Menu

Blog

Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 1936

Jun 29, 2019

How DNA ‘hotspots’ snarl the search for cancer genes

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Clusters of mutations can mislead researchers.

Jun 29, 2019

Startup Catalog has jammed all 16GB of Wikipedia’s text onto DNA strands

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing

Biological molecules will last a lot longer than the latest computer storage technology, Catalog believes.

Jun 29, 2019

Farmed Salmon = Most Toxic Food in the World

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, health, sustainability

Fish are an important part of the ecosystem and the human diet. Unfortunately, overfishing has depleted many fish stocks, and the proposed solution — fish farming — is creating far more problems than it solves. Not only are fish farms polluting the aquatic environment and spreading disease to wild fish, farmed fish are also an inferior food source, in part by providing fewer healthy nutrients; and in part by containing more toxins, which readily accumulate in fat.

Farmed Salmon = Most Toxic Food in the World

Salmon is perhaps the most prominent example of how fish farming has led us astray. Food testing reveals farmed salmon is one of the most toxic foods in the world, having more in common with junk food than health food. Studies highlighting the seriousness of the problem include:

Jun 29, 2019

16 dog food brands may cause heart disease in pets, FDA warns

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

Regulator says certain types of pet food are more frequently connected to heart disease in dogs, but why is unclear.

Jun 29, 2019

Anti-Alzheimer’s Protein Complex Identified

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, neuroscience

A new mouse study highlights the proteins responsible for LC3-associated endocytosis (LANDO), an autophagy process that is involved in degrading β-amyloid, the principal substance associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Proteostasis

Proteins in the human brain can form misfolded, non-functional, and toxic clumps known as aggregates. Preventing these aggregates from forming, and removing them when they do, is a natural function of the human body, and it is known as proteostasis. However, as we age, this function degrades, and loss of proteostasis is one of the hallmarks of aging. The resulting accumulation of aggregates leads to several deadly diseases, one of which is Alzheimer’s.

Jun 29, 2019

The Pinay whose work revealed a deadly snail to be a medical wonder

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Meet National Scientis Dr. Lourdes J. Cruz, a biochemist whose research on Conus geographus venom made a significant impact on neurological medicine.

Jun 28, 2019

CRISPR nanoparticles are the next big hope in Alzheimer’s disease treatments

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology, neuroscience

Nearly 6 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease without solid treatment options.

Jun 28, 2019

Couple clones cat after it dies for hefty price

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (WCNC) – A North Carolina couple couldn’t bear to break the bond they had with their furry feline friend. So after 19-year-old Cinnabun passed away, the Bullerdicks decided to clone their kitty.

The cost? A whopping price of $25,000.

The couple found a Texas-based company known for cloning dogs, cats and horses. They bought a kit and with a skin sample and saliva sample… Cinnabun the second was born.

Jun 28, 2019

Helix no more. Researchers find a new DNA shape

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A DNA “knot” breaks several rules thought hard and fast. Now the race is on to understand it. Elizabeth Finkel reports.

Jun 28, 2019

New blood test for detecting Alzheimer’s disease

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Researchers from Lund University, together with the Roche pharmaceutical company, have developed a method to create a new blood marker capable of detecting whether or not a person has Alzheimer’s disease. If the method is approved for clinical use, the researchers hope eventually to see it used as a diagnostic tool in primary healthcare. This autumn, they will start a trial in primary healthcare to test the technique.

Currently, a major support in the diagnostics of Alzheimer’s disease is the identification of abnormal accumulation of the substance beta-amyloid, which can be detected either in a spinal fluid sample or through brain imaging using a PET scanner.

“These are expensive methods that are only available in specialist healthcare. In research, we have therefore long been searching for simpler diagnostic tools,” says Sebastian Palmqvist, associate professor at the unit for clinical memory research at Lund University, physician at Skåne University Hospital and lead author of the study.