Callyspongia Featured

Could the Ocean Hold a Much Needed New Treatment For Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis, or TB, is currently responsible for an estimated 1.5 million deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization, and although a number of effective treatments for the disease exist, resistance to these treatments is increasing at a rapid pace. Indeed, the WHO consider the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis to be at ‘crisis levels’, following a dramatic rise in new cases back in 2013. Continue reading

Weight Lifter Featured

Overweight or Obese: What’s the Difference?

The subject of obesity appears quite often in the media, generally accompanied by reports on its prevalence and warnings about what this means for both individuals and for society. In these articles, the term ‘overweight’ may be used as well, sometimes reporting on the percentages of the child or adult population deemed to be carrying excess weight. For this reason, the definitions of ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’ can be seen as synonymous to the casual observer but there are crucial differences between the two conditions.

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Artificial Pancreas Featured

The Artificial Pancreas and Type 1 Diabetes

Replicating the functions of the pancreas has long been the dream of medical professionals working with patients who suffer from Type 1 diabetes. For some researchers in the life sciences sector, the emphasis has always been on finding a cure for this condition, but for others it has been more about assisting people with Type 1 diabetes to hit their recommended targets for glucose control over the long term. Without being able to regulate their body’s glucose levels, patients are left at an increased risk of developing the sometime severe complications associated with diabetes. Continue reading

Marine Bio Prospecting Featured

Could The Worlds Oceans Hold The Key To New Medical Treatments?

The invaluable contribution to scientific knowledge made by rainforest exploration is well known, and the health benefits gained from the resultant yield of life-saving medications are enjoyed by billions. By contrast, we are far less aware of the world beneath the waves and, although this marine environment extends across more than two thirds of our planet, around 95 per cent of its area remains unexplored.

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Tygerberg Featured

New Skin Grafting Technique Could Make Treatment Accessible To All

A novel approach to skin grafting could offer medical professionals with a breakthrough technique which will allow them to treat burns and other skin problems in new ways. Using the patient’s own skin, the procedure will lead to benefits for many burn victims who are treated in hospitals all over the world, it is hoped. Developed by Dr Wayne Kleintjes, who is head of the adult burns unit at that hospital at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, the technique has already been described as potentially life-saving in many burns cases as well as being a cost-effective transplant compared with other methods now in use.

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