New breakthrough in DNA research could lead to cancer cure

Dec 28 2022

A new breakthrough has researchers and scientists wondering whether this could finally pave the way towards a cure for cancer.

A new method which targets breast, cervical and melanoma cells by using a pair of DNA injected into cancer cells has shown robust and hopeful for potential for both scientists and cancer patients.

Testing the method in mice, the cancer-killing DNA binds to microRNA, which is produced in specific different cancers. Creating an immune response, this eventually destroys cancer cells.

The research was conducted in Japan and was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. It specifically uses DNA and RNA to treat cancer, a particularly difficult process as it is challenging to get molecules to understand between healthy and cancerous cells.

Professor Akimitsu Okamoto of the University of Tokyo said that the results of this study are good news for doctors, drug discovery researchers and cancer patients as ‘we believe it will give them new options for drug development and medication policies.’

‘Next, we will aim for drug discovery based on the results of this research, and examine in detail the drug efficacy, toxicity and potential administration methods’ said the study co-author.

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What do AM and PM actually mean? TikTok baffled by answer

Dec 28 2022

You’ve said and wrote them down, but what do the acronyms AM and PM actually stand for?

These are words that you probably never paid much attention to when using as they skirted your main preoccupation of telling the time.

However, now that we’re killing time lounging around for the festive season, we can actually figure out what these markers for, well, time actually mean.

The questioning reportedly started on TikTok as Amaya Clarke asked what the words actually mean. Most responses were contradictory.

Some said ‘at morning and past morning’ whilst others insisted they meant ‘after midnight past midday’. Others added ‘after midnight and pre afternoon’ to the mix.

So which is it? Well, the etymology (origin of the word) goes back to Latin and they stand for ‘ante meridiem’ and ‘post meridiem’. AM thus means ‘before midday’ a.k.a before the sun has crossed the meridian (mid-point). PM stands for ‘after midday’ i.e the sun has passed the meridian.

The 12 hour system divides the day’s 24 hours into two periods, with the first covering from midnight to noon and the second covering from noon to midnight.

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Qatar World Cup voted best edition in all of 21st century

Dec 28 2022

According to a BBC Sport Survey, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as voted the best World Cup of this century with a staggering 78% f the vote.

The result came in despite the BBC choosing to shun the opening ceremony of this year’s tournament amidst a series of condemnations of Qatar’s human rights record.

Qatar managed to deliver a World Cup which saw Lionel Messi earn his World Cup legacy after defeating France with a 3-2 score.

Other moves, such as Morocco becoming the first African and Arab team to go to the finals, prompted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to anoint the tournament as the best ever in terms of diversity and inclusion.

The 2022 World Cup was followed by 2002’s Japan/South Korea with just 6% of the votes in the ranking. This was followed by Brazil (2014) at 5%, Germany (2006) and Russia (2018) with a tie of 4%, and South Africa (2010) with 3%.

Read here.

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Jellyfish Soup: early mass bloom for stingers around Malta

Dec 28 2022

Taking to social media, marine biologist and professor Alan Deidun revealed that a mass spawning of jellyfish as already occurred all across Malta’s sea.

The photo, captured by Desmond Sant, shows the annual mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) having bloomed in droves and populating the Santa Marija Bay in Comino.

‘Similar blooms have been reported earlier today at Cirkewwa, Pembroke, Marsascala and Zurrieq – this might mean that, tentatively, this year’s FIRST jellyfish bloom will appear somewhat early, tentatively in March’ said Deidun.

The monitoring efforts form part of the Spot the Jellyfish campaign, which keeps locals updated and informed about the jellyfish species inhabiting our waters.

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