington, USA, Dr...
Understanding Brain Function, Cognition, and Emotion in Psychopathology- Professor Christine Larson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Original Article Reference https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA406 Share Episode About this episodeMental health conditions such as anxiety disorders significantly impact on the quality of life of sufferers, their physical health and psycho-social functioning....
Predicting Mortality in Kidney Disease: A New Nutritional Risk Index – Professor Eiichiro Kanda, Kawasaki Medical School
Original Article Reference This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘A new nutritional risk index for predicting mortality in hemodialysis patients: Nationwide cohort study’, published in PLOS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214524 Share Episode ...
Plugging Into The Nervous System – Professor Dominique Durand, Case Western Reserve University
Original article reference: https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA407 Share Episode About this episode New advances in neural engineering have led to devices that can be operated using the nerves of the user, but the effectiveness and safety of these devices...
Overdiagnosis And Overtreatment Of Human Cancers – Professor Wendy Rogers, Macquarie University
Original article reference: This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Ethical issues raised by thyroid cancer overdiagnosis: A matter for public health?’ from Bioethics, a Wiley journal: https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12383 Share Episode About this episode As we...
The Health-e Babies App for Socially Disadvantaged Women: Embracing Technology to Improve Health Literacy
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘The Health-e Babies App for antenatal education: Feasibility for socially disadvantaged women’ from PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194337 Share Episode About this episode Over the past few years, there...
Immune Control of Initiation and Progression of Atherosclerosis – Dr Elena V Galkina, Eastern Virginia Medical School
Original article reference: https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA396 Share Episode About this episodeAtherosclerosis is a global health issue. Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease characterised by the accumulation of modified...
Killers and Builders: The Diverse Roles of Our Immune System – Dr Luca Parisi, University of Milan
Original Article Reference: This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Macrophage polarization in chronic inflammatory diseases: killers or builders’, published in the Journal of Immunology Research, a Hindawi journal. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8917804 Share Episode...
Diabetes and Oral Health: Maximising Patient Well-Being – Dr Luca Fiorillo, University of Messina
Original Article Reference: This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Diabetes: Oral Health Related Quality of Life and Oral Alterations’, from BioMed Research International, a Hindawi journal. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5907195 Share Episode About this...
Understanding the Antioxidant Boom: Trend or Treatment? – Dr Andy Wai Kan Yeung, University of Hong Kong
Original Article Reference This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Antioxidants: Scientific Literature Landscape Analysis’, published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, a Hindawi journal. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8278454 Share Episode About...
Unravelling the Mysteries of Working Memory – Mark D’Esposito, MD, University of California, Berkeley
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...
Leveraging New Technologies to Treat Brain Injury – Mark D’Esposito, MD, University of California, Berkeley
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...
A New Technique for Targeted Prostate Cancer Biopsies – Dr Baowei Fei, UT Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center
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...
Flying Sea Snails as Potential Indicators of Ocean Acidification – Dr Jeannette Yen, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ocean acidification, caused by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, is having a negative impact on marine ecosystems. To effectively respond to the issue, a deep understanding of it is absolutely necessary. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Drs Jeannette Yen,...
Improving Milk Quality from the Farm to the Table – Professor Ronald Erskine, Michigan State University
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....
Protecting the Brain – Dr Mary Logan Dr Sean Speese, Oregon Health and Science University
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...
Tailoring Cannabis to Create Medicine for the Masses – Dr Andrea E. Holmes, Precision Plant Molecules
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...
Astym Therapy – An Effective Treatment for Painful Scar Tissue
Scar tissue formed after surgery or injury often ends up being painful and limiting movement for patients. Although there are a number of possible treatments, these options are expensive and often have only limited success. According to Drs. Michael Mont, Morad...
Enhancing the Efficacy of Immunotherapeutic Drugs for Prostate Cancer – Dr Douglas McNeel, MD PhD, University of Wisconsin
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...
Efficacy of Wholefoods for Health and Cancer Prevention – Dr Elizabeth Ryan, Colorado State University
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...
The Impact of Our Environment on Our Well-being – Dr Lei Cao, The Ohio State University
The human body is a bewildering set of interacting systems, a complex web of signals and pathways which are constantly adjusting to the conditions which we find ourselves in. Ground-breaking research by Dr Lei Cao, of Ohio State University, USA, is providing new...
A Box in the Clouds – Professor Jeffrey C. Hoch, UConn Health
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...
The Incredible Ways of DNA Replication – Professor Michael O’Donnell, The Rockefeller University
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...
Spinal Cord Damage and Emerging Treatments – Dr Jerry Silver, Case Western Reserve University
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...
Let There Be Light – Professor Yubin Zhou, Texas A&M University
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...
Health Starts in the Cell Approaching Obesity from the Inside Out – Dr Yi Li, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
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...