Machine To Remove Viruses From Blood

Cleaning Infected Blood
Biologists Develop Machine To Remove Viruses From Blood

Editor- Nadim Dinani

Ref:- Discoveries and Breakthroughs in Science by Ivanhoe

Infectious disease experts designed a machine called the hemopurifier. It works much like a dialysis machine, using thin fibers to capture and remove viruses from the blood it filters. The machine requires the drawing of blood through an artery, which is sent through a tube into the machine, then back into the body. It can treat a number of illnesses.

Every day, as many as 14,000 people are infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDs. There's no cure, but now a breakthrough -- a machine that could clean blood, keeping more and more people alive longer.

John Paul Wobble, the inventor of this machine himself is an HIV patient.

It is designed to mimic the natural immune response of clearing viruses and toxins before cells and organs can be infected. It is developed by infectious disease and biodefense experts. The hemopurifier works like a dialysis machine. Antibodies on these spaghetti-like fibers capture and remove viruses as blood filters through it.

Your entire circulation flows through the cartridge about once every eight minutes. The entire process takes less than a few hours. It could help patients infected with HIV, hepatitis C, as well as people with the measles, mumps and the flu. The cartridge is able to selectively capture viruses.

A larger version of the machine would be used in a hospital, but a smaller one could be taken to emergencies. It could be a life-safer against the avian flu or bio-weapons like Ebola and small pox, giving people a chance to survive a deadly attack, whether it's from a terrorist or a virus.

The hemopurifier is also a leading treatment candidate to protect United States civilian and military populations from bioterror threats and emerging pandemic threats like the bird flu and dengue fever that are untreatable with drugs and vaccines.

REMOVING VIRUSES FROM BLOOD :  The hemopurifier uses antibodies to remove viruses as blood filters through it. It is designed to filter out viruses and toxins before they attack organs. The method is very similar to dialysis, and can be used to help patients with HIV, Hepatitis C, the measles, mumps, the flu, and more. It can also begin working before doctors identify the cause of the illness.

Honey

Honey as an Antibiotic: Scientists Identify a Secret Ingredient in Honey That Kills Bacteria

Nadim Dinani

Ref:- July 2010 print edition of the FASEB Journal

The research shows that bees make a protein that they add to the honey, called defensin-1, which could one day be used to treat burns and skin infections and to develop new drugs that could combat antibiotic-resistant infections.

Honey has played a significant role is the past as a Food that does not spoil on its own. Several proposals of existence of special characteristics have been put forward to explain this phenomenon. However, the list seems not to end as scientists discover one more reason as to why honey is resistant towards bacteria besides its high sugar content character. Thus, Honey or isolated honey-derived components might be of great value for prevention and treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

To make the discovery, Zaat and colleagues investigated the antibacterial activity of medical-grade honey in test tubes against a panel of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. They developed a method to selectively neutralize the known antibacterial factors in honey and determine their individual antibacterial contributions. Ultimately, researchers isolated the defensin-1 protein, which is part of the honey bee immune system and is added by bees to honey. After analysis, the scientists concluded that the vast majority of honey's antibacterial properties come from that protein. This information also sheds light on the inner workings of honey bee immune systems, which may one day help breeders create healthier and heartier honey bees.

immunology - T cell differentiation

T cell differentiation

Editor – Nadim Dinani

Reference – Science Daily, July 1, 2010

When does a T cell decide its particular identity?

According to biologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in the case of T cells - immune system cells that help destroy invading pathogens - the answer is when the cells begin expressing a particular gene called Bcl11b.

The activation of Bcl11b is a nearly perfect indicator of when cells have decided to go on the T-cell pathway. The Bcl11b gene produces what is known as a transcription factor -- a protein that controls the activity of other genes. Specifically, the gene is a repressor, which means it shuts off other genes. This is crucial for T cells, because T cells are derived from multipotent hematopoietic stem cells. These are stem cells that express a wide variety of genes and have the capacity to differentiate into a host of other blood cell types, including the various cells of the immune system.

Stem cells and their multipotent descendents follow one set of growth rules, and T cells another. Like stem cells, T cells have a remarkable ability to grow -- but as part of their T-cell-ness, they do so under incredibly strict regulation. Their growth is restricted unless certain conditions are met. The cells need to shift their growth-control rules during development; after development, because they still need to grow, the cells and their daughters need an active mechanism to make the change irreversible. Bcl11b is a long-sought part of that mechanism.

For cells that never divide again, maintaining identity is trivial. What they are at that moment is what they are forever. Once T cells mature, their abilities to keep dividing and migrating around the body also give them the opportunity to have their daughters adopt different roles in the immune system as they encounter and interact with other types of cells. Even so, their central T-cell nature remains unchanged, which means that they must have a strong sense of identity.

The conversion from T-cell precursors to actual T cells takes place in the thymus, a specialized organ located near the heart. When the future T cells move into the thymus, they are expressing a variety of genes that give them the option to become other cells, such as mast cells (which are involved in allergic reactions), killer cells (which kill cells infected by viruses), and antigen-presenting cells (which help T cells recognize targeted foreign cells).

As they enter the thymus, the organ sends molecular signals to the cells, directing them down the T-cell pathway. At this point, the Bcl11b gene gets turned on. This confirms the T cells' identity by blocking other pathways. The Bcl11b protein is also needed for the cells to make the break from their stem-cell heritage. It is like a switch that allows the cells to shut off stem-cell genes and other regulatory genes. It may be necessary to 'guard' the T cell from becoming some other type of cell.

Although it is thought that many genes are involved in the process of creating and maintaining T cells, "Bcl11b is the only regulatory gene in the whole genome to be turned on at this stage, and it is probably always active in all T cells. It is the most T-cell specific of all of the regulatory factors discovered so far. Among blood cells, this gene is only expressed in T cells. The gene is used in other cells in completely different types of tissue, such as brain and skin and mammary tissue, but that's how the body works.

When Bcl11b is not present -- as in mice genetically altered to lack the gene -- T cells don't turn out right. Indeed, T cells in individuals with T-cell leukemia have been found to lack the gene. It may make them more susceptible to the effects of radiation, because the cells don't know when to stop growing.

Milk protein content estimation

Estimation of Protein content of Milk by Formol Titration Method

Author : Nadim Dinani

Is the milk you drink rich in proteins? Is the source of milk labelled on your milk carton true? many more questions and here is an answer.

Milk is the well known single food highly rich in protein content. Besides protein it contains fats, carbohydrates, inorganic salts and vitamins. Casein is the most prominent protein constituting 80% of all the milk proteins. Among the other proteins are beta-lactoglobulin, lactalbumin, and alpha-albumin.

Although proteins are too weak to be titrated with alkali, if formalin i.e. formaldehyde gas dissolved in water, is added to neutral milk, it reacts with the amino group of amino acids present to form dimethylamino acid derivatives. Consequently the amino acids release H⁺ ion i.e. free acid. Also the carboxyl group is available for titration. The amount of acidity developed is directly proportional to the concentration of protein. The amount of acid released is estimated by titrating it against NaOH using phenolphthalein as an indicator. The colour change is from colourless to faint pink.

Calcium which is found in milk in high concentration interferes with the titration. Hence it is removed by adding saturated potassium oxalate to milk prior to the titration. This sample is neutralized with NaOH to pH 7. This volume of NaOH will not be included in the titration reading.

A blank titration using distilled water is also carried out in the same manner. Distilled water does not require Calcium elimination and thus the step can be skipped.

Protein content of milk in Gram % will be 1.7 x (Test titration reading – Blank titration reading)

Using this, source of milk can be derived. Standard values of Buffaloes’ milk, cow’s milk, and goat’s milk are 3.9, 3.4 and 3.5 respectively.