Paolo Rossi Castelli
A surprising fact: fires ‘fertilise’ oceans
An international team studied the effects of Australia’s bushfires. Ash released into the air by burning trees becomes food for phytoplankton on the sea.
New DNA-based Covid vaccines
An Indian pharmaceutical company has been given the go-ahead to market a COVID DNA vaccine, which may pave the way for an entirely new category of vaccines
Arthrosis, cells from the nose to treat knees
A successful experiment at Basel hospital on two young patients with a serious form of arthrosis. Cells from the nasal septum were implanted in the knee.
Immunotherapy: testing to see if it works in advance
Some patients gain no benefit from cancer therapies, for reasons as yet unknown. US researchers have identified a marker to avoid unnecessary treatments.
Personalised oncological treatment with a special ‘sandwich’
A new device allows simulation of the effect of oncological treatment for various types of cancers and selection of the most effective for each patient.
Can intestinal bacteria help in the fight against tumours?
The substances produced by some types of microorganisms present in the intestine (microbiota) might improve the effect of oncological immunotherapy.
A means of ending Covid with defective copies of the virus?
When duplicated, viruses also create flawed copies of their genetic code. Once modified, these copies might actually be used as a treatment against Covid.
How an altered gene triggers Motor Neurone Disease (ALS)
A team of researchers has shed light on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, an illness which gradually paralyses muscles and currently has no effective cure.
A new strategy for tumours: “suffocation”
The HIF-1α gene helps melanoma and other forms of cancer to develop when there is very little oxygen. If deactivated, the tumour cells cannot survive.
Genetic “bullets” against cystic fibrosis
An experimental treatment is being analysed. Small molecules called oligonucleotides appear capable of repairing some of the damage caused by the illness.
New drug blocks the HIV virus in advance
Tests in the United States with a monoclonal antibody that ‘inhibits’ the protein used by the virus to enter cells.
Hope for blindness from a seaweed protein
Its name is opsin. When put into the eye of a patient with retinitis pigmentosa, it enabled recovery of the sight of the shape of some articles.
Stories reduce pain - here’s the proof
A research clearly shows the effects of ‘storytelling’ on a group of children in the Intensive Care Unit of a Brazilian hospital.
Anti-cancer cures using Covid vaccine techniques
Swiss researchers have inserted instructions into a virus to reach the tumour and prompt it to generate a molecule which in turn eradicates the tumour.
Florida, a genetic battle with the mosquito (not without controversy)
Experiments (genes alteration) against Aedes aegypti , responsible for transmitting diseases such as Zika and Dengue, are underway.
Two DNA “switches” extend life (a great deal)
Researchers have mapped the genetic code of people aged over 105, in search of the secrets of a very long life.
At last, an effective vaccine against malaria
Published the preliminary results for a new drug against malaria that showed 77% of vaccinated children were immune.
US honey shows traces of 1950s nuclear arms tests
Radioactive substances left in the atmosphere by atomic experiments aren’t hazardous, but they are still there seven decades later.