Adventure Ausrama Blog

Genetically modified things are dangerous. Whoops! But we are already using them. GM crops have already crossed with normal plantings in adjacent farms. The producers of the GM seeds are suing these farmers for using the crossed seed which they claim belongs to them. Dogs were given a virus that had been genetically modified: the DNA integrated into the host genome. Oncogenes were activated. The virus entered into cells that influence cell growth. The affected cells' rate of division increased dramatically. Modified viruses are a popular way of treating people now. Practitioners had a ho hum attitude to this. It has to changed. The final result of such treatment will probably be cancer. Researchers have known for decades that tests on very young mice were detrimental. However, they pushed blindly ahead. The project on the dogs has been concluded. Calls were made to continue for another five years to discover whether the canine develop tumors. Vested interests stop it. Ultimatel...

Scientists are creating tiny human organs from stem cells just for the sake of it. They hope that it will make for beneficial discoveries and applications in the future. Is it a waste of public and private money? It could be. There is an opportunity cost in using resources for wasteful projects. These tiny but useless mini-organs are called organoids. Indeed, Madeline Lancaster was messing-around" when she realized that she had grown a brain. Attempting to form embryonic stem cells from neural rosettes she accidentally succeeded. The floating milky substance floating in the culture was an embryonic brain - retina cells. A mass of different cells were found when the contents of the culture dish were closely analysed. Organoids seem to mimic the operation of full-sized natural organs. Eye, stomach, gut, kidney, liver, pancreas, lung, prostate and breast mini-organs have been made. They do mimic some of the functions of the real thing. Unfortunately, they remain e...

The path to develop better solar energy products from silicon are exhausted. Other materials need to be examined to provide more efficient solar panel operation. Scientists are analyzing a wide spectrum of materials. Plastics show a great deal of promise, particularly at the molecular level. Organic sem-conductors appear to be the key to future developments. This is a type of plastic that conducts electricity.  More effective conductivity seems to be the key not so much heat generation. It is expensive to make silicon conductors for solar cells. OSCs can be manipulated at the molecular level to reduce energy loss, thus more energy is accumulated. Improved efficiency will see the whole production method change for solar cells.   ★ ✿   Economics by Ty Buchana n   ✿ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vista Computer Solutions Blog   ...

It is commonly believed that DNA does its job and is just "there", non-functioning. However, new research shows DNA to be pro-active. It reads our senses and reacts accordingly. DNA detects the seasons and changes ones' body chemistry accordingly. As many as a fifth of all blood cells genes change with the season. Gene switches are turned on or off to achieve this. In winter immune responders are at a high level. The blood gets thinner in summer knowing that you will be more active. Body-building, fat-burning and water retention is the objective in hotter months. It is possible that living in air conditioned buildings could leave you body at risk of disease because the preparatory changes are not complete. Even the length of day is now distorted by artificial light.  While having ant-inflammatory chemicals ready and operational in winter is rationally useful, inflammation in itself damages the body, particularly when there is no attack on the body. It...

A lot of work is going into stem cells research. Anything we can learn about them is important for future human transplants. There have been some claims that have been proved wrong. However, we are moving forward in understanding how organs can be created from them. A significant breakthrough has been made in Australia while investigating zebrafish. Scientists have found out how hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) important in bone marrow and blood are made. The stem cells replenish immune cells in the blood. At present hematopoietic stem cells are used to treat leukemia and myeloma. It will probably be possible to treat other cancers in blood vessels, muscle and bone. Furthermore, diabetes, spinal problems and degenerative disorders cold also be treated. The discovery is important. "Buddy" cells were observed while the hematopoietic stem cell were being created. Ironically, the scientists were investigating muscle development when they noticed the "hel...

Acclaim is given to two Australian scientists, Walter and Eliza Hall, who have changed ideas about the memory of the immune system. B cells make antibodies to fight infection. These cells do not die after doing their job and this is not the normal run of things. A pro-survival proteins is responsible for the cells' continuing existence. It has been proven that the Mcl-1 protein does this, not the Bcl-xL protein as was accepted in the past. Tests blocked the activity of Bcl-xL which showed that Mcl-1 stopped apoptosis - death. Cancer cells survive due to Mcl-1, so there are new possibilities for cancer research. It could also have repercussion for future treatment of the resistance response in organ transplant patients. Health by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

Albert Einstein wasn't only a genius her was a very odd human being. His brain shows peculiar differences from the norm; it had many more folds than the average person. This gave the brain a greater surface area. It is like using a larger computer to do calculations. Upon his father's death in 1955, Thomas Einstein gave the pathologist permission to preserve the brain of Albert Einstein. It was photographed then dissected into 2,000 ultra-thin slices. The slices and slides of them were later distributed to researchers. The brain had more neurons and glia cells, well outside of the normal range; pariental lobes were unusual in the pattern of ridges and grooves. Einstein only had a brain of average size. The area controlling the tongue and face was larger, as was the region that involves attention and planning. Overall, Einstein's brain was complex. Many people think in words. He said his thinking was like a physical activity. If selection based on "healthy...

Gene therapy for brain injuries and illnesses may be a good thing, but this treatment changes the shape of brain cells. Researchers in Western Australia say there is nothing to worry about because damaged brain cells regenerate or live longer. They say this when there is no proof that in the long term everything will be alright. They say it is wonderful how brains cells function better after nine months of treatment. Apparently, the neurons become round due to new growth-promoting genes that stimulate them. The fact that surrounding genes away from the treatment area also change is in my opinion something to worry about. Obviously, when this occurs it cannot be reversed. Doctors admit that the way neurons deal with information after treatment is never the same again. Furthermore, they suspect that the long-term effects may not be beneficial to the patient. It is a good thing that researchers are looking for a way to stop gene therapy in its tracks if anything goes wrong. htt...

Despite many tests there is no agreement on whether mobile phones cause brain cancer. Findings point to a trend in heavy phone users. Advice is given to use mobiles as infrequently as possible. It is clear that the skulls of children are much thinner than adults and youngsters receive twice as much microwave radiation from cell phones as adults. Three times as much radiation is absorbed into children's hippocampus and hypothalamus. Other regions of their bodies in danger are the eyes and bone marrow. Tests have mainly been carried out on adult males who have the thickest skulls of all. Scientists believe children and woman are in greater danger of getting brain cancer. One in four Australian women have reduced time spent on making calls in fear of brain damage. It is recommended that tests on children be used as the certifying method for phones. While many scientists are not convinced, research shows that heavy phone users have a 40 per cent higher risk of getting gliomas, t...

Kidney transplants could soon be a thing of the past. It will soon be possible to take kidney cells from a patient, reprogram them, then put the rejuvenated cells back in. Sharon Ricardo of Monash University has taken cells from a person's kidney and made them into progenitors that will develop into healthy kidney cells. In China kidney cells have been isolated in urine. These cells are perfectly okay for reprogramming. The process is called induced pluripotency. Transplanting the new healthy cells will also enable further study into the causes of kidney disease. Kidney transplantation is a drain on health resources worldwide. This new treatment will save millions of dollars. Success in treating kidney disease will lead to similar applications for other diseases. This could impact on health treatment in the future, revolutionizing health care. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustral...

Scientists are looking to moles to enable Mankind to live longer. No, these are not the animal kind of moles. They are the moles one has on one's body - beauty moles. Rather than saying "Yuk, cover that up", we should be saying "You lucky thing." It seems people with moles have benefits that others do not have. The bones in these lucky ones are, apparently, stronger than usual. It is also claimed that they have less wrinkles making them look up to a decade younger than "non-molers". The Heart, eyes and muscles are stronger as well. The downside is the increased risk of skin cancer. Just live like Count Dracula, stay out of the light, and you should be laughing. Researchers are working on a way to turn moles off so they become less visible. This is good if you have the genes for moles, but what about the rest of us? There is no way we can get the benefits from moles which make the telomeres of white blood cells longer, thus slowing bone deterioration an...