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: Heart parts
Researchers looking for ways to turn stem cells into the types of heart cells they want said they had found the key to making one important type in mice. They found the cells that give rise to the muscles of the ventricles—the chambers that pump blood out of the heart—in mice and said they will try to use this information to turn ordinary skin or blood cells into this important heart tissue. These so-called progenitor cells should also lead to better ways to study heart disease and to test drugs, according to researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Massachusetts. This is the beginning of making heart parts for heart disease. Stem cells are the body’s master cells, giving rise to the other, ‘differentiated’ cells and tissues in the body. They multiply wildly in the lab and live almost forever, which makes them a powerful tool. When directed correctly, these cells can be made to form heart tissue, bone tissue, blood or other cells. But as they differentiate into these tissues, they lose their immortality and ability to proliferate. So, scientists want to get from patients embryonic stem cells, or cells that resemble them called induced pluripotent stem cells, grow them in the lab and then use them for research and medical treatments. In their breakthrough, the researchers genetically engineered mice that had fluorescent tags in their heart cells that made the right ventricle glow red.
Colour of clothing
It takes more than sunscreen to keep the sun’s ultraviolet rays from harming your skin. The type of clothing you wear can offer protection, too— or not. Studies have shown that some lightweight fabrics do not provide enough UV protection. But it is not just the type of fibre and the weave of the fabric that matters, but also the colour. Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia have addressed the colour issue, studying the effects of different dyes on the UV protection provided by lightweight woven cottons. The researchers chose three fabrics, not dyed, with different initial levels of UV protection based on the weave and other factors. Then they dyed them in varying shades of blue, red and yellow and measured how much UV radiation was absorbed and transmitted. They found that red and blue shades performed better than yellow, particularly in blocking UV-B rays, which are the most harmful. Protection increased as the shades were made...
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