Prepare for emergency and watch this fascinating animated video to learn how to perform neonatal endotracheal incubation.
Source: MedicalVideos
Biomedical Laboratory Science
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
Medical Video: How does insulin work in the body
Take a trip inside the body in this fascinating animated video to find out how insulin works in the body.
Source: MedicalVideos
New Gene Associated With Familial High Cholesterol
The gene that explains one quarter of all familial hypercholesterolemia with very high blood cholesterol has been revealed. Familial hypercholesterolemia is the most common genetic disorder leading to premature death, found in 1 in 200 people.
The reason why lipoprotein(a) concentrations are raised in individuals with clinical familial hypercholesterolemia is unclear. The hypotheses that high lipoprotein(a) cholesterol and LPA risk genotypes are a possible cause of clinical familial hypercholesterolemia, and that individuals with both high lipoprotein(a) concentrations and clinical familial hypercholesterolemia have the highest risk of myocardial infarction.
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| Clinical manifestation of Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia, interdigital xanthoma |
Source: labmedica
Rising Liquid Biopsy Tide Lifts Cancer Dx
Traditional Tissue Biopsies Are Not Providing the Type of Real-Time Monitoring Necessary for Effectively Catching Relapse
As molecular diagnostics for oncology shifts into clinical practice, efforts have not only focused on genotyping patient-specific tumors to initiate targeted therapies, but on early detection, availability, improved quality control, and refined workflow.
One major push, that exemplifies the concomitance of these trends, has been the rise of the less-invasive and more cost-effective liquid sampling for cancer diagnosis; sometimes called a liquid biopsy.
Read more: Rising Liquid Biopsy Tide Lifts Cancer Dx
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| The FDA recently approved Hologic’s prostate cancer test, which improves upon the less sensitive and less specific standard PSA tests via examination of the PCA3 gene in urine. |
Source: genengnews
Sunday, May 29, 2016
RNAi Is Working on Tactics to Avoid siRNA Degradation and Improve Targeting and Delivery
Initially observed in plants and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and subsequently in all major eukaryotic species, RNA interference (RNAi) has been recognized as a post-translational mechanism for the silencing of specific genes. RNAi is instigated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules, and it exploits the base sequences of dsRNA, or rather the base sequences of the molecules derived from dsRNA, to silence genes in a sequence-specific manner.
RNAi evolved as a way to protect host genomes from parasitic nucleotide sequences, such as those arising from viral infections. But RNAi is not just a natural mechanism. It is also a contrivance, a research tool or, potentially, a therapeutic modality. The RNAi pathway provides a new framework to artificially introduce dsRNA into organisms to silence specific genes based on sequence complementarity.
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| Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a post-exposure treatment that is effective against the Makona strain of Ebola. The treatment, which has been tested in nonhuman primates, is being evaluated for use in infected patients in Sierra Leone. It uses a sequence-specific short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to target and interfere with the Ebola virus. The siRNAs are encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to potentiate cellular delivery. |
Source: genengnews
Your Lifespan can be Reduced by Mood and Stress.
A study, published this week in Molecular Psychiatry, finds the genetic basis of a poorly understood phenomenon. Mood and stress are known to contribute to shortened lifespans, and researchers may now have identified the genes that are involved.
A team from Indiana University School of Medicine and the Scripps Research Institute, CA, conducted a multifaceted project investigating the genetic basis of premature aging in response to stress and psychiatric illness.
Using human participants and Caenorhabditis elegans, one of planet Earth's most-studied worms, the researchers delved into this intractable question.
They managed to identify a raft of genes that seem to control the impact of mood and stress responses on the longevity of an organism.
An in-depth study charts the genetics involved in the shortening of life in
response to mood and stress.
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Source: medicalnewstoday
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Putting A Q-Tip Inside Your Ear Is A BIG Mistake! This Is How You Should Clean Your Ears
The earwax inside the ears has a purpose, which is protecting the ear canal. It actually helps the ear clean itself and stay lubricated, protecting it thus from bacteria, water, insects, fungi, etc. the earwax is also called cerumen, which is the medical term.
The cerumen represents a protective barrier which saves the delicate and the sensitive skin inside the external auditory canal from harm.
From time to time, the earwax accumulates in the ear in greater quantities. The majority of people do not know how to use the Q-tips and put them inside their ears in order to clean them. Even though it sounds weird, the ear wax is actually good for you. Placing a Q-tip anywhere with the exception of the outermost parts of the ear can cause a lot of harm to your health.
It is recommended that when there is some earwax in your ears, you just leave it alone. The ear has a magically, wonderfully working system which works in the following way: the skin grows outward gradually and it almost forms a little conveyor belt that carries the earwax out.
Source: non-stophealthy
Friday, May 27, 2016
The superbug that doctors have been dreading just reached the U.S.
For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotics of last resort, an alarming development that the top U.S. public health official says could mean “the end of the road” for antibiotics.
Source: washingtonpost
The antibiotic-resistant strain was found last month in the urine of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman. Defense Department researchers determined that she carried a strain of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin, according to a study published Thursday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. The authors wrote that the discovery “heralds the emergence of a truly pan-drug resistant bacteria.”
Source: washingtonpost
The PhD journey: A guide to applying, starting and succeeding
To postgraduates, a PhD may seem like an ideal opportunity to improve research skills prior to future work. However, the application process is a competitive and often challenging experience. This article seeks to de-mystify some of the common questions surrounding PhD applications and provide some hints and tips for potential applicants.
1. Is a PhD for you?
An increasing number of postgraduates are applying for PhD study to develop their academic and professional skills. However, before you begin to consider searching for positions, you must be fully aware of what studying for a PhD actually entails. A PhD is the highest degree a person can achieve. It will involve around three years’ full-time (up to six years’ part-time) work, culminating in a thesis of somewhere around 80,000 words. It is research-intensive, with you developing and leading projects and writing papers in your chosen field of study. Although you will have the support of two or more specialist supervisors, a PhD is by-and-large independent work.
Not unexpectedly, a new drug-resistant ‘superbug’ pops up in the United States
For years, public health experts have warned us that deadly bacteria are developing resistance to all our available antibiotics. This week, researchers reported the first known U.S. case of an Escherichia coli infection resistant to colistin, a harsh drug seen as a last resort to knock out stubborn infections. The finding, described in the American Society for Microbiology journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, is no big surprise to researchers tracking the rise of resistant bacteria. The resistance gene, known as mcr-1, was discovered in E. coli in China last year, and has since cropped up in Europe.
As the United States crosses the same ominous milestone, research to understand resistance and develop new drugs is surging ahead. As Science reported earlier this month, evolutionary biologists have recently revisited old dogma about how best to prescribe antibiotics—revealing that trusted strategies such as using a high dose may not actually help prevent resistance.
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| E. coli bacteria growing in a dish. |
Source: sciencemag
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