Monthly Archives: June 2013

A huge variety of fungi call your feet home

Posted on 29 June 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

Human skin is a hardy, water-resistant covering that keeps important biological stuff from falling out of the body. It’s also a camping ground for millions of bacteria (picked out in magenta, above), fungi (seen in blue-green, above) and yeast that … Continue reading →

Rate this:

Posted in Disease, Fungi, Genetics, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Vaccine delivers an immune double whammy to fight tuberculosis

Posted on 20 June 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

Vaccination is a hugely important public health intervention, perhaps the biggest in the history of mankind. While many childhood diseases are now effectively controlled by immunisation programs (as long as parents vaccinate their kids), there is still no effective vaccine … Continue reading →

Rate this:

Posted in Bacteria, Disease, Immunology, Microorganisms, Science, Vaccines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Turning insect viruses into cancer therapies

Posted on 8 June 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

Gene therapy is a pretty promising approach for lots of different diseases, and has already overcome a huge hurdle with the approval of the very first gene therapy product, Glybera, by the European Commission in 2012. At its core, gene … Continue reading →

Rate this:

Posted in Disease, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science, Viruses | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fish parasite inspires sticky surgical tissue patch

Posted on 4 June 2013 by mmmbitesizescience

Surgeons still find it tricky to quickly and reliably stick a wet, slippery organ back together during invasive procedures. The currently available selection of ‘stick-you-together’ products – staples and chemical glues – do a decent job, but make a bit … Continue reading →

Rate this:

Posted in Bioengineering, Marine, Microorganisms, Parasites, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments