Wednesday 23 May 2012

Medicine and its rivals


http://www.economist.com/node/21552554
sunshine
liver
stream through striking
peacock supporters
feathers taxpayers
healing meagre returns
notion spawn
treatment research outfits
campaigner float
brand members
foundation to shame
task dwindling
the sick futile
mainstream to budge
to urge to leak
flourish baseless
Double-blind rituals
random failings
sift point out
to blur hurried
vary wildly soothing
broadly rationales
pain what matters
ailments unsuited
believers to jar
cure sham
imprint inhalers
deride lung
claim dummy

A NEW DOMAIN OF LIFE


http://www.economist.com/node/18437900?story_id=18437900


A new domain of life – Plenty more bugs in the sea - and the vocabulary

Tantalising – possible, tempting
gap – space, hole
lumps – groups
arguably - not certain, can be disputed
creatures – e.g. animals
disease – sickness
crucial – essential, very important
ring – circle
float around – move, but without any power of their own
methane – a gas
stretch back – go back, stretch = make longer
in the shadows – not highlighted, not in the sunlight
missed – not seen
tools – instruments
suggest – imply

draw a conclusion (conclusion was drawn) – deduce, answer, find a solution
having been fired – lost his job, thrown out, made redundant, sacked
wider - broader, bigger
hard cash – readily accessible money
killer app – revolutionary application, application that beats the competition, major advantage
shotgun – a gun for shooting birds, it fires pellets, not bullets
handle – deal with, process
stitches – sews, joins
overlaps – parts that duplicate, one part is the same as another
trick – clever solution
sample – representation, partial collection, example
hot springs – natural sources of hot water (like thermal baths)
guts - intestines
combing - analysing in detail
accrete – accumulate
ubiquitous – found everywhere, omnipresent
and lo – old English - “what a surprise” - “look”
novel – new
uncharacterised – not defined
lacuna – gap, space, lack
winnow – extract in small quantities

and of course the important difference between: known unknown and unknown unknown

What are the current 3 domains of life ? - Eukaryotes, Bacteria, Archaea
Where was evidence of the new domain found ? In the sea
What is the new evidence ? – parts of the evolutionary trees of 2 genes – RecA RpoB - do not fit with existing ones -
so either the trees are wrong or this is a new domain of life...
Why did Craig Ventner have time to “cruise the world” ? - he had no other job, he was paid to leave Celera Genomics

M

Friday 11 May 2012

Uni Urbino - Scienze Exam

The exam will be in two parts.
The first part is a vocabulary test of words from the articles we have done in class in 2012.
The articles and the specific words will be posted on this blog up to the end of classes which is 31 May.
30 minutes.
No dictionaries - no phones - no PCs... no aids, except a pen.

The second part is a comprehension exercise. 30 minutes. Dictionaries, physical, PC or internet based are allowed - no communication with anyone except me is permitted - so no SMS, no email, no chat, etc...


Wednesday 9 May 2012

Fano 9/5/12 - Future Drugs


http://eca.state.gov/forum/journal/future.htm



AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. First reported in 1981, it has since become a major global epidemic, killing over 10 million people and infecting tens of millions more. The disease is caused by HIV, a virus that destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. Go to the NHGRI glossary for more information.
Alzheimer's: A mental disorder that gradually destroys vital nerve cells in the brain. Symptoms include loss of memory, judgment and reasoning, and changes in mood and behavior. It is not a normal part of aging.
Antibiotics: Drugs that fight infections.
Antibodies: Protein molecules produced by the body to fight infection
or disease.

Artery: Blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart.
Arthritis: An inflammatory condition that often causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints, often making even minor movements uncomfortable or painful.
Blood pressure: The pressure caused by the blood moving against the walls of the blood vessels, especially the arteries. It varies with the strength of the heartbeat, the flexibility of the arterial walls, the amount of the blood, and a person's health, age, and physical condition. Normal adult blood pressure is 120/80. If a person has high blood pressure, medication is often prescribed to lower the pressure.
Cancer: A general term for more than 100 diseases that are characterized by uncontrolled and rapid growth of abnormal cells. Cancer cells can spread locally or through the bloodstream to other parts of the body.
Chemotherapy: The treatment of cancer using specific chemical agents or drugs that harm fast-growing cells. This treatment kills fast-growing cancer cells, but often harms other fast-growing cells as well, such as the cells for hair and fingernails.
Cholesterol: A white substance found in many foods that is an important element in cell walls in the body. An unusually high level of cholesterol in the blood is often a symptom of heart disease.
Colon: A section of the large intestine, in the digestive tract. The total length is approximately 5 feet (approx. 150 centimeters) in the adult. It is responsible for forming, storing, and expelling waste.
Diagnose: To identify a person as having a certain disease or condition.

Genomic: (adj.) (medicine, treatment, drugs, researchers) Using genetic material or research.

Heart disease: A problem that prevents the heart from working normally. This problem can be with the heart's shape or how the heart works, or with the blood vessels supplying the heart.
Human Genome Project: An international research project to map each human gene and to completely sequence human DNA. (See NHGRI glossary for more information.)
Hypodermic needle: A hollow needle used to inject medicine or drugs directly into the blood.
Immune system: The body system, made up of many organs and cells, that defends the body against infection, disease and foreign substances. The immune system is often stimulated in specific ways to fight cancer cells.
Inhaler: A hand-held device used to take medicine by breathing in through the nose or mouth. Also called inhalator.
Leptin: A hormone produced by fat cells for regulation of appetite. It controls how much you want to eat, how much of the food your body stores, and how much is used for energy.

Liver: A large organ in animals that is important for digesting food and removing waste products.

Mental illness: Any of various conditions which cause problems with a person's normal thinking, feeling, or behavior, and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic, or other factors, such as infection or head trauma. Also called emotional illness, mental disease, mental disorder.

Microchip: An extremely small piece of semiconducting material, which can contain a very large amount of information.
Neuron: A cell that sends electrical signals across distances. Neurons receive input from sensory cells or other neurons and send messages to muscles or other neurons.
Obesity: (n), Obese (adj.) (1) Having too much body fat.
Parkinson's: A problem with the central nervous system. A neurological disease that continues to get worse. Symptoms include uncontrolled shaking of the body and difficulties with muscular coordination.
Poison: A substance that causes injury, illness, or death

Protein: Essential components of all living cells that allow a body to function work well (including enzymes, hormones, and antibodies). Proteins are essential in the diet of animals for the growth and repair of tissue.

Radioactive isotope: Elements with an unstable nucleus that act as poisons, killing cancer cells without destroying other parts of the body.
Skin patch: A small piece of material put on the skin. It contains medicine that gradually enters the body through the skin.
Smart bomb: A genomic drug that contains natural antibodies targeted directly at cancer cells.

Swallow: (v) To cause (food or drink, for example) to pass through the mouth and throat into the stomach.

Symptom: An indication of disorder or disease that signals a change from normal function, sensation, or appearance.
Trophic compounds: The body's natural substances that help cells grow and develop.
Tumor: A mass of abnormal cells that are the result of rapid cell division. Tumors perform no useful body function. They may be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Ultrasonic: (adj.) (1) Sounds that the human ear cannot hear. (2) Of or relating to acoustic frequencies above the range that the human ear can hear, or above approximately 20,000 hertz.

Vaccine: Weakened or dead poisonous cells injected into the blood in order to stimulate the production of antibodies.