In bacteria, the YidC membrane protein functions in the insertation of proteins into the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli. This protein is essential for life and is evolutionarily conserved. The rise of drug-resistant bacterial pathogens has created an urgent demand for novel antibiotic treatmen…

Oral cancer affects nearly 50,000 Americans each year and has a five year survival rate of 57%. Often, oral cancer is only discovered when it has metastasized, as it does not present recognizable symptoms, and it has a high risk of producing secondary tumors. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a…

Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of lymphocyte that plays a role in the immune system. These cells can react against and destroy another cell without prior sensitization to it. The role of NK cells in tumor activity is known, but recent research has also linked them to other immune disease con…

The Akt signaling pathway is responsible for apoptosis, cell proliferation, and metabolism. In tumor cells, this pathway is up-regulated and aids in promoting cancer cell survival. Complete activation of Akt pathway requires phosphorylation at two amino-acid residues, which are phosporylated by se…

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is used in patients with hematologic malignancies resulting from irradiation and graft-versus-tumor effects. However, patients who undergone HSCT may suffer complications such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), infection, and relapse. The most commo…

On-­body electronics, such as wearable and epidermal sensors, are experiencing significant growth. One of the biggest challenges of on-­body electronics is the development or identification of a sufficient power source. To address the former concern, sensors are becoming available with eve…

Misclassification of ear disease may result in clinical mismanagement in treatment. Unfortunately, diagnosis of ear pathology is highly subjective, and may require specialized training. There is a need for an objective mechanism to aid clinicians in more reliably diagnosing ear disease. Researc…

In Endodontics, research has shown that debridement, or removal of material from the root canal space, is of paramount importance for the success of a root canal to reduce the risk of infection and failure of the procedure. Traditional chemo-mechanical techniques using hand filing or contemporary …

Plasmodium falciparum (PF), a form of malaria, is the deadliest and most prevalent parasite in humans due to its pervasiveness in temperate areas of the underdeveloped world. In 2013, there were nearly 198 million cases of malaria and an estimated 584,000 deaths, mostly among African children (BCC…

Cyclin D1 represents an important downstream effector of diverse proliferative and transforming signaling pathways. In mammary cells, transcriptional activation of Cyclin D1 leads to G1/S phase progression and increased proliferation. Cyclin D1 overexpression has been implicated in oncogene-induce…