Diagnosis is one of the trickiest steps in disease management for many diseases, ranging from some types of cancer to rare diseases or neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s for instance. Even though we have been hearing long about the disease, to date the only reliable diagnosis comes from a postmortem brain analysis and the finding of […]
The immune system is composed of a considerable variety of cell types with different functions. One of the most important cells involved in the innate immunity are the macrophages . These cells have a wide spectrum of functions: from bacteria-killing function to wound healing properties. Classically the macrophages according to their functions have been classified […]
Molecules in larvae’s food determine whether honeybees are queens or workers Plant microRNA plays a key role in determining whether a female honeybee develops into a queen or a sterile worker. The tiny molecules are present in bee bread, a mixture of pollen and honey that is fed to larvae that become workers, and they […]
I am sure that all of you have had table conversations about the flavour of tomato fruits: “These tomatoes have no taste” complained the little boy; “When I was a child tomatoes were much better, now they are tasteless” said the grandmother; “The ones I grow in my backyard are hundred times better” stated the […]
Do you remember the “Little Red Riding Hood” story – the beloved fairy tale that your parents used to read to you before bed? Besides putting you and many other children across the globe to sleep, this story is a great “spontaneous speech” resource to assess language impairments in people with neurological disorders. An interesting […]
Gut microbes change seasonally in Tanzania’s Hadza people The gut microbes of a tribe of hunter-gatherers in Tanzania change along with the seasons. Researchers collected stool samples from the Hadza and found that not only is their gut microbiome diverse, it changes along with the Hadza diet, which consists of meat and tubers during the […]
In science, for a phenomenon to be reliable, it needs to be validated by a certain statistical value, the p-value, which by giving an estimate of the probability that the result would be the product of chance, serves as a measure of the probability that a certain event happening is true. So far, the convention […]
The OECD report on obesity in Spain published in 2014 (PDF) presented worrying data: 1-in-6 adults is obese and more than half are overweight, including obesity. The percentage of obesity has grown in the last years and its prevalence is linked to educational level: men with low studies are 1.6 times more likely to be […]
Cloud bands like those around Neptune observed on brown dwarfs Cloud bands similar to those around Neptune have been detected surrounding brown dwarfs, massive objects that aren’t quite planets and didn’t make the cut as stars. This is the first time cloud bands have been found in brown dwarf atmospheres. Space.com Stimulating perirhinal cortex causes […]
Like father like son. We have all heard it one time or another. The layman explanation to hereditary characters. Whether the cause is genetic inheritance or the effect of growing up in a certain environment, is quite something else. When talking about the origin of intelligence, there are always discussions. Even though there is undoubtedly […]