Category Health/Medical

Highlights • The study of fish shallow-frying is undertaken for the first time by 1H NMR. • Migration of main and minor lipidic compounds between oils and fish occurs. • Thermo-oxidation and hydrolysis reactions in oils and fish lipids are studied. • Pan-frying provokes higher thermo-oxidation than microwave-frying. • As for aldehyde formation, extra-virgin olive oil is safer than sunflower oil.

Researchers have studied the changes that take place in fish lipids and in the oil during frying processes. The frying techniques, the nature of the oil used and the fish species have been shown to exert a great influence on the changes that take place during the process...

Controlling Spatial Heat and Light Distribution by Using Photothermal Enhancing Auto-Regulated Liposomes (PEARLs).

Dr. Gang Zheng and a team of biomedical researchers have discovered a “smart” organic, biodegradable nanoparticle that uses heat and light in a controlled manner to potentially target and ablate tumours with greater precision. The proof-of-concept findings provide a viable approach to boosting the clinical utility of photo-thermal therapy in treating cancer, says Dr. Zheng, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret and Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.He talks about and demonstrates the research at https://youtu.be/EEN6Mz5iWBI.

In the lab, using phantom models, the “smart” nanoparticle the team has dubbed PEARLs – photo-thermal enhancing auto-regula...

The DN gel and HAp/DN gel implanted in rabbit femurs. The Micro-CT image shows HAp/DN gel has the same contrast as the bone HAp (indicated with the red arrow); the cross-section shows that the boundaries of the bone and the HAp layer are fused. Credit: Nonoyama T., Wada S. et al., Advanced Materials, May 17, 2016

Researchers at Hokkaido University have developed a new kind of hydrogel that bonds spontaneously and strongly to defected bones, suggesting potential use in the treatments of joint injuries. When soft supporting human tissues – including cartilage and ligaments, which are joined firmly to bones – are damaged, they cannot spontaneously repair inside the body. The use of artificial supporting tissues has the potential to significantly ameliorate damage to soft tissues...

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have determined that the immune system directly affects and even controls, creatures’ social behavior, such as their desire to interact with others. So could immune system problems contribute to an inability to have normal social interactions? The answer appears to be yes, and could have great implications for neurological conditions eg autism-spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.

“The brain and the adaptive immune system were thought to be isolated from each other, and any immune activity in the brain was perceived as sign of a pathology. And now, not only are we showing that they are closely interacting, but some of our behavior traits might have evolved because of our immune response to pathogens,” explained Jonathan Kipnis, PhD...