Month: February 2008

Growing Artificial Skin From Hair Roots

by

here is new hope for patients with chronic wounds: euroderm GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig have been granted approval to produce artificial skin from patients’ own cells.It sounds like something from a science fiction novel: Pluck a few of someone’s hairs, and four to six weeks later they have grown into a piece of skin. Of course, what researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig have recently started doing in their new cleanrooms isn’t quite as simple as that. “We and euroderm GmbH have been given permission to grow dermal tissue for grafting onto chronic wounds such as open leg ulcers on diabetics patients,” says IZI team leader Dr. Gerno Schmiedeknecht. At present, chronic wounds are treated by grafting on the patients’ own skin, which is … Read more

Sublimenal Messages

by

Flag waving is a metaphor for stirring up the public towards adopting a more nationalistic, generally hard-line stance. Indeed, “rally ’round the flag” is a venerable expression of this phenomenon. It comes as some surprise, then, that studies conducted by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown that exposing people to a subliminal image of the national flag had just the opposite fact — moderating their political attitudes. Further, the researchers say that their studies indicate that, in general, subliminal messages — that is, messages that are processed by our brains but never reach our consciousness — do indeed influence explicit attitudes and real-life political behavior, a significant extension to what we know about the effects of non-conscious processes. The studies, led by cognitive scientist Dr. Ran Hassin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Psychology Department, show that … Read more

Is ESP Real?

by

Psychologists at Harvard University have developed a new method to study extrasensory perception that, they argue, can resolve the century-old debate over its existence. According to the authors, their study not only illustrates a new method for studying such phenomena, but also provides the strongest evidence yet obtained against the existence of extrasensory perception, or ESP. The research was led by Samuel Moulton, a graduate student in the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University with Stephen Kosslyn, John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard and was published in the Jan. 2008 issue of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. The scientists used brain scanning to test whether individuals have knowledge that cannot be explained through normal perceptual processing. “If any ESP processes exist, then participants’ brains should respond differently to ESP and non-ESP stimuli,” … Read more

Mitochondria Defects Linked To Social Behavior And Spatial Memory

by

Respiration deficiencies in mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses, are associated with changed social behavior and spatial memory in laboratory mice.This research, conducted by Atsuko Kasahara and colleagues at the University of Tsukuba, Kyoto University, and the Fujita Health University in Japan, may open the door to understanding the connection in humans between mitochondrial breakdowns and mental illness. Previous studies have shown that mitochondrial “cytopathies” can underlie conditions as diverse as muscle weakness, lactic acidosis, mental retardation, stroke, diabetes, or heart disease. Significant mitochondrial genetic defects have been found in patients diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It also has been reported that mutated mtDNAs are associated with mood disorders and schizophrenia. Since the brain’s normal functioning depends on a large amount of the ATP energy that mitochondria harvest from food through aerobic respiration, Kasahara and colleagues theorized that pathogenic … Read more

Surgeon Pulled Teeth Directly For Profit

by

Pulling more teeth than medically necessary from patients mouths, just to make money. That’s the allegation against a local oral surgeon whom News 3 Investigators first exposed a year ago. The state started investigating after her story, and now she tells us what the state says needs to be done to protect patients. The State Board of Dental Examiners wanted to suspend Dr. Jay Selznick’s license, put him on three years probation, prevent him from treating medicaid patients for nine months and force him to reimburse some patients. All because they believe he’s operating below the standard of care and falsifying records to cover his tracks. “I’m glad the truth finally came out and justice will prevail. He will get what he’s got coming. He thinks that he’s above the law, and he’s not.” We first met Medicaid patient Karyn … Read more