By Mené Muller In 1961, Francis Crick and Sydney Brenner deciphered our genetic code. By reading and decoding our chromosomes as linear strings of letters, like sentences in a novel, our genes seemed like an open book. But what if the letters started jumping off the page? A new study by researchers at Columbia University…

By Julia Kampel Imagine playing a high-stakes game of hide and seek where your opponent is not just hiding but also constantly changing the rules of the game. This is the reality faced by individuals with Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition that significantly increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite regular colonoscopy screenings,…

by Vieshal Gopal Introduction: Imagine a seemingly harmless pill, taken by over 100 million women worldwide, carrying hidden risks. We’re talking about oral contraceptives (OC), a popular method of birth control with a variety of applications. These tiny tablets hold the power to reshape lives but also harbour an unsettling secret. Studies have revealed that…

by Siyabonga Msipa Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common and aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. With only a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%, classical treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation have not shown significant improvements in clinical outcomes. Surgery is currently the best curative treatment option for localized PDAC but due to…

by Cameron Timm Imagine this: A busy city in Nigeria, where the streets are alive with the symphony of honking horns, revving engines, and the hurried footsteps of pedestrians. Among this lively chaos lies a silent danger that often goes unnoticed – road traffic injuries (RTI). In Africa and various low- and middle-income countries, these…

by Mqiniseli Dlamini Diabetes is a global health concern, impacting more than 537 million adults globally, with adverse micro- and macrovascular complications as a vascular disease. In a recent meta-analysis led by Z. Wang and titled “Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) as a Potential Predictor of Stroke in Diabetes Mellitus Patients,” the primary objective was to elucidate…

by Lutho Daza OUTLINE In this article, the researchers from the College of Health Sciences, Westville Campus in Kwazulu-Natal, conducted a study with the aim of answering the relationship between the morphology of the right coronary artery (RCA) and left coronary artery (LCA), which included the shape and the branching patterns of the RCA. In…

by Mandisa Mabaso Introduction The Pulmonary veins transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart. They are mainly located in the interlobular septa and drain each bronchopulmonary segment on the anterior surface of the bronchus. In addition, veins run between the segments, mediastinal, and fissural surfaces. Often, the veins of…

By Jamie Langson We’ve all experienced the sense of frustration that arises when we possess knowledge but lack the means to act upon it, haven’t we? For well over a century, scientists have been aware that roughly 90% of cancers have extra chromosomes, but couldn’t exactly determine what this aneuploidy did due to the lack…

by Ubuntu Hlatshwayo