Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle

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Tag Archive for ‘inflammation’

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Experimental Biology 2021: Q&A with Dr. Michael Tift and Anna Pearson

We are delighted to speak with Anna Pearson (MS student) and her mentor Dr. Michael Tift, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Anna presented her research “First report of red blood cell lifespan in a marine mammal: An insight into endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) production” at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference last month. What made you interested in studying red blood cells in dolphins?Dr. Tift became interested […]

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Towards developing treatments for inflammation

Neutrophils are specialized immune cells that becomes activated in response to foreign particles or microorganisms. Think of them like security guards in your body. As they travel through the blood, their job is to detect and get rid of invading microorganisms. They also help spark inflammation responses to infections. For these reasons, they are known to help maintain homeostasis in the body, but they can also play roles in disease […]

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Bee sting therapy – revisited

Bee sting therapy has been getting a lot of buzz lately. I have received a lot of questions about applications of so-called apitherapy to conditions other than multiple sclerosis, which we discussed awhile back. Let’s review the more recent evidence… While the practice of apitherapy dates back 5000+ years, only recently has this potential therapy been scientifically investigated. According to a recent review, bee venom has several peptides as well […]

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Researchers in Washington scheduled to talk about physiology

The Greater Washington DC Area Physiological Society will be hosting their 6th annual meeting on Monday at The George Washington University. This year’s distinguished speaker will be Dr. Nehal N. Mehta, a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Mehta’s research examines how inflammation leads to insulin resistance and the development of metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Other invited speakers include: Dr. Brian Glancy, an Earl Stadtman Investigator […]

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Lack of sleep stresses out birds too

Birds show signs of stress resulting from sleep loss. A new study published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology shows that zebra finches who are sleep deprived have increased expression of inflammatory genes in their fat tissues, spleen and hippocampus region of the brain along with  increased levels of circulating stress hormones. The hippocampus is the region of the brain associated with long term memory formation. I wonder if sleep deprived birds are […]

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Seals have anti-inflammatory blood

Dr. Allyson Hindle from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, presented some interesting research on seals at the Experimental Biology conference this week in San Diego. Seals are known for being rather plump, which for humans often leads to inflammation and cardiovascular disease. In addition, seals undergo repeated bouts of hypoxia and reoxygenation during their dives, which is also known to promote inflammation and cardiovascular disease in humans. Her research team […]

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