Reparative Effects of Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist in Young And Aged/Co-Morbid Rodents After Cerebral Ischemia. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.11.013

A potential new drug reduces the number of brain cells destroyed by stroke and then helps to repair the damage. A reduction in blood flow to the brain caused by stroke is a major cause of death and disability, and there are few effective treatments. A team of scientists at The University of Manchester has now found that a potential new stroke drug not only works in rodents by limiting the death of existing brain cells but also by promoting neurogenesis.

This finding provides further support for the development of this anti-inflammatory drug, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra in short), as a new treat...

This schematic representation illustrates the process of turning bagasse into carbon quantum dots. Credit: Elsevier

Indian researchers have found a new use for sugarcane pulp, as a source of highly fluorescent carbon quantum dots, in a study published in Applied Surface Science. This alternate use of sugarcane waste, or bagasse, could not only reduce the amount of agricultural waste contaminating the environment but also offers a new revenue stream for farmers.
“In our study, we developed a simple, low-cost and efficient method for green synthesis of fluorescent carbon quantum dots from sugarcane bagasse,” says Dr. Ravi Shankaran Dhesingh, National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the University of Madras, Chennai, India.

These dots are tiny carbon nanoparticles, which are abou...

Researchers have discovered how to control molecules attached to graphene, paving the way for tiny biological sensors and devices to hold information.

Researchers have discovered how to control molecules attached to graphene, paving the way for tiny biological sensors and devices to hold information. Because of its unique electrical conductivity, graphene has the potential to be a base for electronic devices that are only nanometres in size. In order to tune sheets of graphene to be useful in different situations, other organic molecules are attached to the sheet, and these molecules must interact with the graphene sheet in predictable ways.

Eg. if the electric charge of molecules could be controlled, then they could be used as molecular ‘switches’...

Capt. James Cook found a wall of ice blocking his passage farther north in the summer of 1778. (Seattle Times / TNS)

Passengers simmered in Jacuzzis and feasted on gourmet cuisine this summer as the 850-foot cruise ship Crystal Serenity moved through the Northwest Passage. But in the summer of 1778, when Capt. James Cook tried to find a Western entrance to the route, his men toiled on frost-slicked decks and complained about having to supplement dwindling rations with walrus meat. The British expedition was halted north of the Bering Strait by “ice which was as compact as a wall and seemed to be 10 or 12 feet high at least,” according to the captain’s journal...