Readers Dissect
readersdissectjoe
geeward88
Scar Wars
At first instance, one would probably not associate wound repair as an area of great medical importance. Apart from the odd nasty gash (grow up), most of us would think the problem is limited to insignificant cuts and scrapes; usually concerning only the clumsy and drunken. However, it is well known clinically that poorly healing … Read more
Ecstasy for blood cancer sufferers?
Ecstasy for blood cancer sufferers? 3,4-methyldioxymethamphetamine, MDMA, ecstasy, X, whatever you want to call it when most people think about this drug they associate it with partying, raving, clubbing, festivals etc. It is one of the most common illegal recreational drugs in the UK and is generally considered bad for you. However you feel about … Read more
A new birth for male contraceptives (and fertility treatments?)
The search for a male contraceptive pill has been going on for a number of years and as yet none of the drugs developed have gone beyond clinical trials. The first direction that this research took was to somehow lower testosterone levels necessary for the testes to make sperm. The main problem with this is … Read more
The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus: Tick-Tock Goes the Biological Clock
The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for the generation of the circadian rhythm. Although it will continue to create an approximately 24-hour oscillation without the input of external stimuli, it receives inputs from the optic nerve about the light conditions at any given time. It uses this … Read more
Hating Cats: a scientific perspective
I’ve always hated cats. As a pet they seem to me to be just a bit pointless. They snarl, kill birds for fun and show about as much affection as a letterbox. They also unrepentantly groom their genitals and generally make ones house smell of death. On the other hand, I have owned dogs for … Read more
Dendritic cells branch out again
Dendritic cells are a hugely important group of cells within the human body. Found in large quantities around areas which are in contact with the external environment, these cells monitor the bodies most immunologically susceptible areas and ensure that pathogens do not bypass the immune system. They, much like Vanessa Feltz are capable of consuming … Read more
Stem cell therapy restores marmoset movement after spinal cord injury
In a previous blog (“Turning Skin into Blood” 15/11/2010) I talked about how scientists had managed to take skin cells back to a stem cell like state and then turn them into blood cells. Recently there have been some more developments in a similar area of stem cell therapy, which are particularly exciting (well at … Read more
Spoiled by Oil, Explosions and Rubble
As you may be aware, I am not much of an environmentalist. I leave the television on stand-by all day, I tend to flush the toilet after it has been fouled and I look truly dreadful in green. Moreover, I think that many environmental activists tend to be the most painfully dull people around. Although … Read more
Meet the new artificial meat
No, I’m not talking about the plastic or rubber meat that dogs love to chew on so much, particularly if they squeak. A lab in the Netherlands has been working recently to produce meat grown in a lab. So far it has used some starter cells to create small strips of muscle tissue from pigs, … Read more
An Impoxible Return?
Last week saw the re-emergence of a very old and almost forgotten enemy of the human race; smallpox. Less dramatically, this re-appearance was a scripted one in the superb medical drama House MD. In this episode a teenage girl is suspected of having smallpox after splicing her hand on a broken jar found on a … Read more
