Adventure Ausrama Blog

The normal procedure when cataracts become problematic is surgery. This should change as new eye drops are adopted across the world. A chemical has been identified which stops the disease and reverses it. Luckily the chemical is soluble so formulation of eye drops should be easy. Cataracts develop when crystallin proteins clump together generally with age. Crystallins are the main element in the eye lens. When these proteins are damaged the lens does not function well. Using differential scanning fluorimetry, lanosteral was first found. It reduced the cumulative damage but it was not soluble and had to be injected. More work resulted in the isolation of "compound 29". This was soluble and worked just the same. The new compound stopped crystallins from forming dangerous amyloids. Furthermore, existing amyloids were dissolved. In tests on mice, their cataract affected lenses became clearer. Tissue taken from human cataract sufferers also became more transpa

Australian scientists attempt to understand the aging process. In a partnership with Harvard University, the University of New South Wales has found a way to stop aging. Though it has been achieved on mice it has already been applied to humans. Young youthful genes are turned on while older ones are turned off. Done in the right way, the process can halt and even reverse aging. The triggers are naturally occurring molecules and proteins. Change is made in the muscles and improvement begins in a week. Hopefully, drugs containing the triggers can be developed. At least this is what the researchers are planning. Tests on humans have shown great promise so far. An extra plus for the "treatment" is that it is anti-inflammatory. Such diseases as inflammatory bowel disease could be sent into remission. It makes one wonder, however, why findings aren't applied generally much sooner. Leader of the project, Professor David Sinclair a specialist in the fiel

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/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was thought that once the human genome was known "interpreting" how things work would be easy. However, this is not the case. The hereditary sequencing in our genes is not the only factor determining what we are and what we do. Only 3 per cent of human genes are actually involved in the "code". Little is known about what the rest do. It has been discovered recently that these "dumb" genes turn the letter genes on and off. They determine whether a cell becomes a brain or kidney cell, for example. There are 3 billion base gene structures, so there is a long way to go in understanding basic functions. At any one time 80 per cent of genes are active. Some are triggered by proteins. Others change into RNA that regulate letter genes. In regard to understanding human health, many bases just keep chromosomes quiet. A complicating factor is that genes overlap and have many end points - not singular. Over 4 million gene triggers have be found and they

You may not be responsible for aggressive behavior. New research shows that it could be caused by a chemical that strongly influences what you do, a chemical that you are not aware of. The Longfin squid lays its eggs each year in warm shallow water. Eggs are coated with a protein pheromone. When a male squid gets close to the eggs the chemical is absorbed and the sea creature attacks any other male squid in close proximity. It was thought that the cause of human aggression was in the brain which interacts with the body's physiological structure. This is now brought into question. Squid are complex, like humans. A similar protein pheromone is found in human seminal fluid. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com ~~~~~ Science ~~~~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .