New miniaturised chip dramatically reduces time taken for DNA analysis
A team of researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has developed new miniature sensors for analysing DNA. The sensors have the same size and thickness as a fingernail and reduce the time needed to identify DNA chains to several minutes or a few hours, depending on each chain. These sensors can be applied to many different tasks, ranging from paternity tests and identifying people to d...A case of mistaken molecular identity
Researchers in Argentina have determined that night blindness is a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease. A team led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar Mariano Jorge Levin and Cristina Paveto of the Institute for Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology (INGEBI), National Research Council, National Council of Scientific Research and Technology in Buenos Air...A case of mistaken identity for the ivory-billed woodpecker?
Video evidence that an extinct woodpecker is alive and well in Arkansas, USA may prove to be a case of mistaken identity. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Biology shows how fleeting images thought to be the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis could be another native woodpecker species. J. Martin Collinson compared David Luneau's Arkansas video footage fro...Are cancer patients being taken for a ride?
One issue that always raises many uncomfortable questions and more troubling answers is that of drug trials. Drug testing has always been an ethical issue and has kindled a lot of heated arguments for and against it. Recent studies have revealed that cancer victims suffer the most when it comes to drug testing when sometimes very toxic new anti cancer drugs are tested on unsuspecting vict...Poor Preventive Measures Taken By Diabetics
A recent study shows only 7 percent of diabetics take the proper preventative measures to avert // circulation and blood vessel problems. Researchers stressed continued negligence by diabetics increases their risk for vascular disease including retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, coronary heart disease, stroke, and lower extremity amputations. Researchers sampled nearly 1,700 adults, a...Drugs Taken During Pregnancy Found To Affect Unborn Babies
The lifetime risk for depression in women ranges from 10 percent to 25 percent, with the peak prevalence occurring during // the childbearing years. Some reports suggest as many as 14 percent of pregnant women suffer from depression and up to 35 percent of women use antidepressants during pregnancy. Studies involving infants exposed to SSRIs in the womb have shown few ill effects, so most...Herbal remedies can have harmful interaction when taken with drugs for rheumatic arthritis
A recent study had pointed out the fact that herbal preparations and over the counter alternative medicines// may react badly when taken along with medication for rheumatic arthritis. The study points out that herbal preparations and alternate medicines are widely used by people suffering from rheumatic arthritis. Most of these preparations are exempted from the government regulations...