Month: August 2013

PASET – A World Bank takes initiative for developing skills

A workshop held in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa led by a minister of education, from nine African countries and four emerging economic power countries like China, Korea, India and Brazil.

The workshop was facilitated by the World Bank and hosted by the government of Ethiopia, aimed to create a Partnership in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology called PASET between Sub-Saharan African countries and the emerging nations.

The partnership idea was induced by Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s vice-president for Africa and a former Senegalese minister of finance, supporting to promote science and technology.

The PASET initiative

PASET – a partnership for skills development in Africa covering the whole spectrum of education, from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to higher education, in applied sciences.

The partner countries already make significant investments in Africa, to develop necessary human resources to operate and maintain the infrastructure being built and to maximize the return.

Though they already have engagements in human capital development in Africa, mostly through scholarships, may not have been focused towards the African countries’ human resources development plans.

It would be impossible for the World Bank to involve all Sub-Saharan African countries at the initial stage. For a first phase it will involve in nine countries: Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania.

The engagements proposed covered the following broad areas:

  1. faculty development
  2. agricultural training and research
  3. university-industry linkages;
  4. use of ICT
  5. training of TVET instructors and
  6. Infrastructural development. 

The partner countries highlighted their expertise in specific areas relevant to the PASET initiative. These included development in agriculture and training of TVET instructors by China; use of ICT in education by Korea; institutional and industry collaboration by India; and postgraduate training and research by Brazil.

The workshop in particular provided opportunities for bilateral meetings between the African and partner countries to discuss possible future collaboration.

There was unanimous support and commitment to PASET by the participating African countries. The need for mutual understanding, trust and benefits in all partnerships was emphasized again and again.

It was acknowledged that Africa was unfamiliar territory for most of the partner countries and PASET provided an opportunity for them to better understand the development needs of the African countries. Similarly, PASET would promote greater collaboration among the African countries themselves, enabling them to share experiences and make joint proposals to partner countries.

 

Which Shampoo Suits you? Save your money

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When you wash your hair with certain traditional shampoos, you may actually be stripping your hair and scalp of their natural oils.  Many shampoos uses a chemical called sodium laurel sulfate or other damaging detergents which will create thick foam and makes the hair very bad and results in dryness, friskiness, dullness, and color fade.

Nobody knows this problem except hair care professionals who are dealing this problem daily.   Legendary L.A. celebrity stylist Chaz Dean, decided to do something about it.  He got tired of clients leaving his salon raving about their color and the feel of their hair, only to complain a few weeks later that their hair looked and felt brassy and dull.

He knew the main reason behind this was likely their shampoo, so he started experimenting with various ingredients, including natural herbs and botanicals, that he knew had cleansing and hydrating properties.

The result was a radically new approach to the way we cleanse our hair.  It’s called WEN Cleansing Conditioner.  WEN contains a super-hydrating blend of glycerin, chamomile, rosemary, calendula, and Cherry bark, which when combined, will both cleanse the hair as well as impart shine and softness, even to the damaged hair.

WEN is a 5-in-1 formula that takes the place of your shampoo, conditioner, deep-conditioner, detangler, and leave-in conditioner.  And, the most amazing thing about it is that it cleanses without lather.  Instead, when mixed with water, it creates smooth foam for shiny, healthy-looking, manageable results.  The first time you try it certainly feels strange, but the results speak for themselves.

Before being marketed, WEN underwent extensive consumer tests, and the results were impressive.  More than 90 percent of the participants in the studies reported that their hair was shinier, less frizzy, and had more bounce.

WEN is recommended for all hair types, and once you start using it, it will become the only cleanser/conditioner you will want to include in your daily routine. You can also purchase this product in online

 

Chemists find a new method for parallel protein synthesis

Chemists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a new method for parallel protein analysis. This study shows a capable of identifying thousands of different proteins.

This method could be used to find the presence of viruses and their type in tiny samples. As well as it is very fast and cost-effective. “We see possible applications of this technique in medicine, where it could be used, for example, for the rapid diagnosis of a wide range of diseases. It would be almost as easy to use as a pregnancy test strip,” said Professor Carsten Sonnichsen of the Institute of Physical Chemistry.

The test involves blood, saliva, or other body fluid on a test strip, which is then placed in a device developed at the JGU Institute of Physical Chemistry. This device is able to identify the specific proteins in the fluid and allows us to differentiate between harmless microorganisms and dangerous pathogens.

In order to detect the many different substances present in a small sample, the sensors need to be as tiny as possible, preferably the size of nano-particles. Sonnichsen’s team of scientists has designed a sensor no larger than the head of a pin but capable of performing a hundred different individual tests on a surface that is only of one-tenth of a square millimeter in area.

The ‘test strips’ consist of glass capillary tubes that have gold nano-particles as sensor elements on their internal surfaces. “We first prepare our nano-particles using short DNA strands, each of which binds to a specific type of protein,” explained Janak Prasad, who developed this method.

When a protein docks with one of these special DNA strands, called aptamers, the corresponding nano-particle changes its color. The color changes can be detected with the aid of a spectrometer. For this purpose, the capillary tubes are placed under a microscope and provided with the necessary software by the Mainz-based team of chemists.

 

A research found that DNA repair enzyme will improve Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers have discovered an enzyme responsible for repairing single DNA strands damaged through cell division, and hope this will lead to treatments for cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

As we grow, the number of cells in our body must grow as well.  In order to multiply, a cell’s DNA must divide into two strands, creating two identical templates for the genomes of the “daughter” cells.

Cell division occurs every time, the cell’s genome is exposed, and this very important genetic material is left vulnerable to attacks from reactive oxygen species (ROS) – toxic molecules created through respiration.  If damaged by an ROS, the genetic information carried in a cell may change, and these genetic mutations can lead to disorders associated with DNA damage, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Human body has a natural way of repairing DNA through the replication process, and researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB), have found that how the process works could lead to cancer treatments and even the reversal of age-related diseases.

“We have so much damage cells so we can use a system of repair before that damage is replicated,” lead author Dr. Sankar Mitra, “If repair doesn’t occur, replication is going to happen with the damaged genome.”

How it works:

The National Academy of Sciences, Mitra and his team describe the work of an enzyme called NEIL1, a molecule that had been previously associated with the replication process.  In order to understand NEIL1’s mechanisms, the researchers suggest comparing DNA strand separation to the opening of a zipper.

As the zipper opens (or the strand divides), the DNA’s nucleo bases are exposed, so that a group of proteins known as the pre-replication complex can bind to the single strands and copy them back into double strands.  The NEIL1 enzyme is part of this protein package.

However, it is during this copying process that the DNA’s bases are most susceptible to ROS damage.

“The most common genome damage is oxygen damage; it is the most chemical damage you’re exposed to,” Mitra said. “You cannot survive without oxygen, but because you’re breathing huge liters of oxygen every day

According to Mitra, ROS damage occurs rather frequently throughout cell division and replication.  Fortunately, as soon as this damage occurs, NEIL1 recognizes the genetic change, and subsequently binds to the damaged site.  Once attached to the changed bases, it halts the replication process in its tracks.

“When they bind to that damage, the NEIL1 enzymes don’t allow replication to proceed,” Mitra explained. “When genome replication stops, the mechanism then is regression of the replication fork. So going backwards, like a zipper, the two strands come back together again.”

Once the strands have joined together, the NEIL1 – still bound to the damaged area – then fixes the genetic mutation before falling off the cell’s DNA.

Mitra and his team discovered NEIL1’s mechanisms through a series of in vitro experiments in their lab. They argue that knowing NEIL1’s function in the replication process could have huge implications for the future of cancer therapies.  For example, blocking or inhibiting the expression of NEIL1 in cancer cells could make them more susceptible to current cancer medications.

“All cancer drugs kill cells by targeting the DNA, because if the genome is damaged and if it’s not repairable, it causes the cancer cell to die.  But most of the time cancer comes back because some resistance occurs, and one mechanism of resistance is repair activity,” Mitra said. “But if you increase susceptibility of cancer cells to genome damage, then they’ll be much more sensitive to the drugs, and they can be killed more easily.”

Mitra also noted an even more incredible byproduct of his research: reversing the damage done by age-related diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.  He said that boosting NEIL1 expression could potentially repair ROS-related genome damage in the elderly population.

“We don’t know how to increase the level of this enzyme, however there are ways to increase its expression,” Mitra said.  “Epigenetically, you can change the level of NEIL1 by changing a particular chromosomal function so that the level of this enzyme goes up.”

But most importantly, a better understanding of the cell replication repair process is crucial to the future of genetic research, according to Mitra.

“Genome damage repair is essential for survival of the human species, and we need to understand the mechanisms,” Mitra said. “If we have a comprehensive picture of how this damage repair occurs in various situations, then we can provide the window to developing new approaches to improving the process.”

 

New research shows excessive calorie in children will affect their weight

A new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology shows that how excessive calorie intake affects the weight of children. This will lead to improved weight loss for obese and overweight children.

A team of researchers by Dr Kevin Hall of National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA, differentiate between the healthy weight gain that is normal in childhood, and the excessive weight gain that results in overweight and obesity. This model shows how children’s energy balance affects their weight gain.

The previous models underestimated overweight or obese children.  The new model is based on the children’s metabolism, growth and energy expenditure and how they gain weight.

The new model also indicates that some children may be able to ‘outgrow’ obesity during periods of rapid growth, for example between the ages of 11 and 16, without changing their bodyweight.  Obese boys who maintain the same bodyweight over this period will tend to normalize their body fat while continuing to grow taller and adding lean tissue mass. However, this effect is much less pronounced in girls, mainly because they lose less body fat than boys.

The researchers showed that their model provides the most accurate tool to predict the effect of calorie intake.  With roughly a third of children in the UK and US thought to be overweight this model may provide clinicians with a understanding of how weight loss interventions such as calorie-controlled diets and physical activity programs.

According to Dr Hall, “One of the most disconcerting aspects of the global obesity epidemic is the high prevalence of childhood obesity, which carries both health and economic consequences.
“Though the model doesn’t apply perfectly to all children – for instance, those who start adolescence late, or who undergo particularly rapid weight gain – it provides an accurate representation of the average effect of reducing or increasing calorie intake on the weight of children.

“The accuracy of parents’ awareness of children’s portion sizes and reporting of children’s food intake is only moderate,” says Professor Maffeis, adding that, “Reduced awareness of food intake in obese or pre obese children and their parents is an important limiting factor in the modification of nutritional behavior. It will be necessary to increase families’ knowledge and awareness of energy content and composition of children’s’ diets by designing effective and sustainable educational programs about nutrition.”

A molecule in suffocating tumors will be a drug for cancer- a research says

Scientists have found that a new molecule in severe tumors prevents cancer cells from responding and surviving when starved of oxygen and it is the new treatment, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on July 26.

Cancer Research UK scientists at the University of Southampton found that this molecule targets the master switch  HIF-1 that cancer cells use to adapt to low oxygen levels, a common feature in the disease.

The researchers uncovered a way to stop cancer cells using this switch through an approach called ‘synthetic biology’. By testing 3.2 million potential compounds, made by specially engineered bacteria, they were able to find a molecule that stopped HIF-1 from working.

All cells need a blood supply to provide them with the oxygen and nutrients they require to survive. Cancer tumors grow rapidly and as the tumor gets bigger it outstrips the supply of oxygen and nutrients that the surrounding blood vessels can deliver.

But, to cope with this low-oxygen environment, HIF-1 acts as a master switch that turns on hundreds of genes, allowing cancer cells to survive. HIF-1 triggers the formation of new blood vessels around tumors, causing more oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to the starving tumor, which in turn allows it to keep growing.

Dr Ali Tavassoli, a Cancer Research UK scientist whose team discovered and developed the compound at the University of Southampton, said: “We’ve found a way to target the steps that cancer cells take to survive and we hope that our research will one day lead to effective drugs that can stop cancers adapting to a low oxygen environment, stopping their growth. The next step is to further develop this molecule to create an effective treatment.”

Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Finding ways to disrupt the tools that cancer cells use to adapt and grow when starved of oxygen has been a hot topic in cancer research, but finding drugs that do this effectively has proved elusive.

“For the first time our scientists have found a way to block a master switch controlling cells response to low levels of oxygen — an important step towards creating drugs that could halt cancer in its tracks.”