Category Biology/Biotechnology

Periostin (shown in pink) is being used in the clinic as a marker for allergic diseases such as asthma as well as atopic dermatitis. Left image: Periostin is overexpressed in atopic dermatitis. Right image: Blocking LIGHT also blocks periostin expression.

Finding provides a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of severe eczema, a chronic inflammatory skin condition that is driven by an allergic reaction. In their latest study, researchers at La Jolla Institute reveal an important player that promotes skin inflammation in atopic dermatitis and the characteristic thickening of the skin...

Electronic Nose in the Detection of Wound Infection Bacteria from Bacterial Cultures: A Proof-of-Principle Study

A recent study conducted at the University of Tampere, Tampere University of Technology, Pirkanmaa Hospital District and Fimlab in Finland has concluded that an electronic nose (eNose) can be used to identify the most common bacteria causing soft tissue infections. The eNose can be used to detect the bacteria without the prior preparation of samples, and the system was capable of differentiating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA).

Skin and soft tissue infections are common diseases that need medical treatment...

Gecko-Inspired Dry Adhesive Based on Micro–Nanoscale Hierarchical Arrays for Application in Climbing Devices

Some animals, such as geckos, can easily climb up walls and across ceilings. But currently, no material exists that allows everyday people to scale walls or transverse ceilings as effortlessly. Now, scientists report in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces a dry adhesive that could someday make it easier to defy gravity. Geckos can scale walls because of their unique toe pads that help them quickly attach and detach from surfaces. Interestingly, gecko toe pads are covered with bristle-like layers of keratin, which helps it to stick – each pad is covered with microscopic pillars, which then branch out at the tips into even smaller structures.

Scientists have manufactured dry adhesi...

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex mechanism

For years, attempts have been made to understand the mechanism behind the proliferation of cancer cells. However, until now it was not known which metabolites cancer cells actually need. A team of researchers from the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences)has identified one of the mechanisms behind this process, as published in a recent article in the journal Nature Genetics.

From a theory dating back to the early 20th century by Nobel Prize laureate Otto Warburg, it has been believed that, in order to support their growth, cancer cells needed to increase their glucose consumption, without using mitochondrial metabolism...