Monkeys tested for Mars trip
It was Russia, who pioneered the use of animals in space way back in the early days of the space race, but this did not go down well with everyone, however those days have now gone or have they?
It would seem that the Sochi Institute of Medical Primatology are about to get involved again with [...]
It’s all in the urine
With a renewed interest into all things medieval, we have seen programmes that are following how they people of the time thought, lived and died. But before this interest blossomed there were research teams who have been working relentlessly on finding out the facts on how these people really lived and thought.
Scientists at the Imperial [...]
Can humans have super powers?
It is the thing that fuels many sci fi books and films which cover the subject of people with extra powers, but there has been some research into how the brain works and it is believed that maybe the brain is capable of extra powers after all.
The case for this comes from the study of [...]
Mobile phones changes proteins
There has been much written about the possible side effects of using mobile phones, some evidence seems to state that they can cause health problems, while other say that there is no risk. Yet millions of people continue to use a mobile phone and so the research continues too. In Finland a research team have [...]
March 3, 2008Gene that blocks HIV
Researchers at the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta has been working with gene technology and in fact in the process have found a gene which can actually block the HIV infection from advancing.
The gene that is called TRIM22 has been tested in a cell culture where it was seen [...]
The human genome explained
For many people the human genome is a mystery but there is lot of work being carried on at various institutions around the world like the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge they have together some great facts about the human genome:
The genome is the complete list of coded instructions needed to make a person.
The 4 [...]
People are like sheep
Some fascinating research has been done by the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds; they have been looking into how crowds or groups of people are manipulated. Do they work as team of individuals?
Considering that for a long time we have always been considered different to the rest of the animals on [...]
Skin cells could become embryonic
If were possible to create cells and tissues from basic skin cells this would mean that this idea of using cloned cells and all of the problems associated with it would never need to be used. In fact there is evidence that a treatment like this is entirely possible.
Researchers from Kyoto University have report that [...]
New HIV receptor found
Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have discovered some interesting aspects on how the HIV virus actually attacks the human body. This groundbreaking discovering could lead the way to finding some new and even more effective treatments for the disease.
What they found is a completely new receptor in the human body, [...]
Why cancer cells grow
Researchers have been working on what makes a cancer cell work, and how to identify the genes that make the cancer cell divide in the first place. As it is the growth of these cells that is very dangerous, if a way was found to somehow stop this from happening then this would be a [...]
February 5, 2008The blueprint of all life
Researchers from North-western University are reporting that they believe that DNA is the blueprint for all life. It can give form to many different types of organisms from the basic one cell bacteria right up to the complex structure known as humans.
This blueprint is the designer, project leader and indeed the actual builder of these [...]
Men not needed to create life
Researchers at the university of Newcastle have create human sperm cells, from a female embryonic stem cell, this is not the first time that the team lead by Professor Karim Nayernia have managed to create a cell like this, they created the same from male bone marrow too, although they are working on a way [...]
January 29, 2008Researchers create DNA structure
Building a synthetic organism could make people think about Frankenstein’s monster but when a research team announced that they had created the largest man made DNA structure, this puts them one step closer to being able to create a synthetic organism but we are only talking about micro organisms here.
But it would seem to be [...]
Human gene traced back 500 million years
As most of us probably already knew, it seems that researchers at the Chicago university has finally been able to trace the human genome right back to its very origins and it’s in a pond!
Despite the many versions that we have heard for the evolution of man, there has always been a missing link that [...]
Increasing life expectancy ten fold
Researchers from the University of Southern California are looking into how it is possible to extend the human life span to eight hundred years, and their argument is a pretty good one too!
In experiments using the yeast bacteria they have already been able to extend its life expectancy by up to ten time its normal, [...]
Cloned food, is it safe?
This is the sort of question that crops up in the end of the world sci-fi scenarios, but then it was fiction and now it fact. But how safe is it for us to eat food that has been created in a lab?
All of the relevant authorities believe that this type of food is completely [...]
New study into cause of Autism
In a study by the Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory, at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, it has been found that there is a link between the deletion and even duplication of DNA letters on chromosome 16 is strongly linked to Autism spectrum disorder, which is a disorder that has a wide range of disabilities, such as [...]
December 24, 2007Cucumbers used to treat malaria
It seem that there could be an unlikely source to a potential treatment for malaria, this source is the weird looking sea cucumber, a prickly orange coloured sea creature that could hold the key to this disease.
The sea cucumber produces various proteins that actually stop the growth of parasites, and it is this protein that [...]
Human stem cells manipulated
Researchers at the International Stem Cell Corp in California, USA, have been working with human eggs and believe that these can be manipulated to act in a similar manner as stem cells. This will help many different people from varying backgrounds.
Once the eggs have been changed they can then be matched with other tissue samples, [...]
Mice bred not to fear cats
Researchers from Tokyo University have been breeding mice that have been genetically engineered so that they do not fear cats, the first thing that springs to mind is “Why?” Prof. Ko Kobayakawa has discovered that these mutant mice now have no fear what so ever, so instead of freezing on the spot or running for [...]