Skip to main content

Home/ Authentic Science Research 2013-2014/ Group items tagged future

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Melissa Menghini

Finger Regeneration: Stem Cells In Fingernails May Be Key To Regrowing Limbs, Scientist... - 0 views

  •  
    A groundbreaking discovery in the mice ability to regenerate the tips of their digits leaves scientists hopeful for human regeneration in the future. Researches have found that as long as enough of the nail remains, any amputated digit tip has the capability to regrow. This process can be performed because of the colony of stem cells present under the nail base; however, this process can only proceed if enough of the nail epithelium remains on the amputated digit. The process that occurs after amputation starts with the activation of the Wnt pathway in the epithelium located underneath the remaining nail. After the nerves are attracted to the area, FGF2 (protein) directs the nerves into growing mesenchymal cells, cells used for regrowth. However, if too much of the digit is amputated, too much epithelium is lost, the Wnt pathway is never activated, and there is no regeneration. On another note, humans and mice are somewhat related to amphibians in their regeneration abilities; this further gives scientists hope for human regeneration in the future. The opposing side argues why humans differ from salamanders, and points out the flaws in this scientific discovery. 
Elizabeth Bundschuh

Medical advances hold promise for less-destructive cancer treatment by way of genetic m... - 0 views

  •  
    If a mutation occurs in a person's genes it can cause cancer. The future of cancer therapy is identifying and targeting these mutations. A trial at the University of Florida, known as NSCABP-FC-7 takes the genetic fingerprint of a patients DNA and gives them a personalized treatment based on the information. The idea is to move away from the traditional cytotoxic treatment, and towards less toxic personalized medicine. However, the toxicity of cancer drugs is decreasing due to technology's increasing ability to target and destroy specific cells, and not healthy cells. Washington University St. Louis as well as other institutions have become part of the study. Overall, the future of cancer treatment lies in targeted therapies and personalized medicine.
nehaha00

A Sense of Time Requires a Sense of Space - 0 views

  •  
    This article introduces an interesting notion, that in order to gauge time one must be aware of space.. After initially introducing the concept the author then describes a disease called left hemispatial neglect, which is when one is not able to remember the left half of something. The author cites how researchers then proceeded to test how people with left hemispatial neglect perceive time. The premise of the experiment is that in languages that write from left to right people visualize the past as being on the left of a timeline and the future on the right. So, in order to test the theory researchers had three groups of people one group spoke French and had left hemispatial neglect, the second group was composed of people who had had strokes but didn't have left hemi-spatial neglect, and the third group was composed of normal healthy people. In the experiment all three groups were given facts about a 40 year old man. Some of the facts were from 10 years ago when the man was 30 and some facts were from the future when the man would be 50. After each group was given this information they were quizzed on whether certain facts were from the past or the future, and the results showed that the group of people with left hemispatial neglect did worse than the other groups when remembering facts from 10 years ago (meaning the left side). Which lead researchers to the conclusion that time and space indeed are related.
Nicholas Scholz

The effects of the brain in reproduction - 1 views

  • Properly functioning FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) is needed to ensure fertility
  • Recently, the group of researchers at the University of Muenster (Germany) has analysed genetic variants in both the FSH gene and in the FSH receptor, which affect fertility in both males and females.
  • The group found that a distinct single nucleotide change in the DNA structure of FSHB gene (the FSH molecule has 2 subunits -- FSHB is the B subunit) caused significant effects in the functioning of the hormone in both men and women
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • They found that males with the FSHB variation had significant drops in FSH levels and in testicular volume
  • However, the number of women with the combined variation so far studied was not high enough to draw significant conclusions.
  • We estimate that around 45% of infertile men would respond to FSH therapy
  •  
    Reproduction is obviously a vital aspect of the human development. With a non-functioning fertility system future generations would be at a loss. Many problems could arise with infertility and ground-breaking research is finally being conducted. One of the important aspects of human reproduction is the use of hormones specifically FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). This hormone is produced at the base of the brain stem and non-existing levels of FSH were recently associated with infertility. In order to regenerate these hormones a change has to be made in the FSHB subunit of the nucleotide. Infertility usually occurs after certain changes are made in the hormone levels and by redirecting the levels of hormones we may be able to alter the problems that arise during reproduction. It should also be noted that increases and decreases in the levels of FSH may have different effects depending on the gender of the patient. Current research estimates that the response of males to this therapy could positively effect nearly 45% of infertile men. Estimates could not be made for females as a result of insufficient research. 
Melissa Menghini

Scientists Use Stem Cells to Grow Mouse Inner Ears - 0 views

  •  
    Recent stem cell research has enabled scientists to develop mice inner ears. This new discovery has high hopes to lead to future hearing restoration for humans, and reasoning on hear loss. This astonishing breakthrough is the result of the transformation of embryonic stem cells from mice into sensory epithelia. These epithelia contain hair cells, fragile cells that allow organisms to hear. This discovery is even more shocking through the impossibility for hair cells to grow once they have been destroyed. This exciting accomplishment allows for researchers to study hair cells, and their connection to hearing.
Melissa Menghini

Scientists grow teeth using stem cells from urine: study  - NY Daily News - 0 views

  •  
    Chinese researches have discovered an ability to transform the cells found in urine into stem cells. Driving these scientists was the remarkable ability that stem cells possess: the ability to transform into other cells. These scientists actually transformed the cells from urine into stem cells, and used those stem cells to create human teeth in mice jawbones. This experiment did suffer several flaws, however. These teeth-like structures did contain a number of components that real teeth are composed of: enamel, dentin, and pulp. Even so, these teeth were only one-third as hard as human teeth. Additionally, this experiment resulted in 70% of the mice absent of teeth-like structures. Despite the flaws through the experiment, this discovery comes close to the regrowth of human features and gives hope to a possible future of regenerated human teeth. Better methods of obtaining cells with the ability to become stem cells exist, further giving the world of science hope in human body repair and regrowth. 
Melissa Menghini

Retina stem cell transplants restore sight to blind mice: study - NY Daily News - 0 views

  •  
    British scientists have recently restored sight to blind mice by the use of stem cells from mice embryos. These stem cells were put into a lab dish; there, they separated into immature photo-receptors. These were then injected into the mice's retinas, and actually brought sight back into some of the blind. This successful experiment makes scientists hopeful that they can restore sight to blind humans in the future. Although these cells can become very beneficial, they can also turn cancerous. New scientific advancements have bettered the stem cell procedure, but problems with the process are still arising. 
Priya S.K.

Astrology - Are Horoscopes Accurate? | Suite101 - 0 views

  •  
    Phil Plait, the author of Bad Astronomy, strongly believes that astrology is inaccurate according to 3 things horoscopes assert: force from planets and stars affect humans; force can be tracked; horoscopes predict fortune. Scientists argue, that out of the 4 forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong, and weak), strong and weak forces have nothing to do with astrology itself, and the objects that exert the most gravitational and electromagnetic forces on the Earth have little influence in astrology. Many other researchers and authors support the idea that astrological predictions are biased and harmful.
Elizabeth Bundschuh

Proton Therapy: The Cancer Treatment of the Future - 0 views

  •  
    Proton therapy in a painless, noninvasive type of radiation to treat malignant tumors. It has been used successfully in against a variety of tumors and has fewer side affects then conventional photon therapy. Both Photon and Proton therapies work in the same ways by destroying cancer cells and preventing them from dividing. Proton therapy penetrates less healthy tissue than photon therapy. That means that proton therapy has fewer side effects and a faster recovery. Proton therapy needs time to grow. Costs for therapy rooms are falling, but many insurances do not cover proton therapy and many medical professionals need to be educated about and trained to use proton therapy. Overall proton therapy is a quickly becoming a more efficient, better way to treat cancer.
1 - 9 of 9
Showing 20 items per page