tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20623934216210651042024-03-13T04:18:57.354-04:00She Blinded Me With ScienceA blog about new discoveries and hot topics in the world of science, technology, and medicine.Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-58562332621896220982011-01-19T14:07:00.001-05:002011-01-19T14:09:31.731-05:00Japan's National Cancer Institute running clinical trials for a new form of radiation therapy<strong>Particle-accelerator-based boron-neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a new form of radiation therapy that promises to be more effective at eliminating certain tumors, has begun clinical trails in Japan.</strong><br />
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Many forms of cancer are quite difficult to treat with current modalities, the dreaded glioblastoma multiforme (a particularly deadly form of brain tumor) comes to mind. It's shown nearly complete resistence to all the conventional, and some less common, treatment methods; The 5-year survival rate for someone diagnosed with a GBM sits at less than 5%. But thanks to a new form of radiation treatment being tested in Japan by the National Cancer Institute, patients with tumors like GBMs may soon see a huge improvement in survival. <strong> </strong><br />
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The new form of radiation therapy is called boron-neutron capture therapy (BNCT). It has actually been around for quite some time, but it's potential for clinical use has been limited for a variety of reasons; The requirement that the treatment facility house a nuclear reactor being the limiting factor. <br />
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The principle behind the entire process is that boron-10, a non-radioactive form of the element boron, is irradiated with high-energy neutrons, producing damaging alpha particles along with recoil-Lithium nuclei. The alpha particles have high energies, but because the distance they travel is so small (a few micrometres), they generally only damage cells that contain boron-10: in this case the cancer cells.<br />
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A patient going in for treatment of a GBM, for example, would get an injection of a boron-10-containing chemical. The chemical would be selective in that it would get absorbed only by the tumor cells and not by the patient's healthy, normal cells. The patient would then have their head placed near a neutron source, where a short burst of neutrons would be directed at the patient's head. The resulting alpha particles would then destroy only the cancer cells.<br />
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The treatment is specific to cancer cells, and can also treat metastatic disease: cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. So why hasn't it been used up until now? The primary reason, as mentioned earlier, is the need to build a nuclear reactor near every treatment machine that's being used, it's simply too impractical and extremely expensive.<br />
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The most recent studies show that neutrons produced by particle accelerators instead of nuclear reactors are a feasible, and far more cost effective, method of providing the much needed neutrons. These accelerators are similar to the ones currently used for external-beam radiation therapy, but much larger, more expensive, and operating at higher energies.<br />
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Although Japan is the first country to begin using this form of therapy in clinical trials, many other countries have jumped on board to implement BNCT in hospitals and clinics, including the United States, European countries, and Argentina. <br />
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Sufferers with cancers of the liver, brain, and extremely invasive melanomas (skin cancers) have the potential to see large improvements in their survival with this new mode of therapy. An exciting development to keep posted on in the near future, that's for sure.<br />
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References:<br />
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Barth RF, Coderre JA, Vicente MGH, Blue TE. 2005. BNCT of Cancer: Current Status and Future Prospects. Clin Cancer Res; 11: 3987.<br />
<div id="slugline" jquery1295460277805="265"><a href="http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/11/11/3987.full">doi: <span class="slug-doi" title="10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-0035">10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-0035 </span></a></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265">Suzuki M, Tanaka H, Sakurai Y. 2009. Impact of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (AB-BNCT) on the treatment of multiple liver tumors and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Radiother. Oncol; 92(1): 89-95. <br />
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Suzuki M, Sakurai Y, Hagiwara S, et al. 2006. First Attempt of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology; 37(5): 376-381. </div><div jquery1295460277805="265"><a href="http://jjco.oxfordjournals.org/content/37/5/376.full">doi: 10.1093/jjco/hym039</a></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"><br />
</div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div><div jquery1295460277805="265"></div>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-39525981794618596932011-01-09T19:08:00.000-05:002011-01-09T19:08:52.527-05:00Are tears a turnoff for guys?<b>A new research study published in Science shows that chemosignals present in tears can impact the emotions of others.</b><br />
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As usual, I've been absent since forever. Having a million things to work on and plan isn't how I envisioned my life when I was younger; I thought it would be more of me swimming in a pile of money while playing super Nintendo all day, but that doesn't seem realistic at this point.<br />
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But the science must go on...<br />
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A new study published by Noam Sobel and his research team from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel shows that female tears may contain a pheromone-like signal; One that can induce certain physiological responses in males.<br />
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The study exposed men to actual tears taken from female volunteers and compared any physiological effects against those brought on by basic saline solution.<br />
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Nothing was evident from the exposure at first glance, but physiological studies showed some profound effects. The chemical signal decreased male aggression, dropped testosterone levels, and decreased self-reported levels of arousal.<br />
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functional MRI scans of the male volunteers confirmed that specific areas of the brain linked to sexual arousal showed markedly reduced activity.<br />
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All this could indicate that non-verbal communication might play a larger role in humans than previously thought. More directly, it shows how tears carry signals which indicate a female is sexually unreceptive at the moment.<br />
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Noam Sobel and his team are already looking to their next project: hoping to isolate the chemical pheromone responsible for causing the wide range of physiological effects.<br />
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In addition, the researchers are confident that similar chemosignals may exist in men's and even childrens' tears.<br />
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In the near future, we may unravel the deep secrets behind human communication. There may be much more than just language to the equation than previously thought.<br />
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References:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Gelstein S, Yeshurun Y, Rozenkrantz L, et al. (2011). Human Tears Contain a Chemosignal. Science DOI:<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2011/01/05/science.1198331"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333300; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">DOI: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333300; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><span class="slug-doi" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;" title="10.1126/science.1198331">10.1126/science.1198331.</span></span></a></span>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-86041606052847866382010-12-23T03:09:00.000-05:002010-12-23T03:09:21.174-05:00Chocolate helps eliminate cough.<b>Theobromine, an ingredient in over-the-counter chocolate bars, has shown promise as an anti-coughing agent. </b><br />
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Researchers have discovered that a chemical compound, theobromine, a methylxanthine commonly found in dark chocolate and other substances derived from the cocoa plant have shown great promise as an anti-cough medication.<br />
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Chronic cough is a symptom characteristic of many conditions, and many times it can simply be an irritating burden to the sufferer. Or in the case of kids with colds, it can keep them and their parents up all night.<br />
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Current over-the-counter cough remedies contain some kind of opioid, like dextromethorphan or codeine, compounds that may not only cause many side-effects but may also prove to be quite unreliable in dealing with the cough itself. <br />
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Researchers tested theobromine on both humans and guinea-pigs (not in that order, that would be inhumane) by using capsaicin and citric-acid, irritants that stimulate the cough reflex. This is a common method used to study the proper inhibition of coughs by medications. The cough reflex has been linked to vagus nerve and sensory nerve stimulation yet most scientists are still trying to determine the exact mechanisms responsible for long-term coughs brought on by many different conditions. <br />
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In this study theobromine was shown to inhibit both sensory and vagus nerve depolarization in test-test tube conditions, but the difficulty of reproducing and checking this in live organisms still remains elusive so it's unknown whether this is the main mechanism behind theorbomine's success. The studies, regardless of the mechanisms, demonstrate that it works however; a huge plus for cough sufferers everywhere.<br />
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The levels of Theobromine in over-the-counter chocolate bars however might be quite small . But the good news is that it's quite high in chocolate pudding (74.8mg / serving) and chocolate milk (0.011 mg / g). Despite these levels you're most likely not going to be picking up snacks when you're sick just yet. You would have to eat about 12 chocolate pudding cups just to get the amount needed to suppress your cough...something I'm actually looking forward to.<br />
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The sad part is that you would most likely be taking this form of medication in a non-edible form or at best as really really bitter dark chocolate. But I return to my chocolate fantasy for a final thought: <br />
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As a long-time lover of chocolate, I for one welcome this news as something extremely positive. It provides another reason to reach for a chocolate bar at random times with the most minuscule of excuses as to why I'm actually eating so much. Next time, I'll just say I'm taking my medicine.<br />
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References:<br />
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Usmani O, Belvisi MG, Patel HJ, et al. (2004). Theobromine inhibits sensory nerve activation and cough. FASEB J; 19: 231-233.<br />
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Halfdanarson TR, Jatoi A, (2008). Chocolate as a Cough Suppressant: Rationale and Justification for an Upcoming Clinical Trial. Supportive Cancer Therapy; 4(2): 119-122.<br />
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Dicpinigaitis PV, (2010). Inhalation Cough Challenge. Respiratory Medicine Reviews; 6(2): 142-147(6).<br />
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Craig WJ, Nguyen TT, (2006). Caffeine and Theobromine Levels in Cocoa and Carob Products. J Food Science; 49(1): 302-303.<br />
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Ben-Menachem, Elinor (2001). Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Side Effects, and Long-Term Safety. J Clin Neurophys; 18(5): 415-418.Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-58495136775083275562010-12-20T00:17:00.000-05:002010-12-20T00:17:57.324-05:00Zeppelins are cool againModern airships are quite amazing, check out this video of what a commercial flight over Long Beach, California looks like. <br />
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<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NUcpevU-Vlg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NUcpevU-Vlg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-40074980235467664752010-12-17T17:30:00.000-05:002010-12-17T17:30:22.592-05:00Fungi found growing in remains of the Chernobyl reactor.<b>Fungi have been found growing in the remains of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station and surrounding areas. Their secret: use the radiation to grow!</b><br />
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After nearly two weeks without writing anything of substance due to overbearing exams, I'm finally back in action! To jump directly back into science, we'll be discussing a very weird property of certain fungi that have been found living in the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. They've not only figured out how to live with radiation levels many times that of the normal background, but they've also found a way to use it as an energy source for growth!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Radiation is dangerous, that's something no one needs to be reminded of. But scientists studying the wreckage of the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Ukraine have found fungi living in the depths of the reactor where radiation levels are extremely high ( up to 500 times the regular background radiation).<br />
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What's the secret to their success? The fungi contain lots of melanin, the pigment that's responsible for darkening skin colour, has been shown to be an extremely useful radio protector, a substance that can protect against radiation damage. This isn't really anything new as melanin has been shown to block out harmful UV radiation from the sun; however, radiation from the Chernobyl reactor wreckage is much more damaging than its lower energy counterpart, UV. So how does melanin block out such high energy radiation?<br />
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Radiation damages our cells primarily by causing the production of free radicals, highly unstable chemical compounds that tend to react with our DNA. Melanin (and many pigments for that matter) contain their own radicals that stabilize the radicals produced by high energy radiation, thereby reducing the damage to our genes.<br />
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It's quite miraculous that many of these fungi are able to live in such hostile environments, ones in which humans start showing symptoms of radiation sickness within minutes. The more interesting thing though was that these fungi were able to use the radiation as a form of energy, thereby increasing their rate of growth.<br />
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The studies conducted on many of the species have found that they feed off of radioactive graphite ( a radioactive form of Carbon-14) from the reactor core; they essentially use nuclear waste as a food source. One species in particular even grew under extremely nutrient poor conditions.The radiation itself was shown to increase the electron-transfer properties of melanin, particularly the speed of the reaction, which resulted in higher metabolic rates for the fungus. Higher metabolic rates means faster growth for the fungi containing large levels of melanin. <br />
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Many species also exhibited some form of chemotaxis towards radioactive sources. Fungal hyphae were found to grow towards sources of ionizing radiation. They really do think of it as a source of food!<br />
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There are several implications of this discovery, the most important for our own future seems to be the use of these species to dispose of nuclear waste. Removal of fuel waste by these sources could end up making nuclear power a more attractive alternative energy source in the near future, thereby eliminating dependence on fossil fuels which contribute substantially to global warming.<br />
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An even more bizarre suggestion was to use these fungi as food for astronauts on long interplanetary flights. The rationale being that solar UV radiation could be used to power a nearly endless food supply on board spacecraft. If we ever do adopt this form of food distribution for the general population, let me gladly be the first to say "pass the radioactive mushrooms".<br />
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References:<br />
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(Full paper available <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0000457">here</a>)<br />
Dadachova E, Bryan RA, Huang X, et al. (2007). Ionizing Radiation Changes the Electronic Properties of Melanin and Enhances the Growth of Melanized Fungi. PLoS One; 2(5): e457.<br />
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Zhdanova NN, Tugay T, Dighton J, et al. (2004). Ionizing radiation attracts soil fungi. Mycol Res; 108(9): 1089-96.<br />
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<b> </b>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-22420775273955048832010-12-10T01:48:00.003-05:002010-12-10T01:54:11.173-05:00Scientists create mice from two male parents<b>Reproductive researchers have created male and female mice, from parents that were both genetically male. </b><br />
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Considering all the controversy surrounding NASA's press release about arsenic-based lifeforms with different DNA structure, and because of my slowly approaching genetics exam, I thought I would write about an equally interesting genetic development that seems to have skipped the attention of the science tabloids. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>I'm referring to a recent paper published by The Society for the Study of Reproduction by Jian Min Deng and his research team. They investigated a technique using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSes) extracted from mice to create viable male and female children using two fathers!<br />
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Traditionally, males are genetically XY and females are XX, this refers to the two sets of chromosomes that contain similar copies of DNA, and are required to produce a fully functioning individual. What was found in the study was that genetic XY male stem cells carried a mutation in a specific gene (H19) that caused the cell to lose one X chromosome and become an XO. The more interesting part was that these cells would develop into female oocytes: eggs!<br />
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Mice with the XO sex chromosomes were found to be fully functioning females! <br />
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The rate of mutation in H19 was found to be quite low, less than 1%, but further studies showed that deletion of another gene region (Dlk1 - Dio3) greatly increased the chances of producing an XO mutant. <br />
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The researchers also showed that the entire process can be induced using somatic stem cells (iPSes) to produce eggs or sperm. In-vitro fertilization could then be used to generate fully normal offspring, which was shown in the mice.<br />
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Fully formed normal male and female mice were essentially produced from a combination of XY sperm with XO eggs, which themselves derived from sex-reversed XY males. <br />
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There are some barriers to surmount when using this technique however, seeing as how XO genotypes in humans are not fully functioning females but individuals suffering from Turner's Syndrome, a condition that causes cognitive defects and a slew of other health problems. However, further research could lead to a better understanding, or even a potential cure, for diseases like Turner's syndrome or various other genetic diseases. <br />
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These developmental methods can also be used to give same sex couples a child that is genetically theirs, or in the distant future even give individuals the ability to self-replicate (try to wrap your head around that concept for a second). The limits are endless to what could be developed, or what it could mean for society's oldest past-times *nudge nudge wink wink*. One thing is certain, it challenges the very notion of what male and female truly are, perhaps they're nothing but social constructs? Hopefully we'll find out soon enough thanks to studies like this.<br />
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References<br />
The paper is free to read <a href="http://www.biolreprod.org/content/early/recent">here</a>. <br />
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Deng MJ, Satoh K, Chang H, et al. (2010). Generation of Viable Male and Female Mice from Two Fathers. Biol of Reprod; 83(6): In press.<br />
<cite><span class="cit-ahead-of-print-date"><span class="cit-sep cit-sep-after-article-ahead-of-print-date"></span> </span><span class="cit-doi"><span class="cit-sep cit-sep-before-article-doi">doi:</span>10.1095/biolreprod.110.088831</span></cite>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-88816067773953858432010-12-07T02:18:00.001-05:002010-12-09T23:52:38.363-05:0024 Hours of Trauma<h3><span style="font-size: small;">Experience first-hand the day-to-day life of physicians in South Africa's largest hospital, and the trails and tribulations they have to cope with.</span></h3><b1> <br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CZjrSf3QG9k?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CZjrSf3QG9k?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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As I write this I'm extremely exhausted from studying for my ever present, ever annoying examinations. However, during one of my 56 breaks throughout the day I managed to find time to look at some interesting medical videos.<br />
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This one is actually a series of videos that cover different specialists and the days (and nights) they spend working in Bara hospital, South Africa's largest hospital. It's a real treat to see how medicine is practiced in other countries, but more importantly it's a huge wake up call to how good we have it in the west.<br />
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In this video, you get to follow the emergency department staff for a 24-hour shift. <br />
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The amount of problems they have to deal with are astonishing: power outages, no beds, no ventilators, a large portion of HIV-positive patients. <br />
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I highly recommend watching the other videos in the series. They detail the lives of many other specialties, all of which are amazing to watch.<br />
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</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-68982071613029866942010-12-05T14:41:00.001-05:002010-12-05T14:44:25.257-05:00The Inner Life of the Cell<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><b1> To commemorate the semi-finishing of my molecular cell biology course ( exams are still in progress), I thought I would show this cool video on the inner workings of a neutrophil. You can see everything from microtubule formation to lipid rafts and the extremely funny looking dyenin complex strutting its stuff while carrying a comically sized vesicle. If any of this interests you I highly recommend you take a cell biology course, if not then simply enjoy the video.<br />
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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mbcWGU8fpxA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mbcWGU8fpxA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-49183993544207769672010-12-02T01:23:00.001-05:002010-12-02T03:08:58.263-05:00How to Breathe Water...and Not Die?<h3>Newly designed scuba suit allows diving to great depths, all by breathing in ...water? </h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><br />
<b1> So a good friend of mine showed me this <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/into-the-abyss-the-diving-suit-that-turns-men-into-fish-2139167.html">wonderful link</a> to a news article discussing a new type of scuba suit. This one is quite different and allows the wearer to avoid decompression sickness, more commonly called the bends, when diving to extreme depths by allowing the user to breathe....a liquid?! </b1><br />
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The new suit allows its wearer to breathe a specialized liquid chock-full of oxygen molecules; called a PFC or perfluorocarbon, the liquid can store large amounts of dissolved oxygen.<br />
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The reason it works is because our lungs will absorb oxygen in most shapes and forms as long as it comes in the amounts we need to drive our metabolic functions. Water normally doesn't have enough dissolved oxygen, so we end up suffocating when we inhale it, on top of that our respiratory system hasn't really evolved to process oxygen dissolved in water....unless you count our primordial state as gill breathers.<br />
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The iffy issue with this new scuba method becomes apparent right away: wouldn't we have to practically fill up our lungs with enough of it to breathe the oxygen?...That's precisely right. To make use of it you would have to fill the entire scuba helmet, your lungs, your mouth, and your nose with the liquid. You would be basically drowning first before it starts working. To me the thought of having to drown first before scuba diving is kind of scary.<br />
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Although once it kicks in, the whole drowning business goes away and you're left breathing exactly like you would on the air infested surface. This part may take forever to get used to, and once people get over their fear of dying everytime they dive it should be fine. What's not fine is the way you have to exhale.<br />
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Because you can't breathe out the carbon dioxide that builds up in your blood, the obvious solution is to ...insert an artificial gill that fits snugly into your femoral vein to scrub out the CO2? The drowning business was bad enough, but I think few people would want a large bore needle sticking out from near their privates while they scuba dive. That part may simply be too much.<br />
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Regardless of the near death stuff, the idea is quite cool, I'm just not sure the world would be ready for it yet. Although it would definitely be an experience to story tell about.<br />
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To read more:<br />
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<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/into-the-abyss-the-diving-suit-that-turns-men-into-fish-2139167.html">The Independent</a> (with pictures).<br />
<a href="http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/amazing-new-diving-suit-turns-wearer-into-aquaman">Mother Nature Network</a>.Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-69431789070998336762010-12-01T21:04:00.001-05:002010-12-01T21:04:29.338-05:00Two Week Hiatus<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><br />
<b1>Just to let my valued readers know, I'm entering exam week in my program so I won't have time to update regularly. I'll be back soon with more cool science as soon as my exams are finished. </b1><br />
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Stay posted!Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-59594256147856517562010-11-30T12:57:00.000-05:002010-11-30T12:57:28.487-05:00Hatsune Miko. The Virtual Japanese Pop Star.<h2> Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><br />
<b1> In Japan, pop stars are now virtual holograms. I think that says enough about the situation at hand, enjoy the video ladies and gentleman.</b1><br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DTXO7KGHtjI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DTXO7KGHtjI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-25011547799674707402010-11-28T18:02:00.001-05:002010-11-28T18:13:32.153-05:00Newly Released Wikileaks Documents Highlight US Foreign Diplomacy.<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><br />
<b1> I know we normally write about upcoming developments in the scientific world, but I had to take a bit of time to talk about something that's taking the journalistic world by storm today. </b1><br />
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Wikileaks has recently released some MORE secret documents, this time on the United States' foreign relations and diplomacy with both their enemies and their allies. The documents discuss topics on everything from spy networks in foreign embassies to opinions on political leaders.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Here's the description from the website itself, which earlier today experienced a distributed denial of service attack from hackers:<br />
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<blockquote>The cables, which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret. </blockquote><blockquote>The embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months. The subject matter of these cables is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice. </blockquote><blockquote>The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them...</blockquote>Unfortunately, I can't provide a link to the site because the website is being banned in some countries. But a quick google search should do the trick if you're really curious.Or better yet, you can read about it at various media outlets below.<br />
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It seems to be quite damaging this time around and a huge public relations nightmare for the US government. I'm all for freedom of information, some atrocities need to be smoked out and exposed if we are to become a better society, but this may have taken it a bit too far. We'll have to wait and see the world's reaction to this. I'll be waiting and browsing Twitter for the next few days to see what happens. Hopefully the world doesn't erupt into a fireball because of it all. But I'm also wondering if an information leak of this magnitude can even be contained. I doubt it.<br />
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Read more of this story at:<br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/world/29cables.html?_r=1&hp">New York Times</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11858895">BBC</a>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-48471910267896488712010-11-28T01:46:00.002-05:002010-11-28T01:53:08.188-05:00What Happened Before the Big Bang? ... A Big Bang!<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-happened-before-big-bang-big-bang.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.redshift-live.com/binaries/asset/image/10200/image/Microwave_background_radiation.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: NASA/ WMAP team.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b1> According to some shocking new findings, scientists may be one step closer to figuring out what happened before the big bang! <br />
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The current evidence states that the Big Bang that occurred 13.7 billion years ago gave rise to a universe that is constantly expanding, cooling, growing. As it does this it loses energy; at one point it will have lost all its energy resulting in a permanently cold and energy-less universe: a heat death.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Conformal cyclic cosmology (CCC) is a relatively new theory coined by Professor Roger Penrose, a theoretical physicist at Oxford University, that proposes the existence and structure of the big bang (the beginning of our very universe) is actually the continuum of a remote future of a previous age of the universe. <br />
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A new "aeon", a term created by professor Penrose, would be the time between successive Big Bang events. The universe would explode into being, expand, and then contract into a singularity, only to be repeated once again: a cyclic universe.<br />
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Some of the professor's theories are incredibly interesting to read, some recapping and suggesting astronomical physics which I have never even read about: massless particles lacking a passage of time, the universe "forgetting" time in the remote future, black holes evaporating and taking away a portion of the universe's energy with it...its absolutely mind-boggling to read!<br />
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The theory is in stark contrast to some other leading models of the universe, namely ones of constantly expanding or constantly contracting, one-time-existence universes. <br />
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It is grounded on many prior, and extremely complicated and baffling, physics principles including the ever elusive dark matter. I'm so far removed from their explanation I won't even bother trying; however, you can try understanding the science behind it yourself <a href="http://www.cosmolearning.com/video-lectures/conformal-cyclic-cosmology-12/">here</a>. Best of luck to you!<br />
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Despite the complexities, professors R. Penrose and V.G. Gurzadyan (of the Yerevan Physics Institute, Armenia) working in conjunction have found evidence that may actually support CCC. <br />
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They studied something called cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation; radiation that permeates space constantly and uniformly. Left over from the very beginning of the universe. The current theory being that past galaxy collisions (ones that occurred in the pre-big bang aeon) would have an observable effect on our current universe's CMB. If we could measure these effects somehow, they could potentially support CCC theory.<br />
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According to CCC, the collision of the centres of these galaxies (black holes really), would release large amounts of energies that effect the current CMB, showing up as non-random, concentric circles of very low temperature variations. <br />
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Seven years was spent on collecting background radiation data. It was analyzed and was shown to contain various concentric circles, areas in the universe containing exactly the low temperature variations sought out: glimpses into colliding galaxies of a past aeon. The concentric circles found may be at odds with current theories stating that CMB is random. A heated debate may ensue on just exactly what this all means.<br />
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Despite the shear magnitude and implications of the research, it's still all very premature and requires much more extensive studies. On top of the basics of science, the theory is also quite controversial and many of the assumptions made by the authors are also in dispute by other theoretical physicists. <br />
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If proven right, however, the implications could be explosive for the Big Bang theory (pardon the awful pun). It could completely revolutionize how we view our universe, or even our very lives depending on how we take the news. I'll do my best to keep you all updated on any new developments in this story, because it's one that definitely doesn't disappoint. <br />
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References:<br />
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Physicsworld.com. Penrose claims to have glimpsed universe before Big Bang. <a href="http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/44388">Link</a>. <br />
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Gurzadyan VG, Penrose R. (2010). Concentric circles in WMAP data may provide evidence of violent pre-Big-Bang activity. arXiv:1011.3706v1 [astro-ph.CO]. <a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1011.3706">Link</a><br />
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Penrose R. (2006). Before the Big Bang: An Outrageous New Perspective and Its Implication for Particle Physics. Proc EPAC. 09, 03 :2759-2762<br />
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Palmer J. 2010, Nov 27. Cosmos may show echoes of events before Big Bang. BBC News.<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11837869">Link</a>.Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-59256832730451107442010-11-26T19:37:00.001-05:002010-11-26T19:41:20.350-05:00We've Come A Long Way Since Tetris. DirectX11 and the CRYENGINE.<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><b1> I've always been interested in any advances in computer gaming graphics, primarily because one day it might lead to virtual reality that looks and feels just like real life (similar to a form of the Matrix). So when I was shown a tech demo of DirectX11 and what it could do, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show you all. Here's what seems to be the manliest 3D video ever:<br />
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Now I'm not a computer scientist by the furthest stretch of the imagination so most of the software specs and features flew over my head for this one, but the main thing I noticed was how fluid and realistic it all looked.<br />
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Another really cool one (this one even better looking) is known as the CRYENGINE. The video below is the engine running the game Crysis. Check out the trees in the vast nature settings, even the leaves blowing in the wind look realistic; mind you, these ares all in-game graphics. For full appreciation, turn the video all the way up to 11 (ie. 720p).<br />
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We've come a long way since Tetris. Here's hoping that one day we get to wander strange worlds hooked up to a computer.<br />
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</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-79106650455305180832010-11-25T19:11:00.000-05:002010-11-25T19:11:36.606-05:00Facing Your Mortality<h3> An examination of the chronically-critically ill. How end of life care occurs in a modern US hospital. And how it can teach us about our own mortality. </h3><br />
<h2> Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><iframe frameborder="0" height="294" scrollbars="none" src="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/v/?id=frol02s4537qfd0&w=386&h=294" style="border: 0pt none; margin: 0pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt;" type="text/html" width="386"></iframe><br />
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<b1> This is a 1-hour PBS documentary I stumbled on showing the growing issues faced by medical practitioners dealing with the chronicaly critically ill, and how their constant circling-the-drain health status impacts those around them. </b1><br />
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It's quite hard to watch at times because the patients are going through so much, as are their families, and they have minimal prospects of getting better.<br />
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The most interesting quote from the documentary, that these patients are in a state of limbo, a suspended animation, really outlined what modern medicine can do. It can keep people alive almost indefinitely, but is that necessarily an improvement on their quality of life? Millions of questions arise from this, hopefully we have answers one day, someday.Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-57145836549142343622010-11-24T02:21:00.001-05:002010-11-24T02:22:17.288-05:00Flying Snakes....RUN!<h3>Warning. If you're afraid of snakes, look away.</h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><b1> I've been extremely busy lately with school, having barely enough time for sleep let alone writing proper blog entries. So until my exams are finished I'm going to be posting some short (but interesting) videos on the "wow" part of science.<br />
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I present to you flying snakes! In reality, the species shown here, Chrysopelea paradisi, is really gliding and not flying. They can glide about 10 meters and use their characteristic undulating motion for a bit of extra propulsion. And get this, they can use this to escape from predators, or even attack arial prey!</b1><br />
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<b1>On a side note, for some reason <a href="http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-11/serpent-science-darpa-wants-know-flying-snakes-secret">DARPA</a> is interested in this research. Are they planning to make arial undulating search-and-destroy drones? Only time and a lot of phobias will tell.</b1><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b1> <object height="385" width="450"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DXAoMiWfk78?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DXAoMiWfk78?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object> </b1></div><b1></b1></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b1> Video Credit: Dr. Jake Socha, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CoBIElab">youtube channel</a>: </b1></div><b1></b1></div><br />
<b1>References:</b1><br />
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<b1>Socha JJ, Dempsey TO, LaBarbera ML. (2005). A 3-D kinematic analysis of gliding in a flying snake, Chrysopelea paradisi. J Exp Bio; 209: 1817-1833</b1><br />
<b1>doi:10.1242/jeb.01579<br />
</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-34011349677555775832010-11-22T03:36:00.002-05:002010-11-22T03:37:52.853-05:00Multiple Sclerosis patient dies after controversial new treatment<h3>A controversial and yet unproven treatment has claimed the life of a Canadian patient suffering from MS.</h3><br />
<b1> There has been a lot of buzz recently over a suggested treatment for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). A recent, yet obscure, research paper published by Zamboni P. et al. (2009) has suggested that multiple sclerosis, a debilitating neurological disease that can leave one with severely impaired movement and motor function, is caused by blocked or impaired veins in the head / neck that lead to problems in blood flow. The paper thus suggests that treatment for MS would be possible by opening up these blocked veins.</b1><br />
<b1></b1><br />
<a name='more'></a>The hypothesis the paper suggests is that that chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), the improper outflow of blood in the veins leaving the head due to plaque buildup, is a major cause of clinical MS. The suggested treatment? Opening up these veins by inflating a small balloon that pushes the plaque out of the way; an angioplasty, the same procedure used to open up clogged arteries in patients with atherosclerosis.<br />
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<b1>Now, the main issue with this entire story is that the entire treatment seems to be based off of one piece of research, and a shoddy one at that. Yet many people around the world with MS are looking to this treatment as a last resort to relieve their suffering. The problem is that they usually need to turn to other countries that perform the procedure; clinical studies, in Canada at least, are not yet being conducted on the efficacy of the procedure primarily due to its iffy scientific backing. The recent death of a 35-year-old Canadian receiving the treatment in Costa Rica has come as a shock to most, and seems to be putting another nail in the coffin for the procedure (I won't go into detail about his death, more information can be found <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/11/19/multiple-sclerosis-mostic-death-ccsvi.html">here</a>).</b1><br />
<b1><br />
Upon reading the research paper, what struck me most was the vast differences between Dr. Zamboni's hypothesis about the pathophysiology of MS compared to the current scientific model of the disease. The current model, the one founded on numerous peer-reviewed and tested research, holds that MS is caused by hyperactivity of immune cells against myelin antigens. Myelin is present in the covering of your peripheral nerves, and this constant attack causes your nerves to function improperly. Over time they become so worn out that eventually you may not be able to move, or have severely limited motor function. </b1><br />
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<b1>Dr. Zamboni's study, however seems to misunderstand the principle that correlation does not equal causation. Yes, plaques and impaired cerebrospinal blood flow were found in a few patients suffering from MS but does that automatically mean it directly causes MS? I'm no statistician (in fact, I should review my statistics notes), but the study tested only 65 patients presenting with clinical MS, against 235 patients in the healthy, control group. Once again, not a statistician, but doesn't that seem off? When designing a proper study shouldn't your control group and testing group be roughly equal? If someone can answer this for me I'd appreciate it, because it seems like the study was poorly conducted to begin with. On top of the methodology, the scientific theory behind it seems so far-fetched and out of sync with the clinical realities of the disease that it's definitely worth questioning more. Kudos to the Canadian government for not allowing such a risky procedure based off of scant evidence. </b1><br />
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<b1>Although, I'm quite surprised that so many people would flock to an unproven and untested surgical procedure based off a (frankly, heavily disputed) research paper. It's one thing where this would be minor research that would simply be retracted but as was mentioned today, someone died from a procedure based off of this research; that is something all scientists and clinicians need to keep in mind when conducting research, no matter what they are studying. Yet many seem to be crying foul about not being allowed to undergo the procedure in their native country.</b1><br />
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<b1> I realize that those with terminal, life-long, debilitating illnesses need all the help they can get and are desperate for cures, but procedures like this cause alarm bells to go off in my head, and instead of dinging they say "snake-oil". I've always had an intense dislike for snake-oil peddlers that prey off the sick and desperate, purely for financial gain, and this is exactly what seems to be going on here. Normally, fraud in science and treatments eventually gets exposed, although it's very unfortunate that it cost the life of a fellow human being before others starting noticing.</b1><br />
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<b1>References:</b1><br />
<b1>News soureces</b1><br />
<b1><a href="http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/canada/2010/09/17/15386766.html">http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/canada/2010/09/17/15386766.html</a></b1><br />
<b1><a href="http://thesheaf.com/2010/09/24/proposed-ms-treatment-stirs-hope-controversy/">http://thesheaf.com/2010/09/24/proposed-ms-treatment-stirs-hope-controversy/</a></b1><br />
<b1><br />
</b1><br />
<b1>This is the famed research paper. It's published under a commons license, so the entire thing is available to read.</b1><br />
<a href="http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/80/4/392.full"><b1>Zamboni P, Galeotti R, Menegatti E. (2009). Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in patients with multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry; 80: 392-399.</b1></a><br />
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<b1>Other papers</b1><br />
<b1>Lassmann H, Bruck W, Lucchinetti CF. (2007). The immunopathology of multiple sclerosis: an overview. Brain Pathology; 17(2): 210-218.</b1><br />
doi: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1750-3639.2007.00064.x/abstract;jsessionid=BF4A1E976F5AFF9550913BF364AC069A.d03t01">10.1111/j.1750-3639.2007.00064.x</a><b1> </b1><br />
<b1> </b1><br />
<b1>Ratts RB, Karandikar NJ, Hussain RZ, et al. (2006). Phenotypic characterization of autoreactive T cells in multiple sclerosis. J Neuroimmuno; 178(1): 100-110.</b1><br />
doi:<a href="http://www.jni-journal.com/article/S0165-5728%2806%2900226-8/abstract">10.1016/j.jneuroim.2006.06.010</a><br />
<b1><br />
</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-60999065295770723062010-11-19T13:30:00.004-05:002017-08-07T22:36:37.410-04:00Mosquitoes, Annoying As Hell and Saving Lives!<h3>
Using Mosquitoes to Stop Mosquitoes: The Awesomeness of GMOs</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/goddamn-mosquitoes-may-actually-be.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Mosquito_2007-2.jpg" height="357" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: Alvesgaspar, Wikipedia commons. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0</td></tr>
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<b1>As I walked to school today through piles of snow on the side of the road and sidewalk I was reminded of just one of the wonderful things about winter: there are absolutely none of those little bloodsuckers known as 'mosquitoes'. Not only do you have to deal with persistent whining next to your ear and an itch that won't quit no matter how much you scratch, mosquitoes are flying little hypodermic needles some of which are filled with pathogens that unbelievably may exceed the harm done by incessant biting. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>For example:<br />
West Nile Virus<br />
Those of you who live in North America may be familiar with this virus, which had its first confirmed case in Canada in 2002. Remember? The time that came before SARS, but after the E-coli outbreak? Still before those C. Difficile outbreaks. West Nile Virus infections are usually asymptomatic (that is, symptom-free, and not in a good way). Still, those affected don’t generally get sick, so you don’t have to worry right? WRONG! Although many people don’t get sick, those who do have the risk of a list of symptoms that will make you feel worse than that third 'Matrix' movie. Key among these is meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and/or spinal cord) and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), either of which can do more than use up your sick days, by being potentially crippling if not lethal.<br />
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Now surviving is happy news right? The answer is Maybe: Studies have suggested that the long term affects including muscle weakness and paralysis, fatigue, headaches, confusion, depression, concentration issues and memory loss. Now I'm not saying you have to start worrying about getting West Nile Virus (right now, anyway, but maybe tomorrow, or the day after; no pressure) because it's unlikely. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep you from getting the virus all together?<br />
Remember, people, this virus is why we had the government telling us to empty our birdbaths, blow-dry any puddles, and report any stagnant pools of water to the government hotline that sent out the guys with the flamethrowers. It's those those mosquitoes that breed like a house on fire in 'em, which will only further the spread of this potentially life-threatening disease that is further harmful because of its profoundly annoying method of transmission.<br />
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Malaria<br />
Anyone who has traveled to Africa or even some Caribbean countries know about malaria OR at least know enough to go get anti malaria medications. Malaria is just another disease that is spread by-- what? Cats? Witches? FOREIGNERS? Worse: it's those nasty little mosquitoes doing the damage. Like the West Nile Virus it too can be deadly especially if untreated. Malaria symptoms usually present within the first two weeks of being infected and include fever, headache and vomiting (kind of like the flu), this is quickly followed by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs which as you can probably guess kills you. Again like the West Nile Virus we here in North America don’t have to worry so much about malaria (unless, for whatever reason, the climate shifts dramatically, but what are the chances of that happening... again?). So: it's unlikely that we will get it. Also, we can take preventative measures and if we get it we can seek medication to treat it. So then, why is it one of the leading causes of death in undeveloped countries? Aside from the lack of medications in many of these locations, the parasites that cause malaria infections have also developed resistance to many medications, making treating the infection about as easy as picking the little microscopic bastards out by hand. It’s great that there are medication options against malaria but what if we could end its transmission all together, wouldn’t that be better?<br />
You may be tempted to suggest systematically killing every one of them, but, read on-<br />
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Dengue<br />
This is a disease you have probably not heard much of and the real question is “WHY NOT!?” According to the World Health Organization (the fine folks who brought us and advisory during our H1N1 days) 2.5 Billion people are at risk of Dengue infections, that is almost 40% of the world’s population. Now this would be OK, except that Dengue doesn’t only result in flu-like symptoms but can also cause death resulting from hemorrhagic fever (that's like a regular fever, only you're bleeding from every orifice you care about, and from some of the ones you don't). Now-- you may be thinking “Why not just treat everyone and avoid the potentially lethal complication of the fever?” The answer is simple: There is no specific treatment for Dengue itself (although the fevers themselves can be treated in some countries, and not just by the popular methods of Voodoo and Thetan manipulation), and as of today (Nov 18, 2010), there are no vaccines for Dengue Fever. The WHO also notes that- “...[t]he only way to prevent dengue virus transmission is to combat the disease-carrying mosquitoes”.<br />
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“Well, like, getting people to pathologically hate mosquitoes should be a problem,” You're thinking. “does this mean we get our DDT back?”<br />
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But how do we both prevent the transmission of these diseases AND satisfy our bloodlust against the tiny-winged scourge of outdoor happiness? Tiny mosquito-sized condoms? Anti-insect missiles?<br />
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Actually, we can use mosquitoes. I know I said Mosquitoes the very pest I have just been showing is horrible but take a deep breath and read on.<br />
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Now, I know what you're thinking (and no, I'm not free Thursday, but thanks for thinking of me): “How do we use Mosquitoes, the very carriers of the disease, and possibly the most annoying thing on the face of this planet (except for people who talk on cellphones during movies)-- how can they stop the disease?! Well, research by the UK based firm Oxitec, in conjunction the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, have used GMO (genetically modified organisms) to answer just that. I, on the other hand, without the budget for GMO, will answer using the comparatively cheap technology of paragraphs:<br />
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Oxitec has developed a mosquito with a toxin in it that causes the mosquitoes to die! But, how does it help kill the infected mosquitoes?<br />
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Well, by selecting male mosquitoes in the lab and releasing them in the wild, the males, which don’t bite, are able to mate with the wild females and transmit this mutation (the toxin producing gene) to their children. Usually this means the larvae (the children) never hatch and if they do, they die shortly thereafter. Of course, this could be a problem in the lab where they need to grow the mosquitoes and select males to release into the wild and yet again, repeating the process over and over, yadda yadda yadda. Oxitec has the answer: toxin production is suppressed in the presence of a dietary antitoxin provided in the lab. Now our carefully constructed mosquito war can continue BUT who will win: the GMO or the Diseased ones?<br />
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Although this method doesn’t inhibit the surviving mosquitoes from transmitting the disease, it does drastically reduce the size of the surviving population and ideally, this will be below the size required to support dengue transmission. In a press release earlier this month, Oxitec claimed to have had complete success in their first field trail, and it appears that another is soon to be underway in Malaysia. Scientists associated with the trial found that in just six months they were able to reduce the species population size by 80%. Assuming repeated efforts are just as successful, we may be facing the day where we can finally enjoy our summer without worrying that you'll be drained of blood.<br />
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Now, all there is between you and the perfect summer afternoon is melanoma-inducing solar radiation, chronically debilitating levels of industrial pollutants in the air, and the walking fire hazard that is your uncle behind a barbecue after seven gin gimlets.<br />
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One step at a time, people.<br />
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Now with Vaccines being so difficult to make, and Oxitec claiming success, this presents a whole new area for work, and one that Bill Gates supports. Maybe in the future we can uses a similar approach to eradicate other diseases, those new and drug-resistant types, of which there are no shortage (see Alexandru’s article on NDM1). If we eliminate the ability to carry the disease we potentially could eliminate the disease altogether, without resorting to splicing in genes that code for self-lighting firecrackers, or upgrading our hand sanitizers to napalm derivatives; unless of course it mutates, something pathogens seem to be quite good at.<br />
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References<br />
<br />
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/diseases-maladies/wnv-vno-eng.php<br />
http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/<br />
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en/index.html<br />
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6007/1030.full?rss=1<br />
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/malaysia-to-release-gm-mosquitoes-into-the-wild.html<br />
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/doomed-mosquitos-could-cut-dengue-infection-rate.html<br />
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/biosafety-meeting-must-address-gm-insects-.html<br />
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/147602<br />
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/147700<br />
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/101111/science/science_us_dengue_mosquitoes<br />
http://www.oxitec.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Feb-2010-Oxitec-newsletter5.pdf<br />
http://www.oxitec.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Oxitec-MRCU-press-release.pdfAlexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-194066885223596262010-11-18T01:59:00.001-05:002010-11-18T02:00:07.837-05:00Antimatter Successfully Trapped At CERN.<h3>Scientists at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) have succesfully trapped an antihydrogen atom. </h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/antimatter-successfully-trapped-at-cern.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="323" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Omega_Nebula.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: False colour image of Omega Nebula. NASA, ESA & J. Hester(ASU).</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b1>The successful trapping of an antihydrogen atom by physicists at CERN has been published in an advance letter to Nature journal. Scientists have known about antimatter for quite some time, and CERN has been studying it since 2002. Using a magnetic trap (an array of magnets), they were able to successfully contain an antihydrogen atom for fractions of a second. The implications for theoretical physics are vast, and more work needs to be done to fully understand this form of matter that was around at the big bang. But just exactly what is this stuff and what does it explain?</b1><br />
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<b1>To give a brief physics overview, regular matter consists of a nucleus (a small, very dense center made of protons and neutrons), encircled by electrons (negatively charged particles that are similar to protons). The protons are positively charged (+), the electrons are negatively charged (-). This is the common view of what an atom looks like: </b1><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/antimatter-successfully-trapped-at-cern.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.safetyoffice.uwaterloo.ca/hse/radiation/rad_sealed/matter/graphic/atom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: University of Waterloo, Safety Office. <a href="http://www.safetyoffice.uwaterloo.ca/hse/radiation/rad_sealed/matter/atom_structure.htm">Link</a>.</td></tr>
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<b1>It's also very incorrect, but to properly show what it really looks like would be nearly impossible; regardless, the model works well for explanation purposes so keep it in the back of your mind. Antimatter on the other hand is the nearly identical to the regular matter we're so familiar with, the only exception is that the charges are reversed. The protons are negatively charged and the electrons are positively charged. The resulting antiparticles are called antiprotons and antielectrons (or positrons), respectively.</b1><br />
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<b1>The main issue with successfully storing antimatter is that it doesn't seem to get along with regular matter. Whenever they meet they tend to react violently and annihilate in a burst of energy, this is the main reason we don't see antimatter floating around today. However, it was quite common at the time of the big bang, for some reason (still unknown at the moment), regular matter won out over antimatter, the remaining antimatter was annihilated and now only regular matter primarily exists in our universe. </b1><br />
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<b1>What the wonderful scientists and engineers at CERN did was use something called a magnetic trap (a very cool magnetic force field) </b1>to make antimatter from scratch; they brought antiprotons and positrons into their magnetic force field, and slowed them down with unbelievably low temperatures until they fused to form antihydrogen.<b1>. Their existence was short-lived before the newly created antihydrogen annihilated with matter (this showed up as flashes of light in the chamber), but it was long enough to do some scientific testing. </b1><br />
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<b1>One important question they have yet to test is based off of the colours that antimatter may emit in future studies. Matter, specifically elements like Hydrogen, emit characteristic coloured patterns of light when viewed through a tool called a spectroscope, this acts as a sort of finger print for the element and allows us to identify it even without physically observing it. Spectroscopy is how scientists found out the sun was made primarily of hydrogen; it is an invaluable tool in particle physics. The current theory is that antihydrogen will have these same patterns, showing that the two states are indeed identical for the most part. If this turns out not to be the case, some standard physics models for antimatter may need to be called into question.</b1><br />
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<b1>This stuff isn't completely theoretical by the way. Antimatter does have practical uses, primarily in medicine. The PET scanner, or Positron Emission Tomography scanner, uses positrons to view what's going on inside of a patient whenever information concerning normal body function is needed. It works like this: a small amount of radioactive substance is injected into your veins which then gets absorbed by a tumor (or other metabolically active process). Once inside, the radioactive substance breaks down and releases positrons. The positrons then annihilate with matter in the tumor cells and gives off a burst of energy that can be detected by the scanner. The result is a 3D image that looks like this:</b1><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/antimatter-successfully-trapped-at-cern.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/3/3d/20100721094905%21PET-MIPS-anim.gif" width="211" /></a></div><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/PET-MIPS-anim.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<b1> This is a powerful method for detecting unseen problems in the human body. It allows visualization of body physiology instead of body anatomy, the kind we're used to with X-rays.</b1><br />
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<b1> I`m very excited to see where this research goes in the near future. It can open up our understanding of antimatter properties, help us figure out what happened in the split second moments after our universe came into existence, and even help those that are ill! The price to pay for these experiments may be large in terms of monetary investments, but the reward is well worth the costs. Investment in science pays off!</b1><br />
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<b1>References:</b1><br />
<b1>Advance Publication -</b1><br />
<b1>Andresen GB, Ashkezari MD, Baquero-Ruiz M, et al. (2010). Trapped Antihydrogen. Nature. Link <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature09610.html">here</a> </b1><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><b1> Advance of the article from one of the involved research institutions.<a href="http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2010/11/trapped_antihydrogen.php">Here</a>.</b1></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b1>Original news story from the Globe and Mail. <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/antimatter-captured-in-major-scientific-breakthrough/article1803302/?cmpid=rss1">Here</a>.</b1></div>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-33616251484293243032010-11-17T03:48:00.001-05:002010-11-17T03:49:25.927-05:00Barack Obama Meets the Geminoid-F<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><br />
<embed src=http://www.necn.com/common/CSN/necn/NECNembedplayer.swf flashvars=&player.releaseURL=http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=mfoeL1Pt5b6r9qXbMT0mmk2uF1fEVkdo&&MBR=true&&zone=home width=450 height=360 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowFullScreen=true bgcolor=#ffffff/><br />
<b1> Video: <a href="http://www.necn.com/pages/landing?blockID=352073">NECN</a>. </b1><br />
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<b1> A short update on everyone's favourite humanoid-robot, the Geminoid-F (formerly the Actroid-F). She's been in the news a lot recently, from being "born" and mimicking human facial expressions (<a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-is-human-not-human.html">here</a>), to being the first avatar-robot to star in a play (<a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/video-update-geminoid-f-robot-now.html">here</a>), to meeting the commander-in-chief of the United States of America! I wouldn't be surprised if It becomes the first humanoid robot to set foot on Mars one day. <br />
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By the way, what is up with its new body? It looks like some futuristic space solider. Either way, it looks much better, so I'm not complaining. </b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-23919970284740334222010-11-16T18:39:00.004-05:002010-11-16T18:48:17.506-05:00Keepon Dances to the Beat<h3>Keepon keeps on dancing, helping children while doing it.</h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Karen Cochrane</h2><b1>Greetings, earthlings. Alexandru here. Today I present our latest guest writer, the amazing Karen Cochrane who will be discussing a robot that not only helps children with developmental problems, but has rhythm too. Informative video inside:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/keepon-dances-to-beat.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.pixelache.ac/helsinki/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/keepon.jpg" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g-yrjh58ms">Keepon robot</a> by Marek Michalowski & Hideki Kozima</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Even though it became popular in 2007, this litter creature isn’t loosing any steam. As this blog wasn’t around when this little guy was invented, I wanted to write an article about it and show the world. In reality, it’s gaining more popularity as time goes by. This little cutie came on my radar a few weeks ago and I thought it was important to write about him. <br />
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<b>What is Keepon?</b><br />
The first reaction I had when I first saw this cute creature was how adorable it was; I am a girl after all. But you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Keepon, created by scientist <a href="http://www.myu.ac.jp/%7Exkozima/index-eng.html">Hideki Kozima</a> and programmer Marek Michalowsky, is an artificially intelligent robot used to study social development in children, particularly those with disorders such as autism. It has two cameras for eyes and a microphone in its nose. The cameras and microphones can also be programmed to record the children’s reactions during therapy sessions through the use of facial recognition software. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yFfw0RteVwA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yFfw0RteVwA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;">Video Credit: BeatBots, <a href="http://beatbots.net/2008/09/25/the-works-robots-on-the-history-channel/">http://beatbots.net/2008/09/25/the-works-robots-on-the-history-channel/</a></div><br />
<b>Communicating Through Music</b><br />
Since I have a passion for music, I find the most fascinating feature of the robot is its response to music. Keepon makes use of the microphone to dance rhythmically to music. Michalowsky is using Keepon for his thesis studying how robots communicate. He asks the question, “would robots be able to communicate with people more efficiently if they used rhythmic synchrony?” <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b1> <object height="385" width="450"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tWcNYFQ5TLE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tWcNYFQ5TLE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="385"></embed></object></b1></div><b1></b1></div><br />
<b>Robot vs. Human</b><br />
Even though Keepon does not look like the more humanoid robots we’re used to and takes the more minimalist approach, the question one wonders is would this style of robotics be more effective for specific purposes than if the robot looked more humanoid? It’s funny that people would feel a greater connection and relate more to a robot that doesn’t look like a human at all rather then one such as the <a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-is-human-not-human.html">Actroid-F</a>. <br />
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It really makes me think about the Uncanny Valley. I think its fascinating how people spend millions and millions of dollars trying to make robots look as realistic as possible, will we ever get to the other side of the valley and be able to feel attracted to robots as we are to humans? I’m not sure of the answer to this age old question.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Moriuncannyvalley.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Moriuncannyvalley.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GNU Free Documentation License. Karl MacDorman, Wikipedia Commons.</td></tr>
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<b> So Where Do I Get One?</b><br />
So now you want a Keepon for your very own? According to Wikipedia, you can buy a Keepon for $30,000 but I cannot find out where you can buy one. I’ve searched high and low because believe me, if I had $30,000 to spend I’d be lining up to buy and using this robot for my own evil plans.<br />
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<b1>References:</b1><br />
<b1> </b1><br />
<b1>Title video: Directed by Jeff Nichols, produced by WIRED magazine </b1>Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...</a><br />
song: Spoon - Don`t you Evah. <a href="http://www.spoontheband.com/">http://www.spoontheband.com/ </a><br />
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You can find Keepon here at <a href="http://beatbots.net/">http://beatbots.net</a>/Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-30220031038795496462010-11-15T14:00:00.005-05:002010-11-15T14:32:33.849-05:00CyberKnife<h3>Robotic Radiosurgery. How robots are becoming a part of the cure for one of the most horrid of human ailments. Video Inside!</h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/cyberknife.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.howiehanson.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/cyberknife.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: Howie Blog. <a href="http://www.howiehanson.com/?p=3192">www.howiehanson.com</a></td></tr>
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<b1> Because it's Mustache November (for those that don't know, it involves growing a mustache in support of finding a cure for prostate cancer), I thought I would do a short piece on cancer treatment. But me being the tech-junkie that I am, I've decided to discuss a cool new piece of cancer-fighting technology that few people know about. It's called CyberKnife, and it's robotic, missle-guided, radiosurgery. Let that sink in before you read the rest, I'll wait here...</b1><br />
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<b1> CyberKnife is to radiation therapy what heat-seeking missiles are to bombs; it is a form of radiation treatment that's super precise and offers a huge advantage over conventional radiotherapy. Currently, it offers treatments for cancers that are inoperable because of their location (like the brain), or simply too small to excise, and it's been shown to be super effective against tumors at a multitude of body locations. It's fast (treatment times are measured in minutes, not hours), fewer side-effects, and there's no anesthesia or cutting involved. So how does this thing work?<br />
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It's called frameless image-guided therapy. Conventional radiotherapy relies on a linear accelerator (a particle accelerator, like at CERN), to beam high-energy electrons into a tumor, thereby killing it. The only problem with it is that it's fixed to an immobile gantry; the accelerator can only rotate around fixed axes and therefore has a tough time hitting small tumors or metastases. This is where the CyberKnife comes in. Usually indicated for use in treating brain metastases (an area where you don't want to play around in), it puts the linear accelerator concept onto a 6 dimensional robotic arm. Six dimensional means that it has 6 degrees of freedom in its motion. The robotic arm rotates around the patient tracking the tumor and beaming it when prescribed, it does this with an image guided tracking system. <br />
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Video Credit: SJM Health System. Youtube.com<br />
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The image guided tracking system works like this: they take x-rays from different angles and localize the tumor, then they beam it once, take another set of images, repeat. All of it is integrated with extremely complex targeting and tracking software that I won`t try to explain, simply because I don't understand it myself. Regardless, it keeps track of the patient even if they move. So far this makes this form of treatment one of the least invasive methods of surgery I have seen thus far. <br />
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There are some issues, however. Because it is so new, few studies have been done on it's clinical effectiveness when compared to conventional radiotherapy methods. Individual studies have been done on specific sites on patients with progressed cancer with some promise, but more work definitely needs to be done to figure out its full potential and to cover all loose ends. The main benefit of greater target selectivity with reduced clinical treatment time and side effects makes this technology worth pursuing though.<br />
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On a small aside, I also discovered that recently deceased hollywood actor Patrick Swayze was being treated with the CyberKnife in 2008, and according to media reports was doing much better after his treatment. Unfortunately, like with most cancers, it came back and he passed away. Hopefully these new treatments continue to develop so we will one day be rid of this horrible disease. I for one will do my part by posting more information on the fight against cancer for the rest of Movember. If all you can do is grow a mustache (or a fake mustache, ladies), you've already done more than you think by raising awareness for the cure. <br />
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References:<br />
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Muacevic A, Kufeld BW, Kreth FW, Tonn JC. (2010). Feasibility, safety, and outcome of frameless image-guided robotic radiosurgery for brain metastases. J Neurooncol;97:267-274.<br />
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Gerszten PC, Ozhasoglu C, Burton SA, et al. (2003). CyberKnife frameless single-fraction stereotactic radiosurgery for benign tumors of the spine. J Neurosurg; 14(5): -<br />
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Shiomi H.(2006). CyberKnife. Japanese J Clin Radiol;51(5):573-582.<br />
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Adler JR, Chang SD, Murphy MJ, et al. (1997). The CyberKnife: a frameless robotic system for radiosurgery. Sterotact Funct Nuerosurg; 69(1-4): 124-8.<br />
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<a href="http://www.cyberknife.com/CyberknifeTreat.aspx">CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.cadth.ca/index.php/en/hta/reports-publications/health-technology-update/health-technology-update-issue5/cyberknife">CADTH: CyberKnife</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1036899/Patrick-Swayze-smiling-miracle-response-cancer-treatment.html">Patrick Swayze smiling again after "miracle" response to cancer treatment</a>. Daily Mail.co.uk.<br />
</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-44954756250634109152010-11-14T02:23:00.001-05:002010-11-14T02:24:13.812-05:00An Invisible Killer Substance. How It's Creeping Around In Your Very Own Home.<h3>How a silent killer may be closer to home than you think. </h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/invisible-killer-substance-how-its.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.freeclipartnow.com/d/41759-1/safety-sign-radiation.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><br />
<b1>I thought that I would finally post something in depth from my field of study. I've had trouble picking a topic (there are so many interesting ones), but I've finally settled on something that very few people seem to know about, yet may affect hundreds of thousands every year. I'm of course referring to lung cancer. We all know about the dangers of smoking and how it can vastly increase your chances of getting lung cancer, but can any other substances cause lung cancer? Did you know that another less well known substance can cause up to 10% of the reported lung cancer cases every year? Or, and here's the scary part, that you have probably been exposed to it sometime today? Or how about that this chemical is all-natural? In this article, we will take a look at the mysterious and deadly Radon.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive substance (it's even in the periodic table of elements). It is an odorless, tasteless gas that is produced as Uranium decays over several million years. It also occurs naturally in some rocks and has been around since the planet formed;therefore, the radon gas it produces can accumulate in some areas, particularly confined spaces such as offices or basements. Because of this, radon accounts for the second largest exposure of radiation to the general public, over 55% of the natural background radiation, right after medical imaging (X-rays, CT scans...), Internal forms such as food, and cosmic rays. Nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons account for a distant last. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)has even provided safety limits for the level of radon allowable in a household, so you know this is serious stuff not to be taken lightly. So if so many people are exposed to this stuff, why don't we see its effects very often?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/images/radiation-pie.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/images/radiation-pie.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The simple answer: you do! In fact, it has been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, causing a whopping 10% of the reported annual cancer incidences. To put this in perspective, that's anywhere between 7,000 to 30,000 of the approximately 230,000 new cases of lung cancer reported every year in the US. Cancer in general causes 23% of the reported annual deaths in the United States alone, the large majority of these being lung and breast cancer (if you haven't stopped smoking by now, please stop). And for one more scary statistic, just because I can throw it out there. From birth to death, you have a lovely 1 in 2 chance of developing some form of cancer (1 in 3 if you're female); for lung cancer the rates are about 1 in 13 for males and 1 in 16 for females. If you play the lottery, you'll notice that even the best odds of winning never go below 1 in 1000 chance of winning, yikes. <br />
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How does this radioactive gas cause so much of the observed lung cancers every year? Radon is quite a heavy gas, in fact it's the heaviest gas there is. It also has the ability to bind to dust particles which we all breathe in on a regular basis (moreso if your house is particularly dusty). Once these particles make it into the small passages of your respiratory tract they sit there, still decaying, still releasing lots of high energy radiation into your lung tissue. These high energy particles cause damage to the epithelial cells of the lungs and consequently your DNA. This can lead to mutations in the genetic code,leading directly to cancer. And because the lung tissue is what is being bombarded with radiation, the most common form of cancer developed is lung cancer.<br />
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Now that you know you may be at risk, what can you do about it? The answer, is nothing. Radon has been around for a very long time and unfortunately is a part of the natural background radiation we receive on a daily basis, along with UV rays from the sun and radiation from certain foods we eat. That's right, radioactive potassium is present in some of the foods we eat like bananas, although in extremely small quantities. <br />
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But back to the radon. There are radon detectors which can sometimes be installed in homes that are susceptible to high concentrations of radon. These usually come pre-installed into homes that have been shown to already have large amounts of radon present. But besides that, there isn't much you can do besides limiting how long you stay in basements, and sometimes that's just not feasible (how else would I play Starcraft if not for a poorly lit, poorly ventilated basement). We all have to get used to the fact that even by living in a house and entering a basement, we're playing a lottery with cancer as the grand prize, it's simply part of the riskiness of everyday life; you take the same risk when driving your car to work. Although, this is one lottery I hope I never win, or am even remotely lucky in.<br />
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References <br />
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Brooks AL, Bao S, Harwood PW, et al. (1997). Induction of micronuclei in respiratory tract following radon inhalation. Int J Radiat Biol;72(5):485-495.<br />
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Monchaux G, Morlier JP, Altmeyer S, et al. (1999). Inlfluence of Exposure Rate on Lung Cancer Induction in Rats Exposed to Radon Progeny. Rad Res; 152:S137-S140.<br />
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Pershagen G, Akerblom G, Axelson O, et al. (1994) Residential Radon Exposure and Lung Cancer in Sweden. N Engl J Med;330:159-164.<br />
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Jermal AJ, Siegal R, Ward E, et al. (2009). Cancer Statistics, 2009. Amer Canc Soc, Can J Clin;59(4):225-249.Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-60583932510053003032010-11-12T13:49:00.001-05:002010-11-12T13:53:48.283-05:00Auditions Now Being Held. Robots Invade the Arts.<h3>A brief update on an old robotic friend.</h3><br />
<h2>Posted By Alexandru Nicolae</h2><b1> If you read one of our earlier articles about the Japanese Actroid-F (found <a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-is-human-not-human.html">here</a>) you'll know that its facial features were unmatched by any other current robot on the realistic robot "market". Another version of this amazing piece of robotics is now trying its hand at acting! During the play the Android was cosidered an avatar, that is it was being controlled though motion sensors and computers by a human operator. Once again, the video will do more talking then I ever could. Enjoy!<br />
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</b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062393421621065104.post-11822246417337665852010-11-11T19:58:00.001-05:002010-11-11T19:58:51.962-05:00New NDM-1 Positive Super Bacteria On the Rise<h3>The growing spread of multi-drug resistant pathogens has many people fearing potential epidemics </h3><br />
<h2>Posted by Alexandru Nicolae</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sbms.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-ndm-1-positive-super-bacteria-on.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/EscherichiaColi_NIAID.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<b1> It all started when a Swedish-Indian citizen traveled to India for a simple visit. In New Delhi, she developed a urinary tract infection by an antibiotic-resistant pathogen called <i> Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>. This new strain was resistant to a specific type of powerful antibiotic called carbapenem, a drug used as a last resort in fighting especially drug-resistant infections. As of November, 2010, many other forms of bacteria including strains of E-coli have been found to possess the same resistance, and they've appeared in places around the world. As of this date, 8 cases have been reported in Toronto, Canada (a long way from India indeed). How exactly are these bacteria foiling our greatest weapons against them?</b1><br />
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<b1> Carbapenem is a broad spectrum beta-lactam antibiotic that's used to fight diseases like Klebsiella and E-coli when other forms of antibiotic are not working. They're highly resistant to beta-lactamases (bacterial enzymes that destroy beta-lactams) and so they've been extremely helpful in fighting certain infections. The trick that these new bacterial pathogens have up their sleeves is that the version of beta-lactamase they carry to fight our antibiotics is not the usual kind. The new form of the enzyme discovered recently is known as New Delhi Metallo - 1 (NDM-1), found in multiple bacterial species, it is a mutated version of the beta-lactamase enzyme. It exists on the surface coating of these bacteria and tears up any antibiotics that come near, thereby rendering them useless. Because of this unique ability, very few drugs are effective against bacteria carrying the NDM-1 enzyme; they are resistant to all antibiotics we posses with the exception of fluoroquinolones and colistin. To give you an idea of how powerful this defense is, fluoroquinolones are drugs normally used for chemotherapy! That is a scary thought.<br />
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The pathogens Klebsiella and E-coli belong to a family of bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae. They're commonly found in the human gut (that's normal in case you were wondering); however, some strains are pathogenic causing disease in humans, usually by producing various toxins that attack the body. The toxins cause illness, and in some cases, death. <br />
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According to one source, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolated from hospital blood cultures have increased from 0% in 2006 to 8% in 2009. This is all before the discovery of the NDM-1-carrying bacteria, and so it is projected to grow. What's even scarier is that the genes responsible for producing NDM-1 may be transferable between bacteria. Going back to the Swedish patient we talked about earlier, the NDM-1 enzyme was in both the Klebsiella isolated from her urine and the E-coli found in her feces. This is worrying, and in my opinion may be linked to its quick spread around the globe.<br />
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We've been hearing about increasingly common antibiotic-resistant bacteria in recent years, If I recall correctly a new Tuberculosis strain was talked about in the States for some time. The reason the NDM-1 enzyme may have become so prevalent in the community in India could potentially be from the overuse of antibiotics in that country to treat infections, although it is by no means endemic to India. In the west we seem to be at least increasing our awareness about antibiotic resistance among pathogens, but how many of us still go to the doctor with illnesses not much worse than the common cold and ask for antibiotics to speed up the curative process? Mind you, colds are viral infections and will not respond to antibiotics. <br />
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This has the potential to develop into a serious community health issue if not properly addressed. Luckily health officials say there is no need for immediate alarm, the reported number of cases is still quite small. The best thing to do for the moment is to maintain proper hygiene and preventative methods. What are these preventative methods you ask? Good old hand-washing for the most part. <br />
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For now, we will have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully it never reaches the scale of an epidemic because of our early preparation.<br />
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The only bacterial cultures I want to hear about in the news from now on will be when they're talking about yogurt, I don't think I can stomach anything else.<br />
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References: <br />
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Yong D, Toleman MA, Giske CG, et cetera. (2009). Characterization of a New Metallo-B-Lactamase Gene, blaNDM-1 and a Novel Erythromycin...Antimicrob Agen and Chemother; 53(12):5046-5054.<br />
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Deshpande P, Rodrigues C, Shetty A, et cetera. (2010). New Delhi Metallo-b lactamase (NDM-1) in Enterobacteriaceae: Treatment options with Carbapenems Compromised. J of Assoc of Phys of India;58:147-150.<br />
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NDM-1 superbug cases rise in Canada. Yahoo Canada News. (<a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/101111/national/cda_superbug">click here for source</a>) <br />
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Chen DK, McGreer A, Azavedo JC, Low DE. (1999). Decreased Susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae to Fluoroquinolones in Canada. N Engl J Med; 341:233-239.<br />
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Bratu S, Landman B, Haag R, et cetera.(2005). Rapid Spread of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in New York City: A New Threat to Our Antibiotic Armamentarium. Arch Intern Med;165:1430-1435. </b1>Alexandru Nicolaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16959281704704714084noreply@blogger.com0