Browse Articles

Exploring natural ways to maintain keratin production in hair follicles

Roy et al. | Apr 29, 2024

Exploring natural ways to maintain keratin production in hair follicles
Image credit: Roy and Roy, 2024

We are looking into natural ways to help hair grow better and stronger by studying keratin synthesis in human hair follicles. The reason for conducting this research was to have the ability to control hair growth through future innovations. We wanted to answer the question: How can we find natural ways to enhance hair growth by understanding the connection with natural resources, particularly keratin dynamics? The main focus of this experiment is understanding the promotion of keratin synthesis within human hair follicles, which is important for hair development and health. While keratin is essential for the growth and strength of body tissues, including skin and hair, our research hints at its specific synthesis within hair follicles. In our research utilizing castor oil, coconut oil, a turmeric and baking soda mixture, and a sugar, honey, and lemon mixture, we hypothesize that oils, specifically coconut oil and castor oil, will enhance keratin synthesis, whereas mixtures, such as the turmeric and baking soda mixture and the sugar, honey, and lemon mixture, will result in a decrease keratin synthesis. The methods used show how different natural substances influence keratin formation within the hair follicles. The experiment involved applying natural resources to hair strands and follicles, measuring their length under the microscope daily, and assessing their health and characteristics over seven days. In summary, our research helps us understand how hair grows better. We found that using natural items like essential oils effectively alters keratin growth within the hair follicles and hair strands.

Read More...

Impact of gadodiamide (Omniscan) on a beef liver catalase ex vivo model

Hirsch et al. | Mar 10, 2023

Impact of gadodiamide (Omniscan) on a beef liver catalase <em>ex vivo</em> model
Image credit: Marcelo Leal

Here, seeking to better understand the effects of gadolinium-based contrast agents, dyes typically used for MRI scans, the authors evaluated the activity of catalase found in beef liver both with and without gadodiamide when exposed to hydrogen peroxide. They found that gadioamide did not significantly inhibit catalase's activity, attributing this lack of effects to the chelating agent found in gadodiamide.

Read More...

Autologous transplantation of fresh ovarian tissue in the ICR mice model

Wang et al. | Oct 24, 2022

Autologous transplantation of fresh ovarian tissue in the ICR mice model

In this study, we performed orthotopic auto-transplantation of fresh ovarian tissues by transplanting unilateral half ovarian tissue to the contralateral ovary in the ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) strain of outbred, heterogeneous mice to determine if the transplanted tissue could be functional. We found that the freshly transplanted mouse ovarian tissue survived and functional, as histochemical and immunofluorescence assays have shown that not only both follicles at different developing stages and corpus luteum are available, but the morphology of them are properly maintained within the transplanted tissue.

Read More...

Development of Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster and Characterization of the Anti-Diabetic Effects of Resveratrol and Pterostilbene

Dhar et al. | Jul 02, 2018

Development of Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster and Characterization of the Anti-Diabetic Effects of Resveratrol and Pterostilbene

Dhar and colleagues established a Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) model in fruit flies, using this model to induce insulin resistance and characterize the effects Resveratrol and Pterostilbene on a number of growth and activity metrics. Resveratrol and Pterostilbene treatment notably overturned the weight gain and glucose levels. The results of this study suggest that Drosophila can be utilized as a model organism to study T2DM and novel pharmacological treatments.

Read More...

Changing public opinions on genetically modified organisms through access to educational resources

Klein et al. | Jul 26, 2022

Changing public opinions on genetically modified organisms through access to educational resources

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are crops or animals that have been genetically engineered to express a certain physical or biological characteristic and have various benefits that have made them become increasingly popular. However, the public has had mixed reactions to the use of GMOs, with some skeptical of their safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how opinions on genetically modified foods can change from exposure to small amounts of information

Read More...

Music's Effect on Dogs' Heart Rates

Aubin et al. | Oct 03, 2017

Music's Effect on Dogs' Heart Rates

Music can affect the behavior of humans and other animals. In this study, the authors studied five types of music with different tempos and demonstrated how each one affected dogs' heart rates.

Read More...

Analysis of Monotherapy and Combination Therapy on Helicobacter felis

Custodio et al. | Apr 28, 2020

Analysis of Monotherapy and Combination Therapy on <em>Helicobacter felis</em>

Heliobacter felis causes gastritis which is accompanied by a range of unpleasant symptoms in small animals such as cats. In order to identify effective antibiotics for treating H. felis infections, the researchers investigate whether a combination of different antibiotics is more effective than the use of individual antibiotics alone. Of the antibiotics they selected, Streptomycin alone was better than any other single antibiotic or in combination. Their results have not yet been validated in live animals, but suggest that Streptomycin alone might be an effective treatment of H. felis-induced gastritis in cats.

Read More...

Testing Various Synthetic and Natural Fiber Materials for Soundproofing

Karuppiah et al. | Jun 15, 2017

Testing Various Synthetic and Natural Fiber Materials for Soundproofing

Noise pollution negatively impacts the health and behavioral routines of humans and other animals, but the production of synthetic sound-absorbing materials contributes to harmful gas emissions into the atmosphere. The authors of this paper investigated the effectiveness of environmentally-friendly, cheap natural-fiber materials, such as jute, as replacements for synthetic materials, such as gypsum and foam, in soundproofing.

Read More...

Effects of Wi-Fi EMF on Drosophila melanogaster

Anand et al. | Jan 29, 2020

Effects of Wi-Fi EMF on <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>

While increased access to Wi-Fi has been a great advancement, we have a limited understanding if there are any health effects on animals. In this study, Anand and Anand exposed fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to different concentrations of Wi-Fi electromagnetic fields, and observed effects on their reproduction and survivability.

Read More...