Min et al show that fruit flies experience increased lifespand upon treatment with sildenfil, a drug developed to treat erectile dysfunction. These results suggest further study is required on the anti-aging potential of this drug.
Read More...Sildenafil as a candidate geroprotective compound: Evidence from Drosophila lifespan extension
Min et al show that fruit flies experience increased lifespand upon treatment with sildenfil, a drug developed to treat erectile dysfunction. These results suggest further study is required on the anti-aging potential of this drug.
Read More...The Effects of Altered Microbiome on Caenorhabditis elegans Egg Laying Behavior
Since the discovery that thousands of different bacteria colonize our gut, many of which are important for human wellbeing, understanding the significance of balancing the different species on the human body has been intensely researched. Untangling the complexity of the gut microbiome and establishing the effect of the various strains on human health is a challenge in many circumstances, and the need for simpler systems to improve our basic understanding of microbe-host interactions seems necessary. C. elegans are a well-established laboratory animal that feed on bacteria and can thus serve as a less complex system for studying microbe-host interactions. Here the authors investigate how the choice of bacterial diet affects worm fertility. The same approach could be applied to many different outcomes, and facilitate our understanding of how the microbes colonizing our guts affect various bodily functions.
Read More...Estimation of Reproduction Number of Influenza in Greece using SIR Model
In this study, we developed an algorithm to estimate the contact rate and the average infectious period of influenza using a Susceptible, Infected, and Recovered (SIR) epidemic model. The parameters in this model were estimated using data on infected Greek individuals collected from the National Public Health Organization. Our model labeled influenza as an epidemic with a basic reproduction value greater than one.
Read More...Effects of Wi-Fi EMF on Drosophila melanogaster
While increased access to Wi-Fi has been a great advancement, we have a limited understanding if there are any health effects on animals. In this study, Anand and Anand exposed fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to different concentrations of Wi-Fi electromagnetic fields, and observed effects on their reproduction and survivability.
Read More...The Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Escherichia coli
In this study E. coli bacteria was exposed to small UV lights currently used in school laboratories to see the effect on colony growth. This project explores how UV radiation methods could be applied in common households to inhibit bacterial growth.
Read More...Examination of the rotation curve for the dark matter deficient relic galaxy NGC 1277
The authors re-examine the galactic kinematics of relic galaxy NGC 1277, recently identified as dark matter deficient, by reproducing its rotation curve with data from the George and Cynthia Mitchell Spectrograph.
Read More...The Effect of Different Fructose Diets on the Lifespan of C. elegans
High-fructose diets consumed widely in modern societies predisposes to metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Using the worm C. elegans, the authors of this study investigated the effect of fructose on the worm's survival rates. They found that worms fed 15% fructose had a lower life expectancy than those on a fructose-free diet. These results suggest that, like in humans, fructose has a negative effect on worm survival, which makes them an easy, attractive model to study the effects of fructose on health.
Read More...Increasing MMR vaccination rates substantially reduces measles infections in Gaines County, Texas
Using county-level epidemiological data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, this study implemented an SIRV model in Python to simulate measles transmission in Gaines County under different vaccination scenarios.
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