World heart day 29th September 2012 In SMDC

On 29th September 2012. World heart day will be celebrated in SMDC Lahore. Contact your respective class representatives for information related to activities organized by College and Hospital.
at 9:30 AM, all students are directed to come in front of Hospital emergency, a walk has been organized.. ! 

Human Brains Outpace Chimp Brains in Womb

This could be beneficial ..

'Nobody knew how early these differences between human and chimp brains emerged," said Satoshi Hirata of Kyoto University.

Hirata and colleagues Tomoko Sakai and Hideko Takeshita now find that human and chimp brains begin to show remarkable differences very early in life. In both primate species, the brain grows increasingly fast in the womb initially. After 22 weeks of gestation, brain growth in chimpanzees starts to level off, while that of humans continues to accelerate for another two months or more. (Human gestation time is only slightly longer than that of chimpanzees, 38 weeks versus 33 or 34 weeks.)

The findings are based on 3D ultrasound imaging of two pregnant chimpanzees from approximately 14 to 34 weeks of gestation and comparison of those fetal images to those of human fetuses. While early brain differences were suspected, no one had previously measured the volume of chimpanzee brains as they develop in the womb until now.

The findings are part of a larger effort by the research team to explore differences in primate brains. In another Current Biologyreport published last year, they compared brain development in chimps versus humans via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of three growing chimpanzees from the age of six months to six years.

"Elucidating these differences in the developmental patterns of brain structure between humans and great apes will provide important clues to understand the remarkable enlargement of the modern human brain and humans' sophisticated behavior," Sakai said.

The researchers say they now hope to explore fetal development in particular parts of the brain, including the forebrain, which is critical for decision making, self-awareness, and creativity.

Naked Mole-Rats May Hold Clues to Pain Relief

I FOUND THIS ARTICLE VERY INTERESTING..SO HERE IT IS FOR ALL THOSE..WHO LOVE TO RELIEVE THEIR PATIENTS FROM PAIN...THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY HUGE MILESTONE..

In the tightly crowded burrows of the African naked mole-rats' world, carbon dioxide builds up to levels that would be toxic for other mammals, and the air becomes highly acidic. These animals freely tolerate these unpleasant conditions, says Thomas Park, professor of biological sciences at UIC and principal investigator of the study -- which may offer clues to relieving pain in other animals and humans.

Much of the lingering pain of an injury, for example, is caused by acidification of the injured tissue, Park said.

"Acidification is an unavoidable side-effect of injury," he said. "Studying an animal that feels no pain from an acidified environment should lead to new ways of alleviating pain in humans."

In the nose of a mammal, specialized nerve fibers are activated by acidic fumes, stimulating the trigeminal nucleus, a collection of nerves in the brainstem, which in turn elicits physiological and behavioral responses that protect the animal -- it will secrete mucus and rub its nose, for example, and withdraw or avoid the acidic fumes.

The researchers placed naked mole-rats in a system of cages in which some areas contained air with acidic fumes. The animals were allowed to roam freely, and the time they spent in each area was tracked. Their behavior was compared to laboratory rats, mice, and a closely related mole-rat species that likes to live in comfy conditions, as experimental controls.

The naked mole-rats spent as much time exposing themselves to acidic fumes as they spent in fume-free areas, Park said. Each control species avoided the fumes.

The researchers were able to quantify the physiologic response to exposure to acidic fumes by measuring a protein, c-Fos, an indirect marker of nerve activity that is often expressed when nerve cells fire. In naked mole-rats, no such activity was found in the trigeminal nucleus when stimulated. In rats and mice, however, the trigeminal nucleus was highly activated.

The naked mole-rats' tolerance of acidic fumes is consistent with their adaptation to living underground in chronically acidic conditions, Park said.

The study was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Pamela LaVinka, graduate student in biological sciences at UIC, was first author on the study

Cell Death Discovery Suggests New Ways to Protect Female Fertility

hey guys, here is my first post related to a section i am going to start on this very blog of our institute. and its all about new things in the world of medicine. The researchers, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Monash University and Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, made the discovery while investigating how egg cells die.

They found that two specific proteins, called PUMA and NOXA, cause the death of egg cells in the ovaries. The finding may lead to new strategies that protect women's fertility by blocking the activity of these two proteins. Associate Professor Clare Scott from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute said the research showed that when the DNA of egg cells is damaged following exposure to radiation or chemotherapy, such as that received during some cancer treatments, PUMA and NOXA trigger the death of the damaged eggs. This egg cell death causes many female cancer patients to become infertile. "PUMA and NOXA can trigger cell death, and have been found to be necessary for the death of many different cell types in response to DNA damage," Associate Professor Scott, who is also an oncologist at The Royal Melbourne and Royal Women's Hospitals, said. "This removal of damaged cells is a natural process that is essential to maintaining health but, for women undergoing cancer treatment, can be devastating when it leads to infertility." Associate Professor Scott, Dr Ewa Michalak and Professor Andreas Strasser from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, together with Associate Professor Jeffrey Kerr from Monash University, and Dr Karla Hutt and Professor Jock Findlay from Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, focused their studies on egg cells called primordial follicle oocytes, which provide each woman's lifetime supply of eggs. Low numbers of these egg cells can also be a cause of early menopause. Their findings are published online this week in the journal Molecular Cell. Associate Professor Jeff Kerr said that when these egg-producing cells were missing the PUMA protein, they did not die after being exposed to radiation therapy. "This might ordinarily be cause for concern because you want damaged egg cells to die so as not to produce abnormal offspring," he said. "To our great surprise we found that not only did the cells survive being irradiated, they were able to repair the DNA damage they had sustained and could be ovulated and fertilized, producing healthy offspring. When the cells were also missing the NOXA protein, there was even better protection against radiation." "We were very excited to see healthy offspring could be produced from these cells," Associate Professor Scott said. "It means that in the future, medications that block the function of PUMA could be used to stop the death of egg cells in patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Our results suggest that this could maintain the fertility of these patients." A joint leader of the study, Professor Jock Findlay, head of the Female Reproductive Biology Group at Prince Henry's Institute, said the study could also have implications for delaying menopause. "We know that the timing of menopause is influenced by how many egg cells a female has," he said. "Interventions that slow the loss of egg cells from the ovaries could delay premature menopause. As well as prolonging female fertility, such a treatment could have the potential to reduce menopause-associated health conditions, such as osteoporosis and heart disease." The research was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Council Victoria, the Victorian Cancer Agency, the US Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the US National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the Victorian Governmen

Want You institutes only blog to be dead??

if not.? come on guys. there's life other then being a doctor. share your self right here. now our institute has actually grown a bit crowded. not a single one interested. amazing.. isn't it?

New admissions opened for MBBS and BDS for year 2012.

New admissions opened for MBBS and BDS for year 2012.

"BONFIRE 2012"

And finally The first ever BONFIRE in the history of this institution. Although it was arranged solely by 2nd year MBBS but the participation was extraordinary. Hoping the contribution of Administration for the next coming events. Keep following :-)