Typical and atypical signs of cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer is one of the scariest things imaginable. But a cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to be a death sentence.…
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Natural and Medical Sciences
What makes a psychopath: nature or nurture?
I have noticed that, in recent years, there have been a lot of violent, often mass, murders where the perpetrator was young, sometimes still a teenager, and the people around him/her, including family, said that they had not noticed anything concerning in his/her behavior before the murders.…
About dogs and cats’ domestication
Ancient DNA reveals that canine and human genomes evolved in tandem, unlike the feline genome, which remained largely unchanged for thousands of years after the cats entered human’s life
The bond between dogs and humans is ancient and enduring.…
The link between ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2
This post is a re-publication of the following article from the online journal The Conversation:
What is the ACE2 receptor, how is it connected to coronavirus and why might it be key to treating COVID-19?…
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Cancer and gene regulation
Cancer can be described as a disease of altered gene expression. In cancer cells, gene mutations modify the control of the cell cycle and cells don’t stop growing as they normally would.…
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Cancer and the cell cycle
Cancer is a collective name for many different diseases caused by a common mechanism: uncontrolled cell division. In cancer cells, mutations modify the control of the cell cycle and cells don’t stop growing as they normally would.…
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The long road to mRNA vaccines
The central dogma of molecular biology says that the DNA code is transcribed to messenger RNA, or mRNA, which, in turn, is translated to proteins.…
Part 15: About genomics and proteomics
The study of nucleic acids began with the discovery of DNA, progressed to the study of genes and small fragments, and has now exploded to the field of genomics.…
Part 14: Disruptions in the immune system
A functioning immune system is essential for survival, but even the sophisticated cellular and molecular defenses of the mammalian immune response can be defeated by pathogens at virtually every step.…
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Part 13: The adaptive immune system (cont)
Immunological Memory
The adaptive immune system has a memory component that allows for a rapid and large response upon reinvasion of the same pathogen.…
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Part 12: The adaptive immune system
The adaptive, or acquired, immune response takes days or even weeks to become established – much longer than the innate response; however, adaptive immunity is more specific to an invading pathogen.…
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Part 11: The innate immune system (cont)
Internal defense mechanisms
Inflammation
If pathogens manage to breach the barriers protecting the body, one of the first active responses of the innate immune system kicks in.…
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