Biotechnology The Advance Biology

Genetically engineered crops are safe, review of studies finds Date: September 30, 2016 Source: Penn State University Summary: Genetically engineered crops are no different from conventional crops in terms of their risks to human health and the environment, according to a new report. Full story Leland Glenna, associate professor of rural sociology and science, technology and society in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, served on the committee that authored the report. "The study committee found no substantiated evidence of a difference in risks to human health between currently commercialized GE crops -- specifically soybean, maize and cotton -- and conventionally bred crops, nor did it find conclusive cause-and-effect evidence of environmental problems from the GE crops," said Glenna. "These findings should not be interpreted to mean that there are not still many challenges related to both conventional and GE crops, just that currently avail...

Treating malaria by stabilizing leaky blood vessels Date: September 29, 2016 Source: University Health Network (UHN) Summary: Boosting a protective protein to stabilize blood vessels that are weakened by malaria showed improved survival, beyond that of antimalarial drugs alone in pre-clinical research. Researchers now describe how their approach bolsters the body’s own capabilities to protect itself against cerebral malaria, rather than solely targeting the malaria parasites in the blood. Full story.                     Toronto General Research Institute (TGRI) and the Sandra Rotman Centre for Global Health, University of Toronto and University Health Network researchers describe in Science Translational Medicine   how their approach bolsters the body's own capabilities to protect itself against cerebral malaria, rather than solely targeting the malaria parasites in the blood. Over 400,000 lives are lost each year t...

A bad bite is associated with worse postural, balance control Date: September 14, 2016 Source: Plataforma SINC Summary: In recent years there has been increasing medical interest in correcting teeth that do not touch perfectly in order to prevent problems such as jaw pain, gaps between teeth and crowding. Now, a new study has concluded that dental occlusion is also related to the control of posture and balance. Straight teeth (stock image). Dental occlusion is simply the contact made between the top and bottom teeth when closing the mouth. Teeth may be perfectly aligned or they may present alterations with varying levels of severity. Credit: © Laurin Rinder / Fotolia Fullstory- Although it is a technical term, 'dental occlusion' is increasingly on the minds of many patients following a routine visit to the dentist. Doctor's offices diagnose problems related to a bad bite such as a shifted midline, gaps between teeth, crowding, crossbites and missing teeth...

High factor sunscreen can decrease the risk of melanoma by 33% Date: September 14, 2016 Source: University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine Summary: Using high factor sunscreen compared with low factor sunscreen can decrease the risk of melanoma by 33%, new research demonstrates. Melanoma is the cancer with the strongest increase in incidence in the last decade. Credit- google image  Full story- Using sunscreen does not guarantee protection In this study sunscreen users reported more sunburn, more sunbathing vacations and use of sunbeds than those who never used sunscreen. As a result non sunscreen users had a lower risk of developing melanoma than those who used low factor sunscreen. The Department of Biostatistics with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo have found that sunscreen with an adequate factor can reduce the risk of melanoma by over 30 percent compared with low factor sunscreen. Melanoma is the cancer with the strongest increase in incidence ...

How our brain slows down the effects of aging Date: September 14, 2016 Source: Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum Summary: The older we get, the more difficult it becomes to put the world around us in order. Yet, our brain develops remarkable strategies to slow down the effects of aging. FullSTORY Older people pay more attention to the details and look more closely than younger people. Credit: © WONG SZE FEI / Fotolia In order to process the information that we receive every day, we build categories into which we sort everything that makes up the world around us. Neuroscientists from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) found out: the way we categorise things changes throughout our lifetimes. Their research results were now published in the journal  Neuropsychologia . The team surrounding Sabrina Schenk and Prof. Dr. Boris Suchan observed young and older people during a categorisation task. The participants of the study were asked to sort circles with varying colour combin...

Opposites attract ... unless you're in a relationship Do I think I'm sexy? When in a relationship, you are more likely to find those who resemble you more attractive Date: July 14, 2016 Source: Frontiers Summary: If we are in a relationship we are more likely to be attracted to faces resembling our own, but for single people, opposites attract. Relationship status affects who and what we find attractive. Credit-http://lvdrwings.blogspot.com Full story- Relationship status affects who and what we find attractive, found a study published in  Frontiers in Psychology . Dr Jitka Lindová of Charles University in the Czech Republic and her team showed a series of photographs of faces to university students and asked them to rate their attractiveness. The photographs were digitally manipulated so that the resemblance to the student was modified. Images were of an individual of the opposite sex, whose face had been manipulated to look either more or less similar to ...