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IPSC: The future of stem cells

2019-01-18T20:54:58+01:0011 January 2019|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , , |

Imagine every cell in our body as a potential stem cell! Sounds like science fiction, instead it is reality thanks to the studies of Kazutoshi Takahashi and Shinya Yamanaka, that in the 2006 have shown that it is possible to reprogram a somatic cell (it is. epithelial cell) bringing it back to a stage of stemness. These reprogrammed cells, thanks to the artificial insertion of 4 stamina cells, they were called iPSCs or “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells”. First of all we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what a stem cell is. It is a cell that has the ability to transform into other cells in the body through a mechanism called "differentiation". [...]

The epic of Chinese girls with modified DNA: an overview of the story

2019-06-28T13:56:47+02:004 December 2018|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , |

From the unverified news to the ethical issues raised, from the announcement of the suspension of the clinical trial to that of another pregnancy in progress. An overview of the discussed case on the use of genome editing before birth. […]

At robot school: how a passion is born

2019-06-27T18:47:22+02:005 November 2018|Categories: No Category|

Siamo felici di essere entrati in contatto con Valeria Cagnina: maker, blogger e giovanissima insegnante di robotica. [Domandando a Valeria] Ti descrivi anche come “un Whynotter, non uno Yesbutter”, cosa intendi con queste due espressioni? Il mio motto è “Sono un Whynotter e non un Yesbutter”, ossia sono un ‘perché no?’ e non un ‘si, ma…’. Mi piace sempre interrogarmi, farmi domande e soprattutto perché non mi faccio fermare da un semplice no o da quelle classiche affermazione fatte dai grandi “è così e basta!” oppure ‘sei troppo piccola’. Mi piace sempre analizzare ogni situazione, per trarne il meglio [...]

Butter: the reason for an avoidable disaster

2019-06-28T13:52:08+02:009 October 2018|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , |

The engineer Carlo Semenza was a good technician. Appreciated for his professionalism, he had distinguished himself for the numerous hydraulic works, especially dams in Italy and in the world. At a time when in Italy there was talk of "building" as a "categorical imperative", the need for energy galloped hand in hand with the economic and industrial boom of those years. It was at that moment that the ambitious project of the Grande Vajont dam was conceived, a work that when completed would have been the tallest dam in the world. Evolving over time, the final project was approved in 1956, and the work began the following year. The [...]

This year “fearsome” violin spider

2018-05-30T20:42:45+02:0031 May 2018|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , |

The dreaded violin spider occasionally returns to the newspapers to terrorize the whole country. He is described as an aggressive being with a fearsome poison, extremely dangerous. But it really is? As unfortunately it often happens, the reality is very different from what journalists tell. […]

Stem cells in Italy: short story of a great achievement

2018-12-30T11:00:51+01:0019 April 2018|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , , |

Stem cells have been at the center of a wide debate that involves not only the scientific field for some time now, but also the religious one, ethical, legal and political. Since in 1960 McCulloch and Till discovered the existence of stem cells in the bone marrow1, that is, a semi-solid tissue present within the bones of the body, they have become part of our life, arousing curiosity and interest, but also fear and skepticism. Figure 1. Why stem cells are important (edited and translated from europarl.europa.eu - European Parliament) The enormous potential of stem cells, che ha condotto numerosi ricercatori ad [...]

Equivalent or Original Drug?

2018-03-05T20:46:33+01:0013 March 2018|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , , |

Nowadays you hear about it all the time on TV, sui social, by radio of equivalent drugs. What is meant by equivalent drug? Because it is defined as such? There is currently much to discuss on this issue, let's try to put some order. What is an equivalent drug? The main feature of the equivalent drug is to have the active ingredient ( the substance on which the curative activity of the drug depends) in the same pharmaceutical form as the original drug (originator), what varies are the excipients, or other elements found within the drug in its finished form. They are the excipients (substances free of [...]

Don't panic: the random motion of Tesla in space

2018-03-05T12:03:28+01:006 March 2018|Categories: No Category|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Elon Musk's recent stunt to launch a red Tesla Roadster towards Mars, complete with a pilot in an astronaut suit in the driver's seat, brought to light a technological theme initially developed in the 1960s, during the Apollo missions. We are talking about super-heavy launchers, i.e. those rockets that allow you to carry at least 50 tons of weight in low Earth orbit (between 160 and 2000 km of altitude). In astronautics they are called vectors (or launchers) those designed missiles, and used, to send a certain “payload” into space. Depending on the payload (payload in inglese) [...]

The Sapiens brain: The Sapiens brain!

2022-02-10T19:13:21+01:006 February 2018|Categories: Medicine and Research, No Category|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The Sapiens brain, The Sapiens brain. The Sapiens brain, The Sapiens brain, The Sapiens brain, The Sapiens brain. The Sapiens brain (The Sapiens brain) of specimens of various species of Homo: The Sapiens brain, indeed, The Sapiens brain [Note 1], and therefore indirectly deduce behavioral traits e [...]

Zhong Zhong e Hua Hua, the first cloned monkeys such as Dolly the sheep

2022-02-10T19:13:40+01:002 February 2018|Categories: Medicine and Research, No Category|

It happened in China, at the "Chinese Academy of Science Institute of Neuroscience" in Shanghai and the study was published in the famous magazine "Cell", creating a stir and not only in the scientific world: sono state clonate per la prima volta due scimmie con la tecnica detta somatic cell nuclear transfer (SNCT). […]

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