New material to promote natural wound healing
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMATERIALS are widely used to help heal wounds: Collagen sponges help treat burns and pressure sores, and scaffold-like implants are used to repair bones. However, the process of tissue repair changes over time, so scientists are developing biomaterials that interact with tissues as healing takes place. Now, Dr Ben Almquist and his team at Imperial […]
Scientists grow perfect human blood vessels in a Petri dish
Reading Time: 2 minutesBreakthrough technology advances research of vascular diseases like diabetes SCIENTISTS have managed to grow perfect human blood vessels as organoids in a Petri dish for the first time. The breakthrough engineering technology, outlined in a new study published recently in Nature, dramatically advances research of vascular diseases like diabetes, identifying a key pathway to potentially […]
Monash-created zebrafish model to aid epilepsy research
Reading Time: 2 minutesA recently concluded workshop on communicating research hosted by Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (Mabic) and Monash University Malaysia, found potential “science journalists” among researchers. The articles published here is also a testimony of the success of the first home-grown science communication teaching module created by Mabic. The writers were given an opportunity to write popular […]
Medicine from crop waste
Reading Time: 2 minutesTohoku University researchers are optimising methods to produce useful compounds from biomass A TEAM of researchers have identified a one-step process to easily convert a plant-based sugar into a chemical compound, which can then be used to manufacture other substances, including a natural pharmaceutical used to treat conditions such as congenital heart disease and erectile […]
How does cancer spread?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHOW does cancer spread? While studying human brain tumour cells, a team of scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) found some answers to this crucial, yet so far unanswered question. They looked at a gene called EGFRvIII, which is present in patients with glioblastoma – a highly aggressive form […]
Bidayuh folk consume medicinal plants worth RM32k
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE value of traditional medicinal plants consumed by the Bidayuh native community in Sarawak each year is notably substantial at about RM32,300 (US$7,600) annually. This is according to a survey carried by a team of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas). “This figure is quite significant and reflects the importance of the resources provided by […]
Beating cancer with our immune system
Reading Time: 6 minutesThe 2018 Nobel Prize Laureates for Medicine, Prof Tasuku Honjo at the University of Kyoto and Prof James Allison at Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre were recognised for their contribution in using antibodies to unlock our immune system’s hidden potential. Their work has led to the development of “Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapies”. With accurate understanding of […]
The Lion’s Mane mushroom, culinary and curative
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY DR WONG KAH HUI EDIBLE mushrooms represent an untapped source of nutraceuticals. They are treasured as functional food that can improve our health and quality of life. Mushroom-based functional food are products from mycelia or the fruiting bodies of mushrooms and are being utilised by traditional physicians, herbalists, naturopathic practitioners, chiropractors, acupuncturists and herbal […]
Scientists develop novel vaccine for lassa fever and rabies
Reading Time: 2 minutesA NOVEL vaccine designed to protect people from both Lassa fever and rabies showed promise in preclinical testing, according to new research published in Nature Communications. The investigational vaccine, called LASSARAB, was developed and tested by scientists at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia; the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal; the University of California, San […]
Researchers discover rapid method to diagnose superbugs
Reading Time: 2 minutesA TEAM of researchers at the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Medicine and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has achieved a scientific breakthrough in the accelerated diagnosis of multi-resistant hospital pathogens. Using a novel immunochromatographic method, the researchers detected bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic group carbapenemes within 20 to 45 minutes […]