Crystals And Catalysts

A promising cure has been found which uses an anti-cancer drug along with an anti-viral drug to treat hepatitis b, and within phase 1/2a trials and has achieved 100% success. Hepatitis-B is a chronic viral disease that is currently incurable.  Over two billion people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B and approximately 400 million have a chronic HBV infection, unimaginable numbers. The virus infects liver cells and can lead to complications including cirrhosis and liver cancer, resulting in more than 780,000 deaths annually. Hepatitis B patients in Australia are the first people who will have access to the potential treatment. The scientists from Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researched the combination of the anti-viral drug and the anti-cancer drug (developed by a US company-TetraLogic pharmaceuticals). Dr Marc Pellegrini and Dr Greg Ebert and their colleagues at the i...

Even though there are thousands of studies proving the efficiency of vaccines and that there is n o association found between MMR vaccine and autism, even among children at higher risk there are still people who believe in anti-vaccination and they are currently putting everyone's lives at risk.  This humerous video shows you how anti-vaxxers sound to normal people (pro-vaxxers). 

This weeks #SOTW is  Elsie Widdowson CBE CH FRS . The well-known British chemist and dietitian. Famous for her research on food composition tables and setting the limits of dietary intake of food, vitamins & minerals in World War 1. Biography  Elsie was born in Surrey, United Kingdom. Her schooldays were spent in south east London where her favourite subject was Zoology. But she had a dedicated chemistry teacher how encouraged her to study chemistry at university instead.   Elsie studied chemistry at Imperial College London and graduated in 1928. She was one of the first females to graduate with a Bachelors of Science from Imperial College (there were only 3 women in her year of a group of 100 students). Elsie took her final exam after only 2 years of studying however had to continue at university for another year before her degree was awarded. In her final year, she spent time in the biochemistry lab presided over by Prof. Samm...

The debate around vaccines has seen a surge in recent years, with many choosing not to vaccinate their children as a result. While anti-vaxxers might not be breaking any laws, those for vaccination have pointed out that they’re putting their own kids at risk and those around them. Why wouldn’t you vaccinate your kids? There’s always been a resistance to vaccines, with numerous studies being done to find a link between inoculation and debilitating conditions such as autism. Anti-vaxxers have used research such as one published in the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry to link vaccinations to hepatitis B, among others. As a result, a growing number of parents have taken a stance against immunization in fear of the supposed dangers the treatment presents to their children. Although the findings of such research has been inconclusive, it hasn’t deterred anti-vaxxers from their staunch opposition to the treatment. In fact, many influential people such as Jenny McCarthy, ...

(Image: Aldo Sperber/picturetank - from  New Scientist  ) Thirty per cent of the adult population experience seasonal allergies, especially hay fever. The eyes start watering and reddening and noses start running, making you looking and feeling like a big mess. But did you know that these are not the only effects of allergies? Did you know that it affects your brains reaction time to driving too? Hay fever or allergic rhinitis can be aggravated by anything from pollen, mould, dust, fungal spores or animal dander; they aggravate the immune system inappropriately to harmless substances / allergens.  False Alarms... When a pollen grain lands on the damp lining of the nose and throat, its tough outer coat can burst, releasing its contents, including allergenic proteins. These come into contact with immune cells called mast cells, which are the body's first line of defence against invaders.  In most people, these harmless proteins are ignore...

Stem cells are the clean slates of the human body. They're the cells (usually found in bone marrow) that are stored till they have a significant job. Stem cells remain stem cells until they need to differentiate into a specific type of cell i.e  a heart cell, a kidney cell or even a skin cell. New research goes into the way stem cells differentiate and what goes into the process. The study (conducted by the Institute of Biotechnology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)) suggests that asymmetric apportioning of old cellular components during cell division may represent an anti-aging mechanism utilized by stem cells. They focus on tissue stem cells, that continuously renew our tissues which divide asymmetrically to produce 2 types of daughter cells: one a new stem cell, the second one will become the differentiating cell of a tissue. Stem cells undergo this technique to prevent cellular damage. Extra damage can cause stem cell fatigue and less tissue regeneration an...

It is everyone’s desire to have beautiful, clear skin but sometimes that’s not always possible. Especially in our teenage years spots start to appear and if you’re really unlucky it turns into acne.  Although acne can take a long time to go away, there are lot of treatments for it available today; and here’s the newest, method of acne treatment & prevention. Pimples form when follicles get blocked by sebum, an oily, waxy substance secreted by sebaceous glands located adjacent to the follicle. Excretion of sebum is a natural process and functions to lubricate and waterproof the skin. Occasionally, however, the openings of the follicles (pores) get blocked, typically by bits of hair, skin, dirt or other debris mixed in with the sebum. Overproduction of sebum is also a problem, which can be caused by hormones or medications. Changes in the skin, such as its thickening during puberty, can also contribute to follicle blockage. Whatever the cause, the accumulating sebum holds ...

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is an electromagnetic wave. It comes from the sun and travels to the surface of the Earth. While UVR is vital to human (it provides us with the essential vitamin, vitamin D), but it can also cause harm especially to the eye and skin such as burn, hyperpigmentation, photoaging skin, keratoconjunctivitis, stimulation of photodermatoses and cutaneous cancer. This is why we need different methods of protection from the harmful and potentially damaging sun rays. The types of protection can be split into the two categories: Chemical protection (sunscreen) and Physical protection such as using hats, garments, sunglasses. Umbrellas are also a great method of protection from the sun and one of the ways to protect yourself from UVR due to its convenience, availability as well as its ability to protect one from rain. However, there are only few studies on UVR protection efficacy of different types of umbrellas and no clear conclusions can be drawn...

Biography: Francis Crick born on the 8 th June 1916 in Northampton, United Kingdom, graduated from UCL in 1937. During World War 2 he worked as a scientist for the Admiralty Research Laboratory, working on the design of magnetic and acoustic mines. In 1940 Crick married Ruth Doreen Dodd. Their son, Michael F.C Crick is a scientist. They were divorced in 1947. In 1949 Crick married Odile Speed. They have two daughters, Gabrielle A. Crick and Jacqueline M.T. Crick.  The family lived in a house called the “The Golden Helix” appropriately named by Crick, and it made a good conversation topic with his friends. In 1947 Crick made the transition from physics into biology, which he described as "almost as if one had to be born again." His early studies at Cambridge were supported by a studentship from the Medical Research Council (MRC). In 1949 he joined the MRC Unit headed by Max Perutz, which subsequently became the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. During th...

Click info-graphic to enlarge Winter is coming to an end and last Friday was officially the first day of spring  (but if you're in England you probably didn't notice a difference; maybe the odd daffodil here and there but the weather is pretty much the same). So with the changes in weather comes cold & flu season, where it seems as if everyone's got a cold, and taking sick-days off school/work.  Two scientists at the University of Helsinki:  Harri Hemilä from Helsinki, Finland and Elizabeth Chalker from Sydney, Australia decided to study whether there are differences in the effect of zinc lozenges on different common-cold symptoms. Harri Hemilä from Helsinki, Finland and Elizabeth Chalker from Sydney, Australia decided to investigate whether there are differences in the effect of zinc lozenges on different common-cold symptoms.  What are Zinc Lozenges? Zinc lozenges contain zinc acetate, when you suck on a zinc lozenge, zinc acetate br...