New Class of Antibiotics

NEW CLASS OF ANTIBIOTICS DISCOVERED:

In a break-through, scientists have discovered a new class of antibiotics to fight deadly bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aurous and other drug-resistant bacteria that threaten public health. The new class, called oxadiazoles, was discovered by University of Notre Dame researchers lead by May land Chang and Shahriar Mobashery in silica (by computer) screening and has shown promise in the treatment of MRSA in mouse models in infection. Researchers who screened 1.2 million compounds found that the oxadiazoles inhibits a penicillin-binding protein, PBP2a, and the biosynthesis of the cell wall that enables MRSA to resist other drugs.

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High Protein ' as bad for health as smoking'

HIGH-PROTEIN ‘AS BAD FOR HEALTH AS SMOKING’:

According to scientific study, published in March 2014, eating too much protein could be as dangerous as smoking for, middle-aged people. Research which tracked thousands of adults for nearly 20 years found that people who eat a diet rich in animal protein are four times more likely to die of cancer than someone with a low protein diet. The risk is nearly as high as the danger of developing cancer by smoking 20 cigarettes each day. Previous studies have shown a link between cancer and red meat, but it is the first time research has measured the risk of death caused by regularly eating too much protein. High-protein food plans, such as the Atkins diet, have become popular in recent years because of their dramatic weight-loss results. The new research from the University of Southern California suggests that such dieters may harm themselves in the long run.

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3-D Fingerprint

FIRST 3-D MODEL OF HUMAN FINGERPRINT DEVELOPED:

An Indian-American scientist has built the first 3-d model of a human fingerprint, an advance that could boost the accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems and improve security technology. Anil Jain from Michigan State University, and colleagues developed a method which takes a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint and maps it to a 3-D finger surface.

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Robot Fish

MIT DAVELOPS ROBOT THAT CAN SWIM LIKE A REAL FISH:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists have developed an autonomous robotic fish that can execute escape manoeuvers, convulsing its body to change direction in just a fraction of second, or almost as quickly as a real fish can. The self-contained robot developed by MIT is capable of rapid body motion. The continuous curvature of fish’s body when it flexes is what allows it to change direction so quickly. The robotic fish was built by Andrew Marchese, a graduate student in MIT’s department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and lead author on the newspaper, where he was joined by Rus and Cagdas D Onal. Each side of the fish’s tail is bored through with a long, tightly undulating channel. Researchers explained, Carbon Dioxide released from a canister in the fish’s abdomen causes the channel to inflate, bending the tail in opposite direction.

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