| 'Doctor' particle decides when to release drug payloadNanoparticles able to make basic decisions about whether to release their contents offer the prospect of delivering drugs exactly when and where they are needed, say chemists.
Their particles only respond to two distinct and simultaneous stimuli, acting like an "AND" computer logic gate that only produces an output signal if it receives two input signals. |
| New clues in search for elixir of youthThe march of old age may be unstoppable, but two new studies in mice and monkeys suggest we can at least tinker with the ageing process – and offer a glimpse at how anti-ageing medications could work. |
| Stem-Cell Repair Kit for StrokeA novel matrix of neural stem cells and a biodegradable polymer can quickly repair brain damage from stroke in rats. Within just seven days of injecting the concoction directly into the damaged part of the brain, new nerve tissue grew to fill stroke-induced cavities. |
| Mole rats may hold secret to long lifeTHEY may not be the prettiest creatures, but naked mole rats may hold the secret to longevity. They can live for nearly 30 years longer than any other rodent.
Ageing is often blamed on the oxidising compounds we produce in our bodies, which gradually wear down DNA and proteins. These damaged molecules then go on to wreak havoc in cells. |
| Review: The 10,000 Year Explosion by Gregory Cochran and Henry HarpendingARE humans still evolving? It's a controversial and exciting question. And according to Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending, the answer is a resounding "yes". Rebelling against the received wisdom of many evolutionary biologists who insist that we have reached an evolutionary plateau, the authors argue that not only are we still evolving, but also that we are actually evolving at an accelerating rate. |
| Chemical drink breathes life into damaged heartsAfter drinking a chemical dissolved in water, mice with damaged hearts turn from couch potatoes into treadmill tearaways, researchers say. The finding raises hopes that the same substance can invigorate patients weakened from heart attacks by increasing the supply of oxygen to damaged cardiac muscle. |
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