Category Biology/Biotechnology

The reddish-blue mouse neurons in this image have reentered the cell cycle after exposure to amyloid beta oligomers, and thus are primed for death.
Credit: Image by Erin Kodis and George Bloom

About 50% of people who reach the age of 85 will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Most will die within about 5 years of exhibiting the hallmark symptoms of the disease – severe memory loss and a precipitous decline in cognitive function. But the molecular processes that lead to the disease will have begun years earlier.

Currently, there are no known ways to prevent the disease or to stop its progression once it has begun. But research at the University of Virginia offers new understanding of how the disease develops at the molecular level, long before extensive neuronal damage occurs and symptoms show up.

This is the vitamin pill-sized capsule, currently being commercialized by Atmo Biosciences.
Credit: RMIT University

New trials reveal swallowable sensor 3,000 times more accurate than current technology. New trials of a breakthrough swallowable sensor have revealed the device is 3,000 times more accurate than current technology used to diagnose many gut disorders. The findings show the revolutionary gas-sensing capsule developed by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, could surpass breath testing as the benchmark for diagnosing gut disorders, paving the way to solving previously undiagnosed conditions.

The vitamin pill-sized capsule, currently being commercialised by Atmo Biosciences, provides real time detection and measurement of hydrogen, carbon dioxides and oxygen in ...

Woman’s eye. Credit: © PixieMe / Fotolia

It’s often been said that the eyes are the window to the soul, revealing what we think and how we feel. Now, new research reveals that your eyes may also be an indicator of your personality type, simply by the way they move. Developed by the University of South Australia in partnership with the University of Stuttgart, Flinders University and the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany, the research uses state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms to demonstrate a link between personality and eye movements.

Findings show that people’s eye movements reveal whether they are sociable, conscientious or curious, with the algorithm software reliably recognising four of the Big Five personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, an...

Mechanism of action of lactosylceramide in skin inflammation and restoration by the use of D-PDMP. Feeding a western diet raises the level of oxidized phospholipid which activates Lactosylceramide synthase (GalT-V) to generate lactosylceramide which produces reactive oxygen species-a pro-oxidant environment. Lactosylceramide also reacts with infiltrating neutrophils to activate phospholipase A-2, thus releasing arachidonic acid, eicosanoids and contributing to inflammation. This cycle of events can be broken by the judicious use of D-PDMP/BPD.

The research advances search for compounds that may someday accelerate wound healing and reverse balding...