Medical Breakthroughs

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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby Anonymizer » Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:41 am

Is Banana Spider Venom the New Viagra?
Banana spider to the rescue! :banana:
Does the thought of getting bit by a spider give you a massive erection? Probably not, but depending on the spider, the situation may be out of your control. Take the wandering spider, for example. The venom in this wily arachnid causes erections in men. But it doesn’t just cause your average, everyday erection. It causes priapism, that seemingly awesome but actually painful and horrifying condition where erections last four hours or more (as always, consult your doctor if this happens). In light of this, it’s quite fitting that the wandering spider is also called the banana spider. But don’t rush out the door and start antagonizing the first banana spider you see just because you think it will fix your wobbly schlong. For one thing, they’re mainly found on banana plantations and those are hard to come by stateside (although, true to the “wandering” moniker, they’ve been spotted at grocery stores in Oklahoma and Manitoba). Also, the venom doesn’t just cause sustained wood. It can also cause loss of muscle control, severe pain, difficulty breathing and death due to oxygen deprivation.

LINK: http://www.thesmokingjacket.com/humor/banana-spider-venom-information
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby Anonymizer » Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:22 am

Genetically modified cows produce 'human' milk
I know some people have a "cow" every time they hear about GMOs, but give it a break after a while!!! :up2:
The scientists have successfully introduced human genes into 300 dairy cows to produce milk with the same properties as human breast milk. Human milk contains high quantities of key nutrients that can help to boost the immune system of babies and reduce the risk of infections. The scientists behind the research believe milk from herds of genetically modified cows could provide an alternative to human breast milk and formula milk for babies, which is often criticised as being an inferior substitute.

LINK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/geneticmodification/8423536/Genetically-modified-cows-produce-human-milk.html
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby Anonymizer » Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:34 am

Scientists create stable, self-renewing neural stem cells
I'm sure that any new therapies developed as a result of this breakthrough will only be available to the very rich, but it's still interesting to read about just the same! :chill:
"It's a big step forward," said Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and human genetics at Shiley Eye Center and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine, both at UC San Diego. "It means we can generate stable, renewable neural stem cells or downstream products quickly, in great quantities and in a clinical grade – millions in less than a week – that can be used for clinical trials and, eventually, for clinical treatments. Until now, that has not been possible."

LINK: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-scientists-stable-self-renewing-neural-stem.html
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby Anonymizer » Wed May 18, 2011 6:54 am

Scientists Identify Genes that Control Obesity, Diabetes
This is not likely to lead to any new treatments any time soon, but it shows that scientists are making progress in understanding how the body works at the cellular and genetic level. :pacman:
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby Anonymizer » Tue May 24, 2011 7:31 am

Baby boomers fueling boom in knee, hip surgeries
I personally know about a half dozen people who have had major surgery on one joint or another. Not sure what to say except all my friends and I are getting old!!! :yup:
We're becoming a nation of bum knees, worn-out hips and sore shoulders, and it's not just the Medicare set. Baby boomer bones and joints also are taking a pounding, spawning a boom in operations to fix them. Knee replacement surgeries have doubled over the last decade and more than tripled in the 45-to-64 age group, new research shows. Hips are trending that way, too. And here's a surprise: It's not all due to obesity. Ironically, trying to stay fit and avoid extra pounds is taking a toll on a generation that expects bad joints can be swapped out like old tires on a car.

LINK: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_BOOMER_BONES
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby wildrose » Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:44 am

Alabama man first to receive stem cell therapy
It's nice to see that religious dogma isn't completely shutting down medical progress in this area. It would have been nice if we had gotten to this point ten years ago. Think of all the people that would have been helped! But the immature religious idiots in the world always have to have force their ridiculously ignorant religious views on everybody else.
:smack:
A man from Alabama has become the first person in the United States to receive a highly-debated embryonic stem cell transplant. Researchers are hoping the technology will be a game changer for those with debilitating spinal cord injuries. TJ Atchinson hopes he's living the dream of Superman Christopher Reeve -- to become the first human to receive embryonic stem cell therapy. Atchinson was paralyzed following a devastating car accident.

LINK: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/health&id=8167702
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby pcslim » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:24 am

Hacking DNA: Scientists Generate New Organisms Not Found in Nature
In concept this is not a new idea at all, but inevitably progress is being made in turning an idea into something that is actually done! Interesting stuff!
An international team of researchers has now succeeded in generating a bacterium possessing a DNA in which thymine is replaced by the synthetic building block 5-chlorouracil (c), a substance toxic for other organisms. The genetic information of all living cells is stored in the DNA composed of the four canonical bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T).

LINK: http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/06/hacking-dna-scientists-generate-new-organisms-not-found-in-naturean-international-team-of-researchers-has-now-succeeded-in-g.html
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby pcslim » Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:39 am

"Earth Pop.1000 to Outer Space": A Single Genome Reveals Entire Span of Human History
Fascinating stuff! :twirl:
The ancestors of Asians and Europeans dwindled by a factor of ten to roughly 1,200 reproductively active people between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago, Durbin and Li calculate. African populations also crashed, but by nowhere near the same extent, dropping to around 5,700 breeding individuals. Other studies have recorded population crashes at around the same time, Reich says.

In a seperate analysis, Durbin and Li compared an X chromosome from an African with one from a non-African to determine when their ancestors stopped interbreeding after the first humans left Africa and colonized other parts of the world. Human remains and artefacts unearthed in Europe, Asia and Australia seem to suggest humans rapidly colonized these places by about 40,000 years ago, diminishing the opportunities to interbreed with Africans.

LINK: http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/07/from-earth-pop-1000-to-exploration-of-space-a-single-genome-reveals-entire-span-of-human-history.html
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby desertrat » Tue Jul 26, 2011 7:55 am

Dental Breakthrough: Mouse Stem Cells Grow Teeth
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby cactuspete » Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:49 am

Engineers Build Smart Petri Dish: Device Can Be Used for Medical Diagnostics, Imaging Cell Growth Continuously
This will certainly help with the diagnosis of some diseases and it will definitely facilitate certain kinds of research! :yippy2:
"Our ePetri dish is a compact, small, lens-free microscopy imaging platform. We can directly track the cell culture or bacteria culture within the incubator," explains Guoan Zheng, lead author of the study and a graduate student in electrical engineering at Caltech. "The data from the ePetri dish automatically transfers to a computer outside the incubator by a cable connection. Therefore, this technology can significantly streamline and improve cell culture experiments by cutting down on human labor and contamination risks."

LINK: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111003151834.htm
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby cactuspete » Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:31 am

Human Gut Bacteria May Come in Three Flavors
There may be more going on in your gut than you realize! Interesting research with some interesting implications for your health! :prof:
New research published in the journal Nature suggests that the human microbiome — that is, the community of organisms that live symbiotically within humans — may occur in certain set varieties. The study, which sequenced the all the available genes in a fecal matter sample, found that those people sampled fell into three categories they call “enterotypes.” This research hinges on the growing acceptance of viewing humans as microbiomes. Humans are, after all, made up of many different bacteria and other tiny critters that help us perform fundamental metabolic functions. In terms of function, each of the enterotype-defining genera has been linked to nutrient-processing preferences — Bacteroides to carbohydrates, Prevotella to proteins called mucins, or Ruminococcus to mucins and sugars — but far more may be going on.

LINK: http://www.geekosystem.com/enterotypes-gut-bacteria/
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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

Postby wildrose » Thu Nov 03, 2011 6:52 am

Breakthrough could lead to treatment for symptoms of growing old
I'm always skeptical about any anti-aging therapy, but then again it seems that there probably some biological tricks that could extend life at least to some extent.
Using a drug known as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), scientists were able to limit and repair damage to the DNA and reduce levels of a harmful reactive molecule called reactive oxygen species, helping cells stay healthy for longer. Although NAC did not affect some types of cell damage, these can be controlled using dietary supplements and a combination of the two could help treat progeria, researchers said. Although the study is at a very early stage and the drug has not been tested in humans, it could lead to new therapies not only for progeria but for a range of health problems suffered by the ageing population.

LINK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8863233/Breakthrough-could-lead-to-treatment-for-symptoms-of-growing-old.html
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