By Allis Lai On September 1, 2021, NICE approved inclisiran, a new siRNA drug for patients with primary hypercholesterolaemia or mixed dyslipidaemia.1 This is a big step forward for RNA therapeutics, a field that has been rapidly gaining traction in the past two decades. Small interfering RNA, known in short as siRNA, is a shortContinue reading “siRNAs: the future of cholesterol management?“
Category Archives: Editors’ Picks
Gene therapy advancements to treat Sickle Cell Disease
By Easha Vigneswaran Since the advent of CRISPR-Cas9 technology for gene editing, the medical world has been met with a new way of targeting many chronic genetic diseases. One of these includes sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that results in defective haemoglobin. Whilst treatments exist to minimise the effects of the disease onContinue reading “Gene therapy advancements to treat Sickle Cell Disease”
Targeting pericytes to normalise the tumour vasculature
By Themis Halka In recent years, the role of vasculature in tumours has drawn great interest. Vasculature has key roles in growth and survival, through transport of nutrients and oxygen. In the past, strategies to prevent tumour growth have focused on preventing development of vasculature– but a new focus of research now aims to restoreContinue reading “Targeting pericytes to normalise the tumour vasculature “
Cytoplasmic streaming in plants
By Andres Hernandez Maduro Though seemingly docile on the outside, plants, like all other multicellular organisms, are in constant dynamic turmoil on the inside. Under the microscope, you might notice that live plant cells are never quite motionless in place; their outer membrane fluctuates and vibrates, organelles swim around in the cytoplasm, and the veryContinue reading “Cytoplasmic streaming in plants“
Digital Twins
By Naveesha Karunanayaka The idea of a digital twin holds different meanings across many sectors. Within Healthcare, creating a ‘digital twin’ involved curating a genetic profile of an individual which can then be used for medical purposes. This digital ‘self’ of an individual can then be used for drug and therapy testing – with suchContinue reading “Digital Twins”
Reverse engineering: turning Jurassic Park into reality
By Clarie Lo In 1990, the science fiction novel Jurassic Park was published. People were fascinated by the idea of constructing a theme park with dinosaurs freely roaming on the island. As a writer with a background in anthropology, Michael Crichton’s attempt in describing how these extinct creatures were cloned from DNA found in mosquitoesContinue reading “Reverse engineering: turning Jurassic Park into reality“
Influence of bacteria on the quality of drinking water
By Yuchen Lin Water is an important source of life, and high-quality drinking water is critical for the health of human beings. Poor quality sources of water or poorly treated transport systems for water may result in high potential of microorganisms accumulating on the surfaces of water pipes. Such collections of bacteria patches on theContinue reading “Influence of bacteria on the quality of drinking water”
Impact of food on health
By Runtian Wu Introduction As the ageing of populations occurs in many nations worldwide, people are increasingly looking for health-oriented diets to avoid diseases and increase the life span.1 Various health claims are circulating in the daily communications, such as the benefit of vegetarian, tea, restricted food intake, and organic food. Although many of theseContinue reading “Impact of food on health“
AMPK: Its implication in polycystic kidney disease and cystogenesis
By Daniella Gimbosh Scientists have been elucidating the role of thousands of enzymes, genes and molecules present in the body since the dawn of time. One of these substances is an enzyme called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK is an enzyme that plays a vital role in metabolism regulation and has been referred to asContinue reading “AMPK: Its implication in polycystic kidney disease and cystogenesis“
The microbial colonisation of the human body
By Andrea Flores Esparza Planet Earth is probably the wrong place to be if you do not like microorganisms as they are everywhere. In everything that surrounds you, on you and even inside of you. The fact that we are living in a bacterial world—rather than a ‘Material World’ as suggested by Madonna—has been knownContinue reading “The microbial colonisation of the human body“
Imperial Bioscience Review 