by Hope Hennessy SARS-CoV-2. The virus that has become all too familiar to us since its detection in Wuhan, China, back in December 2019 (Monteil et al., 2022). SARS-CoV-2 spread from country to country like a wave, causing devastating economic, social, and health consequences in every affected region. It instilled fear into every household. Once…

by Sanele Mdletshe IntroductionThe liver is the most important organ of the body, it performs crucial metabolic functions, and these includes metabolizing toxic substances, producing bile for digestion and maintaining blood sugar levels. It is a very unique organ that is able to repair itself after damage, but this is not the case if the…

by Harry Kim Mycobacterium Tuberculosis was first discovered in 1882 and it is still the leading cause of death of a single infectious agent. In 2019 alone, TB accounted for 10 million diagnosed cases and 1 to 2 million deaths. So the question arises, is there anything we can do? The complexity of TB comes…

by Casey Valentine Macular dystrophies (MDs) are acknowledged as inherited retinal disorders which cause loss of vision due to the macula’s deterioration (1). Macular dystrophies cause irregularities that damage the macula and therefore affect the central vision (1). A common form of macular dystrophy is Stargardt disease which results from a mutation in the ABCA4…

by Sethu Poswa Let us set the scene, an individual has just been diagnosed with depression, making them part of the 280 million other people who suffer with it worldwide. Should they decide to go on treatment, the next step would involve the healthcare professional selecting the appropriate treatment for them, which should be easy…

by Precious Kunyenje Data visualization is a graphical representation of information and data by using visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps. It makes data easily accessible, provides an understanding of trends, outliers, and patterns in data, and makes it easier to share information. Different data visualization tools and software are available for use by…

by Siphenathi Ntoba Do you know about your blood pressure levels? Many were murdered obliviously by this ‘silent killer’ disease. Hypertension (HTN) is a multifactorial (involves genetic and nongenetic factors) condition, characterized by persistent elevated blood pressure (BP) against blood vessels. It is a risk factor for heart disease. HTN grade1 (Systolic BP: 130–139 mmHg…

by Luca Bell Conventional T cells recognise peptide antigens presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) molecules in humans. Unconventional T cell clones bind antigens restricted by MHC related protein 1 (MR1). Such cells, MAIT cells, are documented as recognising metabolic intermediates as antigens presented by MR1. A group of researchers…

by Jesse Conradie Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has proven to be an effective treatment in recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections. Long term side effects have not been established to date. The direct link between the gut microbiota and almost 95% of human disease has raised interest in the therapeutic application of FMT for the treatment of…

by Nimra Khan The global disease burden of diabetes is 536.6 million people worldwide. Diabetes can be divided into Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing Beta (β) cells in the pancreatic islets (Figure 1). Insulin is a hormone made in your pancreas; a…