Category Health/Medical

New Biomarker predicts Alzheimer’s disease, link to Diabetes

Overall architecture.

(a) Domain organization of ATX. (b) Ribbon diagram of the ATX structure in the free form. (c) Surface representation of the ATX structure in the free form. Somatomedin B-like domain 1 (SMB1), orange; SMB2, brown; core subdomain, cyan; insertion (Ins) subdomain, pale cyan; nuclease-like domain (NLD), magenta; L1, beige; L2, yellow-green; EF hand–like motif, pink. N-glycans and sulfate ion are shown as yellow and orange sticks, respectively. Zn2+, Ca2+, Na+ and K+ ions are shown as gray, green, purple and blue spheres, respectively. All 15 disulfide linkages are shown as sticks.

Higher levels of the enzyme, autotaxin, significantly predict memory impairment and type 2 diabetes. The research emphasizes the link between physical and mental health...

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Better material for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Vaterite – a biomineral found in nature as a component part of the skeleton of some gastropods (i.e. snails).

SEM image of PCL scaffolds mineralized by one treatment stage.
Vaterite – a biomineral found in nature as a component part of the skeleton of some gastropods (i.e. snails). Credit: Image courtesy of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU)

A new study has revealed a technology how to cover biodegradable implants with a human skeleton similar mineral. Bone tissue regeneration, one of the issues of tissue engineering, is a research area for Dmitry Gorin and his international colleagues, a leading research fellow at the RASA Center in Tomsk Polytechnic University. The scientists have developed a new vaterite-based coating for nanofiber scaffold to grow bone tissue cells in a shorter time.

The process of porous calcium carbonate (CaCO3) covering on electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibers was ...

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New Graphene-based system could help us see Electrical Signaling in Heart and Nerve cells

Image - This diagram shows the setup for an imaging method that mapped electrical signals using a sheet of graphene and an infrared laser. The laser was fired through a prism (lower left) onto a sheet of graphene. An electrode was used to send tiny electrical signals into a liquid solution (in cylinder atop the graphene), and a camera (lower right) was used to capture images mapping out these electrical signals. (Credit: Halleh Balch and Jason Horng/Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley)

This diagram shows the setup for an imaging method that mapped electrical signals using a sheet of graphene and an infrared laser. The laser was fired through a prism (lower left) onto a sheet of graphene. An electrode was used to send tiny electrical signals into a liquid solution (in cylinder atop the graphene), and a camera (lower right) was used to capture images mapping out these electrical signals. (Credit: Halleh Balch and Jason Horng/Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley)

Team creates a system to visualize faint electric fields. Scientists have enlisted the exotic properties of graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon, to function like the film of an incredibly sensitive camera system in visually mapping tiny electric fields in a liquid...

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Brain technique improves cognitive control

Stimulation of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Enhances Adaptive Cognitive Control: A High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Study Oyetunde Gbadeyan, Katie McMahon, Marco Steinhauser and Marcus Meinzer Journal of Neuroscience 14 December 2016, 36 (50) 12530-12536; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2450-16.2016

Stimulation of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Enhances Adaptive Cognitive Control: A High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Study Oyetunde Gbadeyan, Katie McMahon, Marco Steinhauser and Marcus Meinzer Journal of Neuroscience 14 December 2016, 36 (50) 12530-12536; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2450-16.2016

A cutting edge, non-invasive brain stimulation technique could improve cognitive control for people with conditions such as schizophrenia and autism, ADHD. Researchers at The University of Queensland’s Centre for Clinical Research have found the technique – which applies high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation to a particular area of the brain – improves cognitive and conflict control.

PhD candidate Oyetunde Gbadeyan said the study provides th...

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