Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Health Research: Post-traumatic stress disorder linked to accelerated aging ♦ Malaria's doorway to infect blood cells identified ♦ Pioneering facial recognition cane for the blind

Pioneering facial recognition cane for the blind A revolutionary ‘smart’ cane enabling the visually impaired to instantly identify friends and family could be available soon, thanks to students at a British university. The ‘XploR’ mobility cane uses smartphone technology to recognize familiar faces from up to 10 metres away. The cane also features GPS functionality to aid navigation.
Post-traumatic stress disorder linked to accelerated aging People with PTSD may also be at risk for accelerated aging or premature senescence, research suggests. The researchers noted that there has not been another study that links PTSD,to a basic biological process such as aging.
Malaria's doorway to infect blood cells identified; potential to close it, lock it, throw away the key Scientists have identified a protein on the surface of human red blood cells that serves as an essential entry point for invasion by the malaria parasite. This discovery opens up a promising new avenue for the development of therapies to treat and prevent malaria
Genetic changes to basic developmental processes evolve more frequently than thought Newly evolved genes can rapidly assume control over fundamental functions during early embryonic development. The findings suggest that evolutionary changes to the genetics of fundamental biological processes occur more frequently than previously thought.
'Make like a bat’: Two ears attuned to high frequencies help people find objects using echoes The ability that some people have to use echoes to determine the position of an otherwise silent object, in a similar way to bats and dolphins, requires good high-pitch hearing in both ears, according to new research. This builds on recent research that demonstrated conclusively that some sighted and blind people could use echoes in this way. What wasn't clear until now was how important high-frequency hearing in both ears is.

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