The Hodgkin-Huxley model for the generation of the nerve action potential is one of the most successful mathematical models of a complex biological process that has ever been formulated. Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley described the model in 1952 to explain the ionic mechanisms underlying the initiation and propagation of action potentials in the squid […]
I am sure you know people who have decided to go gluten-free because they want to be healthy. However, for most of these people buying gluten free products is just a way of throwing money away since only about 1-2% of Europeans suffer gluten intolerance (celiac disease). Could it be that a bacterium is behind […]
Chronic pain is one of the most common problems of advanced age. Even though the combination of physical therapy and analgesics such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is effective in chronic pain treatments, it only confers short-term benefits. On the other hand, it could be quite expensive and may have significant adverse side effects. Effective, lasting […]
For a long time Alzheimer disease has been studied mostly as a neuronal disease. However, recently the role of the immune system is getting more attention and its involvement more clear. Recent research has shown that a subpopulation of T cells could be key to early Alzheimer’s detection. How were these T cells discovered? Firstly […]
After the big scandal of the CRISPR babies at the end of 2018, some might have thought that would be the end of CRISPR in the clinic, but luckily that has not been the case and despite the public outrage of last year, today we can report on its successful use as gene therapy against […]
Good news everyone! A newly discovered type of hepatic cell might hold the key to repair all those old fatty livers without needing a transplant. And not only those but also those of people suffering from side effects of medication, cancer etc etc But let’s try not to get ahead of ourselves. A team of […]
Zoë Firth & Priscila Borba Borges, students, European Master’s in Clinical Linguistics (EMCL+) and Adrià Rofes (advisor) ‘ I can’t control my brain’. So sang Weezer in their 2001 hit ‘Island in the Sun’; how fitting, then, that this was the song teenager Kira Iaconetti chose to sing during her brain surgery. That’s right: during […]
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is persistent narrowing (blocking, or obstruction) of the airways occurring with emphysema, chronic obstructive bronchitis, or both disorders. Worldwide, the number of people with COPD is increasing. Factors contributing to COPD include an increase in smoking in many developing countries and, throughout the world, exposure to toxins in biomass fuels […]
In the last two decades, the easiness in the obtaining of genetic information from patient biological samples, together with the advanced knowledge on the physiological consequences of patient genetic alterations, has transformed the daily clinical practice in our hospitals. As a result, the current use of the precision medicine concept, as disseminated today in the […]
Chemo-resistance remains a leading cause of mortality in cancer. Two recent discoveries demonstrate that some bacteria strains induce chemo-resistance, and can be targeted to increase the efficacy of therapeutic agents. The emerging relationship between the microorganisms and tumor progression has led many research groups to investigate whether the existence of a particular pattern of bacteria […]