A Kerafast providing lab from the University of Saskatchewan recently published a paper exploring why bats are immune to SARS and MERS, respiratory diseases that cause serious and often deadly illness in humans. The lab of Dr. Vikram Misra has determined that bat cells employ a unique mechanism to suppress inflammation when infected with viruses,
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease resulting in the loss of the neurotransmitter dopamine as nerve cells slowly die. One function of dopamine is to regulate motor control. Consequently, as PD progresses, individuals may experience tremors, rigidity, difficulty walking, slowed movement and cognitive decline. There is no cure for PD and current treatment relies
Tick-borne disease and the number of ticks are on the rise globally, especially in the United States, thanks to a milder winter in many regions. Ticks are arachnids, and live on a variety of mammalian host species. Ticks bite, attach and live on their mammalian hosts as they feed on their blood. During their attachment,
Research from IRB Barcelona has revealed new information about the role of the Dpp gene (BMP in humans) in the wing development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The study, published this July in the journal eLife, found that Dpp is necessary for tissue growth but its gradient does not regulate wing growth. These findings