Category: Featured Videos
Modified nanobodies clear protein clumps associated with Parkinson’s disease
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease are caused by protein aggregations that disrupt the normal functioning of neurons in the brain. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Michigan have created a type of antibody that acts upon and unravels the protein clumps, known as Lewy bodies. The antibody’ success in targeting the […]
Novel ultrasound therapy helps reduce blood pressure
Researchers led by Columbia University have demonstrated that an experimental ultrasound treatment – delivered to nerves near the kidney – successfully produced clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure. Called renal denervation, the brief pulses of ultrasound reportedly worked for people whose hypertension did not respond to a triple cocktail of medications. In a 2019 clinical […]
Old arthritis drug overcomes antibiotic resistance
Decades of overuse of antibiotics has rendered most of humanity’s best drugs useless against superbugs; researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), however, have discovered new potential to diminish bacterial resistance by repurposing an existing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug, auranofin. The team found that auranofin, an old drug used to treat RA since the […]
Sneaky nanoparticle slips past cancer’s defences to kill cancer
A team of scientists from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed a novel “Trojan horse” approach to killing evasive cancer cells by using a cancer-friendly peptide to cloak another cancer-fighting nanoparticle. The NTU scientists took advantage of cancer cells’ dependency on L-phenylalanine, which is an amino acid, to help their drug-free nanoparticle sneak into […]
School children suffer in toxic waste dumping case in Malaysia
An easy discharge of chemical waste believed to contain heavy metals into a river has escalated into a respiratory hazard for residents along the Straits of Johor, Malaysia. There have been three consecutive waves of air pollution as the chemicals got washed along Sungai Kim Kim, where at least seven schools are located. A local […]
Children have better mental health in “greener” upbringing, study shows
More and more children live and play in the city, and the fast-paced lifestyle is a contributing factor to mental illness later in life – an increasing estimate by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, a study from Aarhus University, Denmark,aims to counter the damage, for posterity. For the study, researchers used satellite data to […]
Successful face transplant gives man a new lease on life
A Californian man who tried to kill himself with a shotgun has undergone the most advanced face transplant surgery ever performed. Cameron Underwood, 26, had struggled for years with depression, and in 2016, he placed a shotgun under his chin and pulled the trigger. Two years later, he made his first public appearance after undergoing […]
Smart contact lens predicts glaucoma progression
A contact lens with a built-in sensor could help determine which glaucoma patients have a higher risk of disease progression, according to a new study. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center found certain patterns of electrical signals emitted from the “smart” contact lenses correlate with a faster rate of glaucoma progression. The findings are being […]
Afternoon naps are good for the heart
Wanting an afternoon nap doesn’t mean you’re lazy, now that it’s backed by research. Taking something as little as an afternoon nap can reduce blood pressure levels, studies say. Dr Manolis Kallistratos, a cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital in Athens, led the study. The study gathered 200 men and 186 women, average age 61.4 […]
