New methods are being developed to cure illnesses with the aid of gene therapy. Polymer technology provides new and versatile possibilities for administering gene doses.
”Polymers are used to pack the gene to be transferred into particles of the size of a ten thousandth of a millimetre. These polymers effectively transport the transferable gene into affected cells and are then dissolved by the organs,” explains Project Coordinator, Professor Arto Urtti of the Bio-pharmacy Department of the Unive

Emergency medicine doctors come top of the stress league, with around double the reported stress levels of other doctors, reveals a national survey in Emergency Medicine Journal. Nearly one in 10 reported suicidal thoughts.

All 479 emergency medicine consultants across the UK were sent a validated survey to determine levels of psychological distress and depressive symptoms. Respondents were also asked to detail the frequency and ‘stressfulness’ of work stressors.

In all, 350 respond

Patients with evidence of recent psychiatric illness have a high risk of sustaining head injury over the next 12 months, finds a study in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

The researchers looked at the health records of patients who had sustained a head injury in the 12 months after joining a large health organisation (HMO) in the USA covering six counties.

The presence of mental health problems was determined from prescriptions for psychiatric drugs, a confirme

The flow of soap solutions through fibres is of great importance for the final result of the washing process. This is one of the conclusions from the research project of Annemoon Timmerman. She will defend her thesis on Monday 22 April at TU Delft. With this conclusion she supports a theory that was disbelieved for years by experts in the field. Timmerman: “I have now experimentally proven why the laundry is actually clean after less than half an hour of washing. Up to now, that was a mystery.” The r

Two British scientists, Dr Ashley Croft and Dr Andrew Herxheimer, have published a paper which for the first time tries to explain the adverse effects of the controversial antimalaria drug, mefloquine (Lariam®).

Mefloquine, made by the Swiss drug company Hoffmann-La Roche, is used both to treat and prevent malaria. Since the 1980s doctors have used it to treat around 2 million people with malaria, and about 15 million travellers have used mefloquine as malaria prophylaxis.

Althoug

Early life of fetus affects organs’ future health.

Sheep stressed in early pregnancy bear lambs with stunted kidneys that predispose them to high blood pressure Australian researchers have shown. The finding adds to growing evidence that early fetal life influences adult health.

Marelyn Wintour of the University of Melbourne subjected 4-week-pregnant ewes to two stressful days by infusing them with the hormone cortisol. Their lambs developed high blood pressure at 5 months o