7 November, 2015

This is how human blood is made!

Turning conventional wisdom on its head, a team of Canadian scientists has discovered a completely new view of how human blood is made. According to them, the whole classic ‘textbook’ view we thought we knew about blood formation doesn’t actually even exist. ‘Through a series of experiments, we have been able to finally resolve how different kinds of blood cells form quickly from the stem cell – the most potent blood cell in the system – and not further downstream as has been traditionally thought,’ explained stem cell scientist Dr John Dick. The research also topples the textbook view that the blood development system is stable once formed. ‘Our findings show that the blood system is two-tiered and changes between early human development and adulthood,’ says Dick, director of the cancer stem cell programme at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

For redefining the architecture of blood development, the research team mapped the lineage potential of nearly 3,000 single cells from 33 different cell populations of stem and progenitor cells obtained from human blood samples taken at various life stages and ages. For people with blood disorders and diseases, the potential clinical utility of the findings is significant, unlocking a distinct route to personalising therapy. ‘The discovery means we will be able to understand far better a wide variety of human blood disorders and diseases – from anemia to leukemia,’ Dr Dick noted. There are also promising implications for advancing the global quest in regenerative medicine to manufacture mature cell types such as platelets or red blood cells by engineering cells. ‘So in human blood formation, everything begins with the stem cell, which is the executive decision-maker quickly driving the process that replenishes blood at a daily rate that exceeds 300 billion cells,’ the authors noted. The findings were published online in the journal Science.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

07.11.2015

This is why a nine-hour sleep is important! (It protects you from diabetes)

Insomnia is a very common phenomenon nowadays. Unhealthy lifestyle, stress, wayward eating habits, all these contribute to sleeplessness. But what many of us don’t realise is that insomnia causes a lot more damage than expected! Temporary mood swings, fatigue are very common after  sleepless nights, but did you know insufficient sleep increase you risk of diabetes?

The study conducted at the University of Colorado  Boulder says that lack of sleep reduces body’s sensitivity to insulin and impairs the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, increasing the risk of diabetes. Lead author of the study, Professor Kenneth Wright said that they found that when people get very little sleep, they are awake at a time when their body clock is telling them to sleep. And when they eat something in the morning, the food impairs their ability to regulate blood sugar levels.

For the study, the researchers analysed a small number of healthy men and women. hey made half the participants sleep for up to five hours a night for five days initially and then made them sleep for up to nine hours a night for the next five days. The other half of the participants followed the same order but in reverse.  

What did they find?

Blood tests  of the participants revealed that those who slept for five hours at a night had a reduced sensitivity to insulin which could lead to an increased risk if getting diabetes. But when they slept for  nine hours a night it was found that their oral insulin sensitivity had returned to normal. However, the nine hours did not restore the intravenous insulin levels to normal. The study concluded that lack of sleep causes metabolic stress! The study appeared in the journalCurrent Biology. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

07.11.2015

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong

 Peter T. McIntyre