recent posts
- The connection between Malaria and Multiple Sclerosis in Sardia, Italy
- Multiple Sclerosis and the Anti-Plasmodium falciparum Innate Immune Response
- Not all vaping is the same: differential pulmonary effects of vaping cannabidiol (CBD) versus nicotine
- Junk DNA: From Genomic Graveyard to Regulatory Gold
- Epigenetic Variation & Human Disease
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Category: Blog
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by Saba Gebreseilassie Why is it that your memories aren’t all jumbled up and follow a chronological pattern? If the cells that encode memories aren’t all aligned in a nice, neat row with one after the other, how could they possibly know not just what happened, but when? The answer: time cells. Yes, time cells:…
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By Karabo Matje Feeling cranky, irritable and down since starting the pill? You’re not alone. Many women have reported discontinuing the use of oral contraceptives after experiencing mood changes, anxiety and drug-induced depression. Emerging studies have suggested that the long-term use of combined oral contraceptives (COC) may be associated with gut inflammatory diseases as well…
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By: Patience Shoko Being an honours student is no walk in the park. You often find yourself having back-to-back assignments, tests and projects that need your attention all at once. This often requires you to sacrifice certain things the most important one being sleep. The average human adult requires about 8 hours of sleep in…
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By Sibusisiwe Matewe Numerous studies on evolution have allowed for scientists to establish a particular pattern that is followed by vertebrates in limb development, which involves enhancers – short DNA sequences increase transcription of one or more genes – seen consistently in reptiles for millions of years. However, at some point, snakes took a different…
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By Ludwick Hlongwane The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just overwhelm ICUs with viral infections; it also opened the floodgates for dangerous secondary bacterial infections. Among the most feared of these is Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), a multidrug-resistant bacterium that thrives in hospital settings and laughs in the face of our strongest antibiotics.But what if I told…
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By Bontle Kgothule It begins quietly – a scrape, a fever, a routine infection. But in today’s world, what once healed with a standard antibiotic can spiral into a life-threatening illness. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is no longer a looming threat. It’s here, reshaping modern medicine and overwhelming health systems globally. In South Africa, like many…
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By Dean Brink If you were to pick any point in human history to travel to, you would almost instantly encounter a virus just as you stepped out of the time machine. These things are everywhere and infect just about every form of life on earth. Most people know at least something about viruses, especially…
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By Emelinah Silinda Did you know that in recent years, the potential of pyroptosis in the treatment of tumours has received increasing attention and has become a promising anti-tumour therapeutic strategy? Pyroptosis refers to a rapid, inflammatory form of cell death caused by the activation of an inflammasome. There are some chemotherapies, such as doxorubicin…
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By Robyn-Lee Manchest Ever wondered if your jawline could help solve a crime? For forensic scientists, it might just be the key to unlocking your biological identity. On today’s episode of “Jaws”, we dive into a fascinating study by Toneva et al. (2023), which explores sex-related differences in the size and shape of the human…
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By Jaime Altshuler Imagine being a parent in rural Africa, watching your child’s feet swell and their face grow puffy, unaware this could be a sign of a serious kidney disease: nephrotic syndrome (NS). If left untreated, this disease can lead to life-threatening complications. NS is one of the most common chronic kidney diseases in…
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