A new alternative to antibiotics.

The method of use of antibiotics in man, animals and in agriculture has been fingered as the major cause of antibiotics resistance which has emerged as a global problem. There has been various methods of curbing antibiotics use in different circles but now a latest alternative to antibiotics has been tried with successful outcomes.

 The new research carried out in Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and published recently in Nature Scientific Reports combines the use of metals and organic acids as a viable alternative to antibiotics. There has been various researches where different interventions have been applied with success. 

These numerous alternatives to antibiotics are already being tested by different researchers around the world. Two of the most popular alternatives are the use of metals such as silver, zinc, and copper which were used in ancient Egypt and Greece for treating infection and purifying water sources, and the use of organic acids such as food acid that is used as a preservative in the food industry.

 This new research now combined the 2 alternatives which is organic acids and metals at a low concentration, and found that the combination is extremely effective in eradicating pathogenic bacteria such as cholera, salmonella, and Pseudomonas, as well as eliminating bacteria that attack agricultural crops such as tomatoes, melons, and apples.

3-D printed ovaries produce healthy offspring.

3-D printed ovaries produce healthy offspring as bio prosthetic ovaries produced mouse pups in otherwise infertile mice. The study by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering shows that bioprosthetic ovaries have long-term, durable function. The new research targeted at women targeted whose cancer treatments impaired their fertility and hormone production has shown potential of 3D printed ovaries to produce healthy offspring's. The research used a 3-D printed bioprosthetic mouse ovaries to restore fertility in the infertile mice and produced healthy mouse pups. The mothers also were able to nurse their pups. The ovaries are constructed of 3-D printed scaffolds that house immature eggs and were successful in boosting hormone production and restoring fertility.

100-year-old fertility technique reduces need for IVF.

A new study has shown that 100-year-old fertility technique reduces the need for IVF.The results of the study published in The New England Journal of Medicine,shows that infertile couples have a major opportunity to achieve a successful pregnancy without the need for IVF, by using the technique which involves flushing the woman's Fallopian tubes with an iodised poppy seed oil.This technique has been proven to have significant benefits for fertility.

Modified experimental vaccine protects monkeys from deadly malaria.

Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, modified an experimental malaria vaccine and showed that it completely protected four of eight monkeys that received it against challenge with the virulent Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. In three of the remaining four monkeys, the vaccine delayed when parasites first appeared in the blood by more than 25 days.Malaria symptoms occur when parasites replicate inside red blood cells and cause them to burst. full story.

Theanine: How a tea amino acid could help fight liver disease

Theanine: How a tea amino acid could help fight liver disease: Theanine, the unique amino acid present in the tea plant, can potentially be used to treat liver injury and boost immunity, a new review has shown.

Self - medicating animals and lessons they teach us.

The self-medicating animals and the lessons they teach us. Self-medicating animals opens up a new dimension of medicine in the wild ,leading to the question what can we learn from chimps and sheep and maybe even insects that practice medicine on themselves? Early accounts of animal self-medication came in the late 1980s from Michael Huffman, a primatologist at Kyoto University. His decades-long research on chimpanzees, which revealed that they use plant compounds to rid themselves of parasites, helped established self-medication as a fundamental animal behavior. “Any animal species alive today is alive in part because of its ability to adapt and to fight off diseases,” Huffman says. Self-medication does not require high intelligence, but was simply the reaction of animals to remove an ailing symptom that evolved into strategies to expel parasites. “Self-medication is a very basic behavior that’s important to the survival of so many species,” he says. The animal self-medication points to a treasure larger than mere fascination and by following the animals’ lead,its possible to tap into a medicine vault furnished by millions of years of natural selection. The world’s best bio-prospectors which are the animals themselves may very well show us new pharmaceuticals to improve the health of our livestock and ourselves. more

How to use a calf resuscitator.

Calf resuscitator is an essential tool for calf management especially after calving.The Calf Resuscitator is a constant delivery resuscitator,designed to inflate the lungs of newborns that are unable to breathe,but have a heartbeat. One person can operate the resuscitator using a simple push/pull action. Valves at each end do all of the work. Aspirator mask is attached to wide end of the pump to draw out mucus or fluids,that may be blocking the airway. Once clear,the aspirator mask is removed, and the resuscitator mask is attached to the narrow end of the pump. Bi-directional valve allows animal to exhale without the need to remove the unit, then pumps fresh air back into lungs.Calf Resuscitator includes C20 pump, aspirator mask, resuscitator mask and case. more