The family dog may not only be a friendly companion but also a reflection of community health.
Students at The University of Findlay are helping Michael Edelbrock, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, study canine cells using a process originally developed using human cells and perfected by Alexander Vaglenov, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. Continue Reading »
A new non-neurotoxic treatment for head lice has been found to have an average of 91.2% treatment success rate after one week, and to be safe in humans from six months of age and up. This is the finding of a study recently published in Pediatric Dermatology.
Benzyl Alcohol Lotion 5% (known as UlesfiaTM) works by suffocating lice, a method which has been attempted by treating with household items such as mayonnaise, olive oil and petroleum jelly. Studies have shown that overnight treatments with these home remedies may initially appear to kill lice, but later a “resurrection effect” occurs after rinsing, because lice can resist asphyxiation. Continue Reading »
New research from scientists in Liverpool has revealed the relationship between agility and vision in mammals. The study, published in the Journal of Anatomy, sampled 51 species to compare the relationship between agility and vision between frontal eyed species, such as cats, to lateral-eyed mammals, such as rabbits, to establish if the positioning of the eyes resulted in limitations to speed and agility. Continue Reading »
Ice shelves are retreating in the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change, according to new data. This could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues, threatening coastal communities and low-lying islands worldwide, experts say.
Research by the U.S. Geological Survey is the first to document that every ice front in the southern part of the Antarctic Peninsula has been retreating overall from 1947 to 2009, with the most dramatic changes occurring since 1990. The USGS previously documented that the majority of ice fronts on the entire Peninsula have also retreated during the late 20th century and into the early 21st century. Continue Reading »
Animals have been found to have infected humans sometime in the past with the common respiratory disease Chlamydia pneumoniae, according to Queensland University of Technology infectious disease expert Professor Peter Timms.
Unlike the sexually-transmitted form of chlamydia, Chlamydia pneumoniae is a major bacterial germ that causes widespread respiratory disease in humans. Continue Reading »
Today’s wind turbine blades, which can measure more than 60 metres in length, are subjected to enormous loads, which means that a blade can flex as much as 4-6 metres during strong gusts. However, the blades are also so long that there can be considerable differences in the loading from the gusts along the blade. In wind farms, surrounding wind turbines also exert considerable influence and generate turbulence, which has a more localised effect. Continue Reading »
Regulatory proteins common to all eukaryotic cells can have additional, unique functions in embryonic stem (ES) cells, according to a study in the February 22 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org). If cancer progenitor cells—which function similarly to stem cells—are shown to rely on these regulatory proteins in the same way, it may be possible to target them therapeutically without harming healthy neighboring cells. Continue Reading »
A medical test initially researched for aging adults also could be helpful for premature babies, according to scientists with Texas AgriLife Research.
The procedure, which uses fecal samples rather than the oft-dreaded colonoscopy, was developed by Dr. Robert Chapkin and his colleagues, who have been studying the noninvasive technique at the genetic level for more than a decade. Continue Reading »
By unraveling the mysteries that exist within the molecular composition of mosquitoes, a team of Kansas State University researchers is trying to discover how the insects survive a parasite that causes malaria in humans.
Kristin Michel, K-State assistant professor in the Division of Biology, has been leading studies involving Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquitoes, which are the main contributing species to malaria transmission in Africa. Michel’s research team’s recent project involved characterizing genes specific to hemocytes, which are mosquito blood cells. The researchers were able to identify genes in the blood cells whose expression changed with malaria infection. Continue Reading »
A new study published in Vaccine describes a new method that assesses the impact and cost-effectiveness of a range of vaccination options. The model was applied to the 2009 influenza H1N1 outbreak and predicted accurately in real-time when the epidemic would peak and who should be prioritized for vaccination. Continue Reading »