Thursday 26 December 2019

Top best 10 Biotech Movies You Must Binge Watch Before This Year Ends!

Top 10 best Biotech Movies You Must Binge Watch Before This Year Ends!

Written on 12/24/2019
Vinod kushwaha

Best Biotech Movies- Top 10 Biotech Movies You Must Watch!
Today’s Science Fiction Is Tomorrow’s Science Facts- Issac Asimov
Do You love watching science fiction? Well, I am sure most of us would have watched at least one sci-fi that would have left a mark on our minds. Twisting our imaginations, Science fiction is one of the genres that the majority of us love watching. Real science fiction is one that makes you think after the film ends.
How About Science Fiction that is more inclined towards Biotechnology?
Hailing from Life Science background, this will surely excite you! We present you a list of Best Biotech Movies- Top 10 Must Watch Movies
  1. Gattaca:
This is an all-time favorite movie. I’m sure sci-fi lovers would have watched this movie, but if you haven’t, then please consider watching this classic. The film draws on concerns over reproductive technologies that facilitate eugenics, and the possible consequences of such technological developments for society.
A movie based on Genetics study, i.e., a study on heredity and the variations that occur on heritable traits, is considered as our first biology movie. Released in 1997 and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film Gattaca tells the story where one’s genetic makeup determines people’s societal classes. It’s safe to say that this movie predicted gene editing and CRISPR technology decades before they were invented.
Set in a future society in which most children are conceived in-vitro, and disease is predetermined using genetic selection techniques, the GATTACA speaks the story of one of the last naturally conceived children. Watch the movie to know more about his real-world struggles and the ways he overcomes it.
Watch the full movie here
2. Rampage
Davis Okoye, a primatologist, who is close friends with a rare albino silverback gorilla, has his life turned upside down when he discoversCRISPR has been used to mutate his primate buddy into a gigantic, uncontrollable beast. Rampage feature second on our list of Best Biotech Movies.
The premise of this film is that CRISPR technology is designated as a “Weapon of Mass Destruction and Proliferation,” and a biopharma company has misused the science, creating large, hybrid animals, who have unchecked aggression. Okoye struggles through the action-packed movie to try to reverse the CRISPR process to save his gorilla and set right the “science went wrong.”
Watch the full movie here
3.  Blueprint:
In 2003 the movie was released. This movie is based on the Biotechnology concept, the very idea of cloning. Cloning is the process of creating copies of DNA, cell, or organisms. This biology movie deals with the story of first-ever cloned human beings and the search for everlasting life.
A world-famous pianist and composer, who finds out that she has multiple sclerosis, a degenerative nerve disorder that will gradually stop her being able to perform, she asked friend, a revolutionary reproductive researcher, to assist her creating her clone so that she can pass her music onto her daughter. Even though cloning of humans is illegal, the scientist agrees for the same. The film raises ethical concerns about human cloning.
4. Elysium
Released in 2013 we had to include this in our list of Best Biotech Movies. Elysium imagines life in the year 2154. Elysium revolves around Biotechnology. A technique that allows society to cure disease. But there’s a twist! Only the rich people who live on a space station, have access to this technology. Meanwhile, the earth is overpopulated, and people suffer from poverty and famine. An American embarks on an epic mission to bring equality to the world divided by access to scientific developments. Will his efforts save the world?
Watch the full movie here
5. Blade Runner 2049
The New Blade Runner- Blade Runner 2049 has won 2 Oscars for cinematography and visual effects, this film deserves mention in our list. As in the original movie, bioengineered humans known as ‘replicants’ are slaves.
The lead character in the film, played by Ryan Gosling, is a ‘Blade Runner’ whose job is to track down and kill ‘rogue’ replicants. If you liked the original films, this movie is a must-watch.
Loved Biotecnika’s Best Biotech Movies List? Scroll down to discover more.
6. Splice
Best Biotech Movies
In this movie Vincenzo Natali, two scientists decide to ignore the ban on research using human embryos and try to illegally create a hybrid creature with the ultimate goal of achieving fame. Eventually, the scientists manage to experiment with human embryos without any funding and while still being required to do the research they’re paid to do. What happens next? The duo manages to splice the human DNA, and that results in a dangerous creature.
  1. Annihilation
Annihilation is a science fiction psychological horror film released in 2018. The movie is written and directed by Alex Garland. The movie is based on an excellent book of the same name written by Jeff VanderMeer. Lena, a biologist and former soldier undertakes a mission to uncover the fate of her husband inside Area X- a sinister & mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside Area X, she discovers a world of landscapes filled with creatures. As dangerous it may seem, Area X is beautiful. Watch the movie to find out what happens next!
  1. Lucy:
Best Biotech Movies
In this movie, the main character Lucy is mischievously asked by her boyfriend to deliver a suitcase in a business partner. The briefcase has a powerful blue crystalline synthetic drug (CPH4). While the delivery of the suitcase is in process, a Korean mob abducted her and converted her into a drug mule for trafficking drugs to different countries.  These criminals surgically implement the drug packet containing CPH4 into the stomach of Lucy. Once during a confrontation with one of the criminals, this drug packet of her stomach leaks and spread to her nervous system. Watch this excellent piece Luc Besson which has a unique plot and has bagged various awards.
9. Downsizing:
One of the Best Biotech Movies, the movie tries to find out the cause of overpopulation and global warming. Biologically, overpopulation means to surpass the carrying limit of its ecological niche. This rise in population happens due to an increase in birth rate, drop in death rate, which leads to upsetting the ecological balance by depleting natural resources.
In this movie, a Norwegian scientist invents a process called “cellular miniaturization,” wherein the lab rat reduces to 1/100 of its size. The scientists then applied the process to the main character of the movie. Watch the movie to find out what happens next.G

GiftedHands: The Ben Carson Story:
The biology concept of the film is Neurosurgery. The movie is about the life of a famous neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson at the John Hopkins Hospital. In the film, Carson’s beginning is as a poor student, and ultimately, he becomes a famous medical doctor in a prestigious university. In the history of neurosurgery, a medical team of 70 members was led by Dr. Carson to separate the conjoined twins Benjamin and Patrick Binder. After the operation, the twins had suffered some complications, but both survived. This operation by Dr. Carson is considered the first successful attempt to separate conjoined twins in the history of medical science.
I know, some of you by now will be like – “Hey, you missed out this movie… it’s my favorite”. True, there are hundreds of other mind-boggling science fiction movies worth watching but these are some of the relevant movies related to the Biotech field.
Sit Back, Relax and Enjoy with a Tub Popcorn!
Do let us know which one is your favorite Biotech Movie in the comment section below.

Monday 9 December 2019

First Monkey Pig Hybrids Developed By Chinese Scientists

World’s First Monkey Pig Hybrids Developed By Chinese Scientists

Written on 12/09/2019
Vinod Kumar kushwaha


Monkey Pig Hybrids
Researchers from China have successfully developed Monkey Pig hybrids as part of research into the growth of human organs for transplantation in animals.
According to reports, the two chimera piglets died within a week of being born. Scientists reported that both were found to have DNA from macaque monkeys in their liver, spleen, heart, lung, & skin. They were bred from approximately 4,000 embryos, which were implanted into a sow using In-Vito Fertilization.
A team of scientists from the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology in Beijing developed the Monkey Pig Hybrids. They genetically modified monkey cells to produce a fluorescent protein allowing the researchers to track the cells and descendant cells.
These modified cells were injected into the pig embryos five days after fertilization. Ten piglets were born, of which 2 were chimeras- Monkey Pig Hybrids while the monkey cells made up only one in 1,000 & one in 10,000 of the remaining pig cells. The researchers are aiming to repeat the experiments to create healthy animals with higher concentrations of monkey DNA as well as to eventually reproduce an animal with an organ containing only monkey DNA.
The scientists believe that the results brought them one step closer to producing tissue-specific functional tissues and organs in a large animal model.
Monkey Pig Hybrids- Previously Developed Animal Hybrids
This is not the first time hybrid animals have been developed by Scientists. In 2010, a research team at Stanford University in California created mice with a rat pancreas.
You might have also heard about the Human-pig chimera. The Human-pig chimera was developed by scientists at the Salk Institute in California. Around one in 100,000 cells were reported to be of humans. The embryos were destroyed within a month.
According to the NHS Blood and Transplant organization, more than 6,000 patients are currently on the waiting list for organs in the UK.

Friday 11 October 2019

The Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019 – Awarded For Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen

 

The Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019 – Awarded For Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen

Written on 10/09/2019
Vinod kushwaha


Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019 Awarded for Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, on Monday, has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for the year 2019, jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr., Gregg L. Semenza, and Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe for their studies and discoveries of how cells sense & adapt to oxygen availability.
Their research work established the genetic mechanisms that allow cells to respond to changes in oxygen levels. The findings have implications for treating a variety of diseases, including cancer, anemia, heart attacks, and strokes.
Animals need oxygen for converting their food into useful energy. The fundamental importance of oxygen in the living has been understood for centuries; Still how cells adapt to the changes in levels of oxygen has been unknown until this discovery.
William G. Kaelin Jr., Gregg L. Semenza, and Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe discovered how the cells can sense & adapt to the changing oxygen availability. The team identified the molecular machinery that regulates the activities of genes in response to the varying levels of oxygen.
nOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE 2019
Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019: William G. Kaelin Jr., Gregg L. Semenza, and Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe for their studies and discoveries of how cells sense & adapt to oxygen availability.
Seminal discoveries by this year’s Nobel Laureates have revealed the mechanism for one of life’s most essential adaptive processes. The team established the basis of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism & physiological function. These discoveries have also paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer & many other diseases.
Oxygen makes up about one-fifth of our Earth’s atmosphere. O2 is essential for animal life. Oxygen is used by the mitochondria organelle present in virtually all animal cells in order to convert their food into useful energy. Otto Warburg, the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recipient, revealed that this conversion is an enzymatic process.


During the evolution, mechanisms developed to ensure a sufficient supply of O2 to tissues and cells. The carotid body which is adjacent to large blood vessels on both sides of the neck contains the specialized cells that sense the blood’s O2 levels. The 1938 Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine to Corneille Heymans awarded discoveries showing how blood O2 sensing via the carotid body controls the respiratory rate by communicating with the brain directly.
And in addition to the carotid body controlled rapid adaptation to low O2 levels (hypoxia), there are other fundamental physiological adaptations too. The key physiological response to hypoxia is the rise in levels of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) which actually leads to the increased production of RBCs (erythropoiesis). The importance of hormonal control of erythropoiesis hormone was already known by the beginning of the 20th century, but how this process was itself controlled by Oxygen remained a mystery.
Gregg Semenza studied the hormone erythropoietin gene & how it is regulated by varying O2 levels. By using the gene-modified mice, specific DNA segments located next to the erythropoietin gene were shown to mediate the response to hypoxia. Sir Peter Ratcliffe also studied Oxygen-dependent regulation of the hormone erythropoietin gene,& both research groups found that the O2 sensing mechanism was present in virtually all tissues, not only in the kidney cells where hormone erythropoietin is normally produced. These were some of the important findings that came up, showing that the mechanisms were general & functional in many different cells and their types.
Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019
When oxygen levels are low (hypoxia), HIF-1α is protected from degradation and accumulates in the nucleus, where it associates with ARNT and binds to specific DNA sequences (HRE) in hypoxia-regulated genes (1). At normal oxygen levels, HIF-1α is rapidly degraded by the proteasome (2). Oxygen regulates the degradation process by the addition of hydroxyl groups (OH) to HIF-1α (3). The VHL protein can then recognize and form a complex with HIF-1α leading to its degradation in an oxygen-dependent manner (4).
Semenza had wished to identify the cellular components that are mediating this response. In the cultured liver cells, he actually discovered a protein complex that can bind to the identified DNA segment in an O2-dependent manner. Semenza called this complex as a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). Extensive efforts to purify the hypoxia-inducible factor complex began in 1995 and Semenza was able to publish some of his study key findings, including identification of the genes encoding Hypoxia-Inducible Factor. The HIF was found to consist of 2 different DNA-binding proteins, so-called transcription factors, now named hypoxia-inducible factor HIF-1α & ARNT. The research team could begin solving the puzzle, allowing them to understand which are the additional components that were actually involved & how the machinery works.
When O2 levels are high, cells contain very little HIF-1α. However, when O2 levels are low, the amount of HIF-1α increases so that it can bind to and thus regulate the hormone erythropoietin gene as well as other genes with HIF-binding DNA segments. Several research teams showed that HIF-1α, which is normally rapidly degraded, is protected from degradation in hypoxia. At normal O2 levels, a cellular machine called the proteasome, recognized by Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose-the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry-, degrades HIF-1α. And under such conditions, a small peptide called ubiquitin is actually added to the HIF-1α protein. The ubiquitin peptide functions as a tag for proteins destined for degradation in the proteasome. How ubiquitin binds to HIF-1α in an O2-dependent manner remained a central question.
The answer to this came from an unexpected direction. At about the same time as Semenza & Ratcliffe were exploring the regulation of the hormone erythropoietin gene, cancer researcher William Kaelin, Jr. was studying on an inherited syndrome, von Hippel-Lindau’s disease (VHL disease). This genetic disease leads to a dramatically increased risk of certain cancers in families with inherited VHL mutations. Kaelin showed that von Hippel-Lindau’s disease gene encodes a protein that can prevent the onset of cancers. Kaelin also showed in the study that the cancer cells lacking a functional von Hippel-Lindau’s disease gene express abnormally high levels of the hypoxia-regulated genes. But that when the von Hippel-Lindau’s disease gene was reintroduced into the cancer cells, normal levels were actually restored. This was an important clue showing that von Hippel-Lindau’s disease gene was somehow involved in controlling the responses to hypoxia. And some additional clues came from several research groups showing that von Hippel-Lindau’s disease gene is part of a complex that labels the proteins with ubiquitin, marking the proteins for degradation in the proteasome. Ratcliffe and his research team then made a key discovery: which demonstrates that VHL can physically interact with the HIF-1α gene and it is required for its degradation at normal oxygen levels. This conclusively linked VHL to HIF-1α.
Many pieces had actually fallen into place, but what was still lacking was an understanding of how oxygen levels regulate the interaction between VHL & HIF-1α genes. The search was focused on a specific portion of the HIF-1α protein known to be important for VHL-dependent degradation, & both Kaelin and Ratcliffe suspected that the key to Oxygen sensing resided somewhere in this proteindomain. In the year 2001, in two simultaneously published articles the team showed that under normal O2 levels, hydroxyl groups are added at 2 specific positions in HIF-1α. This protein modification is called prolyl hydroxylation and it allows the VHL gene to recognize & bind to the HIF-1α gene and thus explained how the normal oxygen levels control rapid HIF-1α degradation with the help of O2-sensitive enzymes (so-called prolyl hydroxylases). Further studies by Ratcliffe & others identified the responsible prolyl hydroxylases. It was shown that the gene activating the function of the HIF-1α gene was regulated by O2-dependent hydroxylation. The Nobel Laureates had elucidated the oxygen sensing mechanism & had shown how it works.
Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019
The awarded mechanism for oxygen sensing has fundamental importance in physiology, for example for our metabolism, immune response and ability to adapt to exercise. Many pathological processes are also affected. Intensive efforts are ongoing to develop new drugs that can either inhibit or activate the oxygen-regulated machinery for the treatment of anemia, cancer and other diseases.
Thanks to the groundbreaking research work of these Nobel Laureates, we know much more about how different O2 levels regulate fundamental physiological processes. O2-sensing allows cells to adapt their metabolism to low O2 levels: for example, in our muscles during intense exercise. Other examples of adaptive processes controlled by O2 sensing include the generation of new blood vessels & the production of RBCs. Our immune system & many other physiological functions are also fine-tuned by the Oxygen-sensing machinery. O2 sensing has even been shown to be essential during fetal development for controlling normal blood vessel formation and placenta development.
O2 sensing is central to a large number of diseases. For example, patients with chronic renal failure often suffer from severe anemia due to decreased hormone erythropoietin expression. Hormone erythropoietin is produced by cells in the kidney and is essential for controlling the formation of red blood cells, as explained above. Moreover, O2-regulated machinery has an important role in cancer. In tumors, the O2-regulated machinery is utilized to stimulate blood vessel formation & to reshape metabolism for effective proliferation of cancer cells. The intense ongoing efforts in academic labs & pharmaceutical companies are now focused on developing drugs that can actually interfere with the different disease states by either activating/ blocking, the O2-sensing machinery.

Tuesday 8 October 2019

Sleep Disorders and Problems

Sleep Disorders and Problems

Are you regularly struggling with a sleep problem? It may be a sleep disorder. Here’s how to recognize the symptoms and get the treatment you need.

Woman staring out from bed

What is a sleep disorder or sleep problem?

Many of us experience trouble sleeping at one time or another. Usually it’s due to stress, travel, illness, or other temporary interruptions to your normal routine. But if sleep problems are a regular occurrence and interfere with your daily life, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder.
A sleep disorder is a condition that frequently impacts your ability to get enough quality sleep. While it’s normal to occasionally experience difficulties sleeping, it’s not normal to regularly have problems getting to sleep at night, to wake up feeling exhausted, or to feel sleepy during the day.
Frequently having trouble sleeping can be a frustrating and debilitating experience. You sleep badly at night, which leaves you feeling dead-tired in the morning and whatever energy you have quickly drains throughout the day. But then, no matter how exhausted you feel at night, you still have trouble sleeping. And so the cycle begins again, taking a serious toll on your mood, energy, efficiency, and ability to handle stress. Ignoring sleep problems and disorders can damage your physical health and lead to weight gain, car accidents, impaired job performance, memory problems, and strained relationships. If you want to feel your best, stay healthy, and perform up to your potential, quality sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.
Even if you’ve struggled with sleep problems for so long that it seems normal, you can still learn to sleep better. You can start by tracking your symptoms and sleep patterns, and then making healthy changes to your daytime habits and bedtime routine. If self-help doesn’t do the trick, you can turn to sleep specialists who are trained in sleep medicine. Together, you can identify the underlying causes of your sleeping problem and find ways to improve your sleep and quality of life.

Signs and symptoms of a sleep disorder

Everyone experiences occasional sleeping problems, so how can you tell whether your difficulty is just a minor, passing annoyance or a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or underlying medical condition?
Start by scrutinizing your symptoms, looking especially for the telltale daytime signs of sleep deprivation.

Is it a sleep disorder?

Do you…
  1. feel irritable or sleepy during the day?
  2. have difficulty staying awake when sitting still, watching television or reading?
  3. fall asleep or feel very tired while driving?
  4. have difficulty concentrating?
  5. often get told by others that you look tired?
  6. react slowly?
  7. have trouble controlling your emotions?
  8. feel like you have to take a nap almost every day?
  9. require caffeinated beverages to keep yourself going?
If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms on a regular basis, you may be dealing with a sleep disorder. The more you answered “yes”, the more likely it is that you have a sleep disorder.

Types of common sleep disorders

Insomnia

Insomnia, the inability to get to sleep or sleep well at night, can be caused by stress, jet lag, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Whatever the cause of your insomnia, improving your sleep hygiene, revising your daytime habits, and learning to relax will help cure most cases of insomnia without relying on sleep specialists or turning to prescription or over-the-counter sleeping pills.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a common (and treatable) sleep disorder in which your breathing temporarily stops during sleep, awakening you frequently. If you have sleep apnea you may not remember these awakenings, but you’ll likely feel exhausted during the day, irritable and depressed, or see a decrease in your productivity. Sleep apnea is a serious and potentially life-threatening sleep disorder, so see a doctor right away and learn how to help yourself.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS)

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder that causes an almost irresistible urge to move your legs (or arms) at night. The urge to move occurs when you’re resting or lying down and is usually due to uncomfortable, tingly, aching, or creeping sensations. There are plenty of ways to help manage and relieve symptoms, though, including self-help remedies you can use at home.

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that involves excessive, uncontrollable daytime sleepiness. It is caused by a dysfunction of the brain mechanism that controls sleeping and waking. If you have narcolepsy, you may have “sleep attacks” in the middle of talking, working, or even driving. Although no cure yet exists, a combination of treatments can help control symptoms and enable you to enjoy many normal activities.

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders

We all have an internal biological clock that regulates our 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, also known as our
circadian rhythms. Light is the primary cue that influences circadian rhythms. At night, when there is less light, your brain triggers the release of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. When the sun comes up in the morning, the brain tells the body that it’s time to wake up.
When your circadian rhythms are disrupted or thrown off, you may feel groggy, disoriented, and sleepy at inconvenient times. Circadian rhythms have been linked to a variety of sleeping problems and sleep disorders, as well as depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (the winter blues).

Shift work sleep disorder

Shift work sleep disorder occurs when your work schedule and your biological clock are out of sync. In our 24-hour society, many people have to work night shifts, early morning shifts, or rotating shifts. These schedules force you to work when your body is telling you to go to sleep, and sleep when your body is signaling you to wake.
While some people adjust better than others to the demands of shift work, most shift workers get less quality sleep than their daytime counterparts. As a result of sleep deprivation, you may struggle with sleepiness and mental lethargy on the job. This cuts into your productivity and puts you at risk of injury.
To reduce the impact of shift work on your sleep:
  • Take regular breaks and minimize the frequency of shift changes
  • When changing shifts, request a shift that’s later, rather than earlier as it’s easier to adjust forward in time, rather than backward.
  • Naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle by increasing light exposure at work (use bright lights) and limiting light exposure when it’s time to sleep. Avoid TV and computer screens, and use blackout shades or heavy curtains to block out daylight in your bedroom.
  • Consider taking melatonin when it’s time for you to sleep.

Delayed sleep phase disorder

Delayed sleep phase disorder is a condition where your biological clock is significantly delayed. As a result, you go to sleep and wake up much later than other people. This is more than just a preference for staying up late or being a night owl, but rather a disorder that makes it difficult for you to keep normal hours—to make it to morning classes, get the kids to school on time, or keep a 9-to-5 job.
  • People with delayed sleep phase disorder are unable to get to sleep earlier than 2 to 6 a.m., no matter how hard they try.
  • When allowed to keep their own hours (such as during a school break or vacation), they fall into a regular sleep schedule.
  • Delayed sleep phase disorder is most common in teenagers, and many teens will eventually grow out of it.
  • For those who continue to struggle with a biological clock that is out of sync, treatments such as light therapy and chronotherapy can help. To learn more, schedule an appointment with your doctor or a local sleep clinic.

Jet lag

Jet lag is a temporary disruption in circadian rhythms that occurs when you travel across time zones. Symptoms include daytime sleepiness, fatigue, headaches, stomach problems, and insomnia. Symptoms are more pronounced the longer the flight and flying east tends to cause worse jet lag than flying west.
In general, it usually takes one day per time zone crossed to adjust to the local time. So, if you flew from Los Angeles to New York, crossing three time zones, your jet lag should be gone within three days.

Tracking your symptoms

The first step to overcoming a sleep disorder or problem is identifying and carefully tracking your symptoms and sleep patterns.

Keep a sleep diary

A sleep diary can pinpoint day and nighttime habits that may contribute to your problems at night. Keeping a record of your sleep patterns and problems will also prove helpful if you eventually need to see a sleep doctor.
Your sleep diary should include:
  1. what time you went to bed and woke up
  2. total sleep hours and perceived quality of your sleep
  3. a record of time you spent awake and what you did (“got up, had a glass of milk, and meditated” for example)
  4. types and amount of food, liquids, caffeine, or alcohol you consumed before bed, and times of consumption
  5. your feelings and moods before bed (happiness, sadness, stress, anxiety)
  6. any drugs or medications taken, including dose and time of consumption
The details can be important, revealing how certain behaviors can be ruining your chance for a good night’s sleep. After keeping the diary for a week, for example, you might notice that when you have more than one glass of wine in the evening, you wake up during the night.

Self-help for sleep disorders

While some sleep disorders may require a visit to the doctor, you can improve many sleeping problems on your own.
Improve your daytime habits. Regardless of your sleep problems, sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, getting regular exercise, limiting your intake of caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine, and managing stress will translate into better sleep over the long term.
Develop a relaxing bedtime routine to prepare your mind and body for sleep. Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool, avoid heavy meals and too many fluids late at night, take a warm bath, read, or listen to soothing music to unwind, and turn off screens at least one hour before bedtime.
Get back to sleep when you wake up at night. Whether you have a sleep disorder or not, it’s normal to wake briefly during the night. If you’re having trouble getting back to sleep, try focusing on your breathing, meditating, or practicing another relaxation technique. Make a note of anything that’s worrying you and resolve to postpone worrying about it until the next day when it will be easier to resolve.

When to call a doctor

If you’ve tried a variety of self-help remedies without success, schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist or ask your family doctor for a referral to a sleep clinic, especially if:
  • Your main sleep problem is daytime sleepiness and self-help hasn’t improved your symptoms.
  • You or your bed partner gasps, chokes, or stops breathing during sleep.
  • You sometimes fall asleep at inappropriate times, such as while talking, walking, or eating.
Provide your doctor with as much supporting information as possible, including information from your sleep diary.

What to expect at a sleep clinic or center

A specialist will observe your sleep patterns, brain waves, heart rate, rapid eye movements and more using monitoring devices attached to your body. While sleeping with a bunch of wires attached to you might seem difficult, most patients find they get used to it quickly.
The sleep specialist will then design a treatment program if necessary. A sleep center can also provide you with equipment to monitor your activities (awake and asleep) at home.

Thursday 29 August 2019

IIT-Guwahati Researchers Develop Eco-friendly Lab-Grown Artificial Meat


Written on 08/29/2019
Vinod kushwaha

IIT-Guwahati Researchers Develop Eco-friendly Lab-Grown Artificial Meat
Eat meat without killing animals
Here comes good news for all those non-vegetarians who are constantly looking out for meat from cruelty-free food sources or say without killing animals. Some researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati(IIT-G) have recently developed lab-grown artificial meat as an alternative to traditional meat, which is a great boon to save animals that are mostly killed for meat production. Apart from being environment-friendly and cruelty-free, lab-grown artificial meat such as the ones produced by the IIT researchers, who have devised a way to produce tissue-engineered meat is, also totally customizable since they are ‘bred’ using tissue culture.
The development of lab-grown meat has been made by researchers of the biomaterial and tissue engineering laboratory who took different kinds of cells from animals through biopsies. Certain cells such as muscle progenitor cells, fat cells, bone cells or cartilage cells were then grown in separate layers that had been developed.
Dr. Biman B Mandal, Associate Professor, Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering said that the lab-grown artificial meat will be comparable to that of the raw meat in terms of its nutritional value and taste and this is “completely natural”. Researchers from IIT-G have now applied for a patent for this lab-grown artificial meat.
He added that usage of external chemicals like hormones, animal serum, growth factors or antibiotics have been restricted in this preparation for meat, hence it is very safe on ethical concerns.
The most fascinating aspect of the lab-grown artificial meat is how the meat can be made lean or fatty by manipulating the production method. The lab-grown artificial meat can also be converted into solid dry meat products in various shapes and sizes. Mandal also mentioned that the daily edible components are being used to make the support matrix in order to increase the nutritional content of the meat product.
Mandal added that tissue-engineered meat production can yield a hundred chickens from approximately one chicken. He also hoped that the new form of lab-grown artificial meat developed in the institute will attain high sales figures in both national and international markets
Dr. Mandal expressed his concerns about the immense pressure faced by the meat industry amid a growing population. In a 2010 United Nations report it was stated that our meat and dairy demands will be unsustainable by the year 2050. Mandal, speaking about the livestock industry’s contribution to waste-water, added that it takes 4,000L of water to produce about 1kg of chicken meat and more than 8,000L of water is required to produce 1 kg of mutton.
Apart from a large number of animals being killed for their meat, water is also wasted in large quantities for livestock production so this kind of tissue-engineered lab-grown artificial meat is indeed an excellent way of solving the problems faced during livestock production in addition to providing meat as per the customer’s needs and demands.
Will India Adopt Lab-Grown Artificial Meat?
For Indian biotechnology as well as food technology startups, a research study in these areas can be the dawn of a brave world of development in the food market. Actually, startups need to consider leveraging such research and also bringing it to market with their business acumen. There’s not much private innovation happening in this space amongst Indian startups as the research study itself is extremely cost-intensive. Which is why the requirement of the hour for start-ups aiming to disrupt this space is to tie-up with the academic community and also public-sector research study laboratories to locate means to bring new-age food to the marketplace

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