Nanosecond pulsed electric fields activate immune cells

09-Aug-2019 - Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) produce strong electrical effects by focusing a high powered electrical pulse over a very short period of time. They are attracting attention as a method of physically stimulating matter in various fields, particularly in the life sciences. Recently, ...

Cheap and simple detection of neurotoxic chemicals

02-Aug-2017 - There is a limited amount of data on the global health impacts of pesticides, but many injuries and deaths worldwide can be attributed to their misuse. Pesticide contamination of food and water sources is a very serious problem, particularly in third world countries. The detection of these ...

Epigenetic program leading to vessel differentiation

23-May-2017 - Clarification of how human blood vessels are constructed is desperately needed to advance regenerative medicine. A collaborative research group from Kumamoto University, Kyoto University, and the University of Tokyo in Japan investigated the changes in gene functions that occur when stem cells ...

Microdevice provides novel method of measuring cell mechanical properties

15-May-2017 - The mechanical properties of cells have an impact on biological processes ranging from wound healing and disease to cellular aging and differentiation. Currently, the most popular method of measuring the mechanical properties of a cell is by atomic-force microscopy (AFM). Very simply, AFM works ...

Fast, low energy, and continuous biofuel extraction from microalgae

03-May-2017 - As an alternative to liquid fossil fuels, biodiesel extracted from microalgae is an increasingly important part of the bioenergy field. While it releases a similar amount of CO2 as petroleum when burned, theCO2 released from biodiesel is that which has recently been removed from the atmosphere ...

High indoxyl sulfate levels caused by acute kidney injury damages lungs

24-Feb-2017 - Acute kidney injury (AKI) is sudden kidney failure or damage lasting from a few hours to several days. During this time, the kidney's ability to maintain a proper balance of bodily fluids is compromised and causes a buildup of waste products in the blood. There are several causes of AKI including ...

Skin cancer-causing fusion gene identified

03-Nov-2015 - Angiosarcoma is a malignant cancer of the endothelial cells of blood or lymphatic vessels. Cutaneous angiosarcoma, a form of skin cancer, commonly occurs on the scalp of elderly people and can rapidly metastasize to the liver, lungs or lymph nodes. Its five-year survival rate is famously poor at ...

Putting the Brakes on Drug-Resistant HIV

Probing Multidrug Resistance and Protein-Ligand Interactions with Oxatricyclic Designed Ligands in HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors

22-Sep-2010 - HIV-1 protease inhibitors were added as a component of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the mid-1990s, and have played a key role in that treatment regimen ever since. However, the emergence of multidrug-resistant HIV strains requires the discovery and design of conceptually new ...