News & Views
Fur trade 'provides insights into TB'
Apr 12 2011
Researchers from Stanford University have worked with fur trade historians to analyse samples, which are believed to be linked to the spread of the disease in western Canada some 150 years after the fur trade peaked.
TB can lay dormant for many years, the scientists explain, before erupting due to changes in conditions.
These can include poor ventilation, a lack of nutrition and overcrowding.
Because of its so-called "stealthy" nature, scientists have historically found it difficult to tackle TB.
The authors of the paper, Caitlin Pepperell, an infectious diseases specialist at Stanford University and Marcus Feldman, professor of biology, comment that it is too soon to know how their investigations will apply in different settings.
"TB research has had a very long latent period and now we are kind of getting into an expansion phase, which is a really good thing," states Ms Pepperell.
Last month, researchers from the University of Texas in Austin published a paper in online journal BMC Cancer claiming they had found a potential new treatment for cancer.
Tested on mice, the treatment was able to shrink and eradicate all tumours within 37 days.
Digital Edition
Lab Asia 31.2 April 2024
April 2024
In This Edition Chromatography Articles - Approaches to troubleshooting an SPE method for the analysis of oligonucleotides (pt i) - High-precision liquid flow processes demand full fluidic c...
View all digital editions
Events
May 05 2024 Seville, Spain
InformEx Zone at CPhl North America
May 07 2024 Pennsylvania, PA, USA
May 14 2024 Oklahoma City, OK, USA
May 15 2024 Birmingham, UK
May 21 2024 Lagos, Nigeria