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Italy, Medicine, Health
From death to discrimination sentence: when surviving cancer equals being denied basic rights
From death to discrimination sentence: when surviving cancer equals being denied basic rights
Cancer has turned my life upside down . It touched my body, my deepest identity. I started questioning myself about the meaning of life, about death, about what it means to have a changing body that would soon undergo major therapies and go through early menopause.
Exploring the unexpected. A chat with Paolo Dario, world-renowned pioneer of biorobotics
Exploring the unexpected. A chat with Paolo Dario, world-renowned pioneer of biorobotics
Many of the prototypes that have made the history of biorobotics worldwide are visible in a showcase set up at The BioRobotics Institute of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pontedera, near Pisa, Italy.
Do microbes control our mood?
Do microbes control our mood?
If aliens were to examine a human, they would think we were just slavish organisms designed to feed microbes and carry them around. Our bodies contain ten times more bacteria than cells , and there are an estimated 3.
Twins help progress and diagnosis of rare Myasthenia
Twins help progress and diagnosis of rare Myasthenia
Fourteen pairs of identical twins joined the EU funded medical project “ Fight-MG ”, to fight Myasthenia Gravis . This rare autoimmune disease leads to abnormal fatigability of various skeletal muscles.
Sonia Aknin-Berrih: How rare models suggest new treatment strategies
Sonia Aknin-Berrih: How rare models suggest new treatment strategies
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a rare auto-immune disease—whereby patients’ immune systems attack their own bodies— arising from a breakdown in communications between the nervous and muscular systems.
Network of experts join forces to fight rare disease
Network of experts join forces to fight rare disease
Collaboration between research groups is key in tackling rare diseases such as auto-immune disease Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Indeed, the rarity of the disease means that it can be difficult to collect enough samples of blood and tissues to perform quality research.
Designing ultra-sensitive biosensors for early personalised diagnostics
Designing ultra-sensitive biosensors for early personalised diagnostics
Personalised medicine is one of the new developments that is deemed to revolutionise health care. A key component is the detection of biomarkers, proteins in blood or saliva, for example, whose presence or abnormal concentration is caused by a disease.
Pietro Gucciardi – Working towards a single-molecule biosensor
Pietro Gucciardi – Working towards a single-molecule biosensor
Until now, few biosensors have had the required sensitivity to detect single molecules. A novel approach for improved biosensor sensitivity has opened new avenues for developing new kinds of biosensors.
Renewed hope for gene therapy in rare disease
Renewed hope for gene therapy in rare disease
Between 30 and 40 million people in Europe suffer from rare diseases —many of them children. As most of these diseases have genetic origins, gene therapy is a major hope for their future cure .
Picking the right virus candidate for gene therapy
Picking the right virus candidate for gene therapy
Viruses often get bad press. Likened to Trojan horses they are often associated with disease. But, i t is precisely because of their infectious nature that they can potentially be used as gene vectors - which are vehicles loaded with good copies of malfunctioning genes - and delivered to cells.
New laser to watch DNA-proteins interactions
New laser to watch DNA-proteins interactions
Within the framework of the European ATLAS project, a team of researchers in Naples has created a LASER-based prototype that could revolutionize medicine and our knowledge of the human genome .
Peering down protein-DNA interactions to better understand how genes work
Peering down protein-DNA interactions to better understand how genes work
Almost every one of our cells has an entire copy of our genome. But only differing subsets of genes are active and expressed in any given cell. Epigenetics is the study of how the activity of our genes is controlled and regulated .
Lucia Altucci – Cancer research could benefit from ultra-fast lasers technology
Lucia Altucci – Cancer research could benefit from ultra-fast lasers technology
Cancer research could soon benefit from a new technology allowing investigation of how the DNA interacts with the proteins. Recent advances in tackling the disease stem from a change in our view of the genome —all the genes contained in our DNA.
Common links between neurodegenerative diseases identified
Common links between neurodegenerative diseases identified
Diseases of the central nervous system are a big burden to society . According to estimates, they cost €800 billion per year in Europe. And for most of them, there is no definitive cure.
Monica Di Luca – Parkinson’s treatment revisited to avoid adverse effects
Monica Di Luca – Parkinson’s treatment revisited to avoid adverse effects
According to estimates, more than 1.2 million people in Europe are affected by Parkinson’s disease. Health costs for the disease amount to €11 billion euros per year.
New therapy against rare gene defects
New therapy against rare gene defects
European scientists set up new therapeutic approaches to tackle specific Lysosomal Storage Disorders: a new drug combination and enzyme replacement therapy against Pompe disease and gene therapy against MPS V I (Mucopolysaccharidosis VI).
Two approaches to treat Lysosomal Storage Diseases
Two approaches to treat Lysosomal Storage Diseases
Lysosomes are membrane-bound organelles found in most animal cells. They are responsible for treating cellular waste. Genetic mutations in lysosomal enzymes lead to lysosome malfunction and waste accumulation.
Generoso Andria – Enzyme and gene therapy for treating genetic disorders
Generoso Andria – Enzyme and gene therapy for treating genetic disorders
Lysosomes are intracellular organelles that degrade and recycle ‘waste’ molecules. Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs) comprise a large group of congenital metabolic diseases affecting altogether one in 8,000 newborns.
Advances in Treating Huntington’s Disease
Advances in Treating Huntington’s Disease
Juliet Ross is suffering from Huntington’s Disease, a rare neurological disorder that affects one in 10.000 people. Due to a genetic defect, her body produces a toxic protein that damages neurons in her brain .
Huntington's disease: A treatment in sight?
Huntington's disease: A treatment in sight?
A treatment to directly fight Huntington’s disease could finally be in sight . Until now, therapies for this severely debilitating genetic disorder have only focused on alleviating physical and psychiatric symptoms.
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