Biotech

Storm, name of a Belgian shepherd dog, now has implant bone made of titanium alloy and paw made of carbon-fiber. Soon, the dog’s activities are hoped back as indication the succesful of surgery led by Noel Fitzpatrick of Farnam, Surrey, because it was the first experience in a dog. This medical treatment was applied to the dog after it experienced an amputation earlier year 2007 because the dog’s tumor should be removed.

Fitzpatrick said that the medical treatment is promising to provide hope for people without feet or hands after their experience of an amputation.

Popularity: 39%

Currently, scientiests at the universities in Denmark is waiting for “special” cloned pigs that is predicted will be born next month, August! The animal models, i.e. as cloned pigs with genetically modified, were developed in the effort to discover medicine of Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientiests from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Arhus collaborated in developing of those transgenic pig models.

Popularity: 47%

If you are so busy or tired then leave your teeth does not brushed for 1 or several days (weew!), please be worry. There may exist colonies of potentially harmful bacteria called Biofilms!

However, recently, a team researchers have made viruses able to attack and destroy Biofilms. It were engineered by the scientist from synthetic biology. Not stop for Biofilms only, hence the work also have shown that potentially applications may be aimed. Using the same approach, specific virus may be built to destroy target bacteria.

A researcher of the team who is also a doctoral student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology said, “Our results show we can do simple things with synthetic biology that have potentially useful results.”

Popularity: 42%

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center have found that an antibiotic called “griseofulvin” able to lead cancer cells to cell death. Griseofulvin is an antibiotic that is ussualy used to treat fungal infections of the skin! Wow…

The scientists identified that the antibiotic is an inhibitor of centrosomal clustering. By this discovery, they suggested that this approach may be considered as a promising solution for fighting cancer.

Popularity: 49%

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that very difficult to detect early. A doctor suggests patients are suffered the disease untill the doctor find that they get mild memory loss which it then tend to worst conditions.

However, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania had claimed that their diagnosis method could detect Alzheimer’s disease symptoms earlier than mild cognitive impairment. They used a scan combination of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). PET is used to get real time measurement of blood flow in the brain. MRI is used to show the shape and size of physical structures in the brain.

“This abnormal pattern of brain structure and blood flow detected not only mild cognitive impairment but even earlier … when they were clinically normal,” said the researcher.

Popularity: 42%

Research on human embryonic stem cells involves ethical issues since it will harming the embryos. The embryonic stem cells become important due to its potential result in treatment diseases such as Parkinson.

Skin Cells into Embryonic Stem Cells
Recently, scientiests in the US and Japan could change mouse skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells by inserting four genes into the animal skin cells. It is a great research in order to eliminate the ethical issues.

For Human Treatments
However, it would be take longer time to bring for humans treatments. There are some questions about possibility genetically mutated of skin stem cells by ultraviolet radiation and about theraphy methods.

Popularity: 55%

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have shown that in mice given a protein called adiponectin, infammation in the blood vessels was reduced. They said that it is a ncessary step before going to humans.

Adiponectin is the most abundant protein found in the bloodstream that originates from fat tissue. Low levels of the protein are associated with obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Popularity: 43%

It was not talking about storing some digitalized informations in an IC (Integrated Circuit). However, it was talking about storing informations in an artificial culture of live neurons. Recently, The scientists from Tel Aviv University did it.

They said that it is a step to create the integration of living material into memory chips.

Popularity: 47%

There are people have inappropriate behavior due to their over anxiety as their response to something that probable threat them, even a small one. Maybe we are too! But, anyway, currently, there are researchers try to uncover the reason behind this.

At least, researchers from European Molecular Biology Laboratory ini Monterotondo, Italy, have uncovered mice’s neural circuits that responsible to anxiety. They explained that probably human have a similar system.

Anxious Mice
Researchers found that mice which lack of a particular receptor for the neurotransmitter serotonin (called 5-Htr1a) are anxious mice.

The research was done by European Molecular Biology Laboratory ini Monterotondo, Italy.

Popularity: 41%

Now, doctors have possibility new threatments for premature babies born with their eyes have not finished growing. IGFBP-3 have just known as the responsible protein to this case, even thought it is not new discovery protein.

By increasing the protein to normal levels in premature babies, the babies would have blood vessel growth healthier. Hence, blood vessels spread normally throughout the babies’s retina.

The discovery was reported by researchers form the Harvard Medical School, Sweden’s University of Goteborg and the University of Florida separately.

Popularity: 45%