Latest Articles
Naked Mole Rats Can Help Stroke Victims
The naked mole rat, a blind, nearly hairless rodent about the size of a mouse that lives underground, might provide the secret to reducing brain damage caused during a stroke. Thanks to these rodents, scientists know a lot more about how neurons survive in low-oxygen conditions. Armed with this new knowledge, they are working to find a way to prevent or minimize the impact of stroke, not only on seniors but also the 34% of people hospitalized for stroke who are under the age of 65.
Gator-aid: Alligators Gnawing on the Mystery of Tooth Regeneration
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are studying the alligator for clues how to regenerate teeth in humans. The tooth structure of alligators is surprisingly similar to that of humans, except that an alligator has eighty teeth, each of which can be regenerated up to fifty times in a single day. The frequency at which American alligators can regenerate teeth is due to the activation of dormant stem cells which trigger the growth of a new tooth when the alligator loses one.
Studying Fruit Flies to Understand ALS
The tiny fruit fly could hold the answers to many of the mysteries surrounding ALS. Scientists are currently studying genes that are believed to play a role in the disease in hopes that they can develop targeted gene therapies. One study in fruit flies revealed a method of reducing the toxicity associated with a key ALS protein, a strategy to slow the loss of neuron function.
Holy Cow, Can You Hear Me Now?
Hearing loss has many causes including genetic disorders, extended exposure to dangerously loud sounds and normal aging. Hearing aids can’t repair the damage regardless of the cause. Taking a different approach that uses biology and technology, researchers at Princeton are developing a bionic ear that contains biological and electronic materials, including bovine or cow cells, silicone, and silver nanoparticles. The structure of cartilage cells from cows is similar to that of human cells, and bovine cells are much easier to obtain.
One Step Forward: Salamanders and Limb Regeneration
Looking for a better answer for amputees, researchers have turned to nature’s expert in limb regeneration, the salamander. The human body initially reacts similarly to that of a salamander. We immediately form a scar to prevent the open wound from infections and major blood loss, but our bodies stop there. Unlike the salamanders, we cannot reactivate or naturally form a blastema to regenerate a new limb in a few weeks.
Bionic Woman Live: Horsehead Grasshopper Works Behind the Scene
Scientists and engineers at MIT are striving to change the design of artificial limbs which are difficult to use and extremely painful. Their efforts are benefiting from studies on a very curious insect model: the horsehead grasshopper that can move its limbs without relying on any muscles. They studied denervated grasshopper limbs that were flexed at different angles and found that a “passive joint force” moves limbs to their original positions when flexed.
Looking at Armadillos for a Cure to Blindness
Normally when studying disorders that cause blindness in humans, scientists genetically disable cone-related genes in small animals like mice. Studying nine-banded armadillos would give scientists a much more realistic model to test viable treatment options, such as gene therapy, a method of correcting a genetic disease by replacing defective genes with corrected copies. If gene therapy were able to correct the nine-banded armadillo’s cone-related mutations, it could be adapted to correct forms of human blindness.
An Abnormal Heart
An abnormal heart in her newborn, a devastating flaw,
one that this mother blames herself for.
Although the cause is unclear, she still cries,
and unaware of her own genetic code.
These vital genes, construct the heart;
the most important organ to life.
Distorted valves and chambers affected by Congenital Heart Disease,
lead to an unpromising future.
Understanding Stress at a Snail’s Pace
Snails respond to stress like mammals do. Similar stress responses in both humans and snails make the snail a perfect animal model for researchers studying this constant factor in our lives. Researchers found that when snails must cope with strenuous and varied stressors, their memory stops working. In the study, snails became stressed when they experienced low levels of calcium, needed for proper shell growth, and when the presence of other snails caused overcrowding.
Snake Oil: From Quack Medicine to Cure for Cardiac Disease
After the Burmese python gorges on massive quantities of food, its metabolism increases by about 40% and its organs enlarge: its gastrointestinal tract doubles in size, and its heart cells swell by about 40%. No new tissue is generated -- the cells grow in a process called hypertrophy. The enlarged heart of the python is not unlike that of the human athlete, heavily muscled and extremely capable. Despite ingesting immense volumes of fat, the heart of the Burmese python never seems to suffer from plaque buildup.