The genetic code for Magnetosomes has been cracked

A recent discovery states that bacteria produce Magnetosomes, nano-sized biological magnets, to steer by the earth’s magnetic field to deep regions of the ocean where there is less oxygen. These particles can be transferred to other organisms or even altered to produce customized magnetic particles for practical applications. An experiment was conducted where the particles have been extracted from the bacteria and injected into mice to improve imaging of cancers by MRI scanners.

Some bacteria have the ability to digest iron into tiny nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3O4) that are enclosed in lipid vesicles or membranes. These “Magnetosomes” as they are called, have considerable potential for medical use because of their greater bio compatibility and convenient narrow and uniform shape compared to man made versions. Bacteria use them like tiny compasses to help them search for environments rich in oxygen.

Read More @ MedicalNewsToday.com and NewScientist.com

An experimental approach to improve the functionality of silver treated bandages

Silver is capable of killing pathogens and so silver treated bandages are widely preferred in hospitals around the world. An accurate amount of silver is required to be applied on the wound to help speed up the healing process safely. The silver treated bandages that are currently being used are great with killing bacteria but they also damage the necessary cells called fibroblasts which speed up the healing of the wound.

For a long time researchers have been working on to eliminate this side effect and recently a post doctoral researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM), Ankit Agarwal has come up with an experimental idea to heal the wounds faster by killing the bacteria without damaging the necessary cells on he patient’ skin.

Silver is widely used to prevent bacterial contamination in wound dressings, says Agarwal, “but these dressings deliver a very large load of silver, and that can kill a lot of cells in the wound.”

Precisely targeted silver molecules can kill almost all bacteria in a wound, but spare the essential fibroblast repair cells

On 19th August 2009 Ankit Agarwal presented the new idea at the American Chemical Society meeting. He has crafted an ultra-thin material carrying a precise dose of silver. One square inch contains just 0.4 percent of the silver that is found in the silver-treated antibacterial bandages now used in medicine.

Lab test results show that a low concentration of silver killed 99.9999 % of the bacteria without damaging the fibroblast cells. “This architecture is very easily tuned to different applications,” Agarwal says, because it allows exact control of such factors as thickness, porosity and silver content. The final sandwich may range from a few nanometers to several hundred nanometers in thickness. (One nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; a human hair is about 60,000 nanometers in diameter.) As mentioned by e! Science News

The goodness of Onion and Garlic

Better load up on the breath mints – a new study has found that eating lots of onions and garlic may help prevent cancers. International researchers have carried out a study and found that people whose diets are rich in onions, garlic, and other alliums have a lower risk of several types of cancer than those who avoid the pungent herbs.

According to lead researcher Carlotta Galeone of the Istituto di Ricerche Farmocologiche in Milan, “The health benefits of onions and garlic have been touted for centuries, but few studies have been able to prove the benefits.

“Onion and garlic consumption could simply be a marker for a healthier lifestyle and a diet high in a variety of potentially cancer-fighting herbs and vegetables.”