Using fat to help wounds heal without scars.

Using fat to help wounds heal without scars.Doctors have found a way to manipulate wounds to heal as regenerated skin rather than scar tissue. The method involves transforming the most common type of cells found in wounds into fat cells -- something that was previously thought to be impossible in humans. Fat cells called adipocytes are normally found in the skin, but they're lost when wounds heal as scars. The most common cells found in healing wounds are myofibroblasts, which were thought to only form a scar. Scar tissue also does not have any hair follicles associated with it, which is another factor that gives it an abnormal appearance from the rest of the skin. Researchers used these characteristics as the basis for their work -- changing the already present myofibroblasts into fat cells that do not cause scarring. The study showed hair and fat develop separately but not independently,that fat will not form without the new hairs, but once it does, the new cells are indistinguishable from the pre-existing fat cells, giving the healed wound a natural look instead of leaving a scar. more

How six cups of ground coffee can improve nose, throat surgery.

How six cups of ground coffee can improve nose, throat surgery.Engineers have designed a 'granular jamming cap' filled with coffee grounds that can improve the accuracy of the sophisticated 'GPS' system that surgeons use for nose and throat surgery. In essence, that is what a team of Vanderbilt University engineers are proposing in an effort to improve the reliability of the sophisticated "GPS" system that surgeons use for these delicate operations. They have designed a "granular jamming cap" filled with coffee grounds that does a better job of tracking patient head movements than current methods.more

Extra-virgin olive oil preserves memory, protects brain against Alzheimer's.

Extra-virgin olive oil preserves memory, protects brain against Alzheimer's. The Mediterranean diet is associated with a variety of health benefits, including a lower incidence of dementia. Now, researchers have identified a specific ingredient that protects against cognitive decline: extra-virgin olive oil. In a new study, the researchers show that consumption of extra-virgin olive oil protects memory and learning ability and reduces the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain -- classic markers of Alzheimer's disease. continue

Fake China, India drugs put Kenyans at risk.

Fake China, India drugs put Kenyans at risk. A UN study has ranked Mombasa as a major hub for trafficking of fake pharmaceutical and veterinary drugs, putting millions of lives in danger. The study by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the International Institute for Research Against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) cites the Kenyan port city as being among the biggest trafficking points in Africa for counterfeit veterinary products and human medicines like antimalarial drugs, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and analgesics as well as gastro-intestinals. “Some 113 million illicit and potentially dangerous medicines were seized in Africa, with a total estimated value of €52 million (Sh6 billion). The biggest interceptions were in Nigeria, Benin, Kenya and Togo – in that order,” says WCO secretary-general Kunio Mikuriya in the report released late last month. “All these potentially dangerous medicines to animal and human health have been withdrawn from the market instead of being sold to the African populations.” more

Avian flu vaccination to begin in China.

Avian flu vaccination to begin in China. China takes avian flu control to next level as threat to poultry, humans intensifies. Asian countries are bearing the brunt of the current global battle against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). New outbreaks in poultry are reported in South Korea, Taiwan and China, and the Beijing government is to start a vaccination program to try to control the further spread of the virus. In Europe, French farmers hit by recent epidemics are receiving compensation payments, while there are new cases in Belgium. Among African countries, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria have confirmed new outbreaks in poultry. In the last week, China’s ministry of agriculture has reported to the OIE that poultry at four more locations have tested positive for the H7N9 HPAI virus variant, bringing the total number of outbreaks since March this year to nine. Latest to be affected were two farms in Inner Mongolia, one in Guangxi, and a slaughterhouse in Longyan city (Fujian province). Almost 462,000 birds were destroyed as a result of the findings. As of June 10, the total number of confirmed human cases of influenza A(H7N9) reported globally increased to 1,533, according to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong. Of these, 727 cases have been recorded in Mainland China since October 2016. The most recent patients – with disease onset between April 25 and June 6 – numbered 12 and were located in Beijing and six provinces. Concern over the threat to the health of humans and poultry posed by the H7N9 HPAI virus lies behind the latest announcement from China’s ministry of agriculture to begin vaccination of poultry against the virus, according to Reuters.source

Solar and wind hybrid drier prevents food waste.

Solar and wind hybrid drier prevents food waste. The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute (KEMFRI) has come up with a drier machine using wind and solar power to remove excess moisture from farm products to reduce post harvest losses. 

 The United Nation’s agency Food and Agricultural Organisation says more than 40 per cent of the global farm produce goes to waste. The waste starts from the farm up to the table of the consumer. 

 

The hybrid drier is powered by the energy harnessed from the fan-like turbine erected on a wind obstruction free area. It can also be powered by solar, which is harnessed directly from panels or indirectly heated piped water. more

Early stress confers lifelong vulnerability causing alterations in a specific brain region.

Early stress confers lifelong vulnerability causing alterations in a specific brain region. Early life stress encodes lifelong susceptibility to stress through long-lasting transcriptional programming in a brain reward region implicated in mood and depression, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the journal Science. The Mount Sinai study focuses on epigenetics, the study of changes in the action of genes caused not by changes in DNA code we inherit from our parents, but instead by molecules that regulate when, where, and to what degree our genetic material is activated. Such regulation derives, in part, from the function of transcription factors -- specialized proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences in our genes and either encourage or shut down the expression of a given gene. Previous studies in humans and animals have suggested that early life stress increases the risk for depression and other psychiatric syndromes, but the neurobiology linking the two has remained elusive until now. source