SCI BYTES

 

 

Modifying T cells

Researchers may have found a way to benefit AIDS patients. Experimenting with mice – by treating their immune cells with a custom made protein in the lab called zinc-finger nuclease – scientists have made some important breakthroughs. Scientists discovered that after the treatment the viral load in treated mice fell to less than one-tenth of that in untreated ones, apparently due to higher T cell count. If the technique proves as successful in humans as in mice, it could open a new front in the fight against AIDS. It’s in the wood

Violins made by Antonio Stradivari in the early 1700s are perhaps the most famous musical instruments ever made. The sound quality of these instruments provide the benchmark to which all modern instruments are compared. But what was it that made these violins special? Researchers who have long agonised about this question, now say that it’s all in the type of wood used. Slight differences in the growth rings in wood from which violins are made might help determine sound quality, distinguishing a mellow-toned Stradivarius from an ordinary instrument.