Category Biology/Biotechnology

Bioinspired Polydopamine-Coated Hemoglobin as Potential Oxygen Carrier with Antioxidant Properties

Blood transfusions can save the lives of patients who have suffered major blood loss, but hospitals don’t always have enough or the right type on hand. In search of a solution, researchers have developed a promising substitute using blood’s oxygen-carrying component, hemoglobin. The in vitro study, reported in ACS’ journal Biomacromolecules, found that the modified hemoglobin was an effective oxygen carrier and also scavenged for potentially damaging free radicals.

Red blood cells are the most commonly transfused component of blood, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute...

Left: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart of a patient after a heart attack. Right: key. 1: left ventricle, 2: left atrium, 3: right ventricle. The major heart muscle surrounds the left ventricle, and healthy muscle appears black on MRI. After an infarction, the necrotic portion of the heart appears white on MRI after injectino of a contrast agent. Credit: CNIC

Scientists at CNIC have discovered a new mechanism of action of metoprolol, a drug that can reduce the damage produced during a heart attack if administered early. Rapid administration of metoprolol during a heart attack directly inhibits the inflammatory action of neutrophils. The reduced inflammation translates into a smaller area of damaged tissue in the post-infarcted heart...

The South Indian frog Hydrophylax bahuvistara is shown. Credit: Sanil George + Jessica Shartouny

Mining host defense peptides found in skin mucus. A component of the skin mucus secreted by South Indian frogs can kill the H1 variety of influenza viruses, researchers from Emory Vaccine Center and the Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology in India have discovered. Frogs’ skins were known to secrete “host defense peptides” that defend them against bacteria. The finding suggests that the peptides represent a resource for antiviral drug discovery as well.

Anti-flu peptides could become handy when vaccines are unavailable, in the case of a new pandemic strain, or when circulating strains become resistant to current drugs, says Joshy Jacob, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology a...

Aha! Study examines people struck by sudden insight

Until now, researchers had not had a good way to study how people actually experienced “epiphany learning.” In new research, scientists at The Ohio State University used eye-tracking and pupil dilation technology to see what happens as people figured out how to win a strategy game on a computer. “We could see our study participants figuring out the solution through their eye movements as they considered their options,” said Assistant Professor Ian Krajbich, Ohio State. “We could predict they were about to have an epiphany before they even knew it was coming.”

Most decision-making research has focused on reinforcement learning, where people gradually adjust their behavior in response to what they learn, Chen said...