Making biological drug with spider silk protein
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTISTS at Karolinska Insti-tutet in Sweden have managed to produce synthetic lung surfactant using DNA sequence derived from spider silk proteins. Surfactant is a drug used to strengthen the lungs of premature babies by reducing the surface tension in their pulmo-nary alveoli (the structures in the lung that allow for respiration) and allowing them to […]
Impact of global warming on mosquito-borne diseases
Reading Time: 2 minutesAS TEMPERATURES rise with climate change, mosquito season extends past the summer months in many parts of the world. The question has been how this lengthened season influences the risk of being infected with mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Now, in a paper published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Stanford researchers modelled […]
First ISCEP seminar hosted in Malaysia
Reading Time: 2 minutesSUBANG JAYA: With the ever-growing threat of cardiovascular disease, the fact remains that western methods and approach at quelling the threat and preventing the disease are not working as effectively as it should, due to the difference of climate, environment and eating patterns. For the first time, Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah the Founder and […]
‘Womb-like’ device could revolutionise care for premature Infants
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY LAUREN SCRUDATO An innovative “bio-bag” system developed by a team of doctors from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) mimics the environment of a mother’s womb and could provide the physiologic support premature babies need to properly develop. One in ten babies born in the US are considered premature (younger than 37 weeks gestational […]
Transforming spinach leaves into beating human hearts
Reading Time: 2 minutes BY LUKA ZUPANČIČ US scientists have managed to transform spinach leaves into functional beating heart tissues with their own vascular networks, possibly opening up a new branch of tissue engineering science based on plant mimicry. The scientific field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine emerged in the last decade as an answer to the […]
Scientists rewarm large-scale tissues preserved at freezing temperatures
Reading Time: 2 minutesA research team led by the University of Minnesota, has discovered a groundbreaking process to successfully rewarm large-scale animal heart valves and blood vessels preserved at very low temperatures. The discovery is a major step forward in saving millions of human lives by increasing the availability of organs and tissues for transplantation through the establishment of […]