Researchers block liver cancer in rats using a molecule found in citrus fruits
Escrito por UCC+i
The incidence of tumoral nodes fell to virtually zero in rats receiving hesperidin
Hesperidin is a molecule belonging to the flavonoid group, found in the pith of certain citrus fruits. It is believed to play a major role in plant defence systems, and recent research suggests that it could be used to fight hepatocellular carcinoma, the fifth most frequently-diagnosed malignancy worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer-related death.
Portable NIRS sensors enable instant analysis of milk composition in individual samples
Escrito por UCC+i
This applied technology uses a portable NIRS instrument for the on-farm measurement of milk nutritional components such as fat and protein content
This technique for the instant in situ monitoring of nutrient composition in individual cow’s milk samples, which obviates the need for laboratory analysis, was developed by a research team belonging to the AGR-128 research group at the University of Córdoba Faculty of Forestry and Agricultural Engineering, headed by Professors Dolores Pérez Marín and Ana Garrido Varo. The portable equipment, which can be used anywhere, takes only tenths of a second to measure major milk components such as protein, fat and dry extract; since there is no need to send samples to a laboratory and wait for results, a considerable amount of time can be saved.
Development of an easy-to-use eco-friendly fluorescent enzyme detection platform
Escrito por UCC+i
The platform, developed by a research group at the University of Córdoba Department of Analytical Chemistry, has been tested measuring laccase enzyme concentrations in various shampoo samples.
Enzymes are amongst the most widely-used biocatalysts, applicable – thanks to their broad range of properties – in a whole range of fields. There is thus a need for efficient enzyme detection methods.
The wild olive genome accounts for high oleic acid concentrations in olives
Escrito por UCC+i
An international team including researchers from the University of Cordoba has sequenced the wild olive (oleaster) genome and identified the genetic singularities accounting for high oleic acid concentrations in the olive; their findings could be of value for plant breeding with a view to enhancing production
Monte Testaccio – an artificial mound in Rome composed of fragments of oil amphorae – provides physical proof of the importance of olive oil production around 2300 years ago. These broken shards tell the story of what might be regarded as one of mankind’s oldest industries. But there are other, much older, accounts involving oil. They were unearthed at around the same time as the fragments forming Monte Testaccio, when the 19th-century craze for archaeology led scientists to attempt to explain everything, including the past. A few kilometres further east, on the island of Crete, where Mediterranean Europe meets the Middle East, a number of tablets were found containing records on olive-growing dating back around 4500 years, in other words about a thousand years before the Genesis flood narrative, in which a dove brings back an olive branch in its beak, as proof that the waters had receded.
An UCO research team highlights differences in the psychological treatments recommended for certain mental disorders depending on the reference organisation consulted, thus revealing a degree of scientific disagreement regarding the efficacy of the therapies concerned
Lack of consensus appears to be the common denominator in the treatments used at present for certain mental disorders. At international level there is little agreement among specialists on how to combat certain pathologies. How can recommendations regarding the treatment of depression or anxiety disorders vary so much depending on the scientific and professional bodies consulted?
‘Vortex’ beams for the manipulation of nanoparticles
Escrito por UCC+i
A lecturer at the University of Córdoba has developed a new method, published in Physical Review Letters, to simplify the process and reduce the cost of manipulating nanometric materials
One millionth of a millimetre: this is the scale at which nanotechnology manipulates matter. Given its many applications, nanotechnology has already had a major impact on recent technological progress; yet its real potential is yet to be discovered, and few scientists doubt that it will lead mankind to a new industrial revolution. A few days ago, University of Córdoba physics lecturer Pedro Rodríguez García published a paper in Physical Review Letters, reporting on the development of a new mechanism which simplifies and reduces the cost of manipulating nanoparticles.