The Power of Synthetic Melanin to Enhance Skin Healing

        The never ending fight against free radicals might come to an end. Scientists at Northwestern University successfully developed synthetic melanin that's applied in a cream. Headlines of a skin cream that can not only protect the skin from the sun but also accelerates wound healing. Sounds like a good investment. 

        The synthetic melanin is modified to have higher free radical scavenging capacity. In other words, aid effectiveness in neutralizing free radicals to protect cells and tissues from damage. In the context of melanin, this is crucial as many obstacles such as UV exposure can disrupt melanin production. Eventually pose risk for skin related issues such as skin cancer. 

        Equally important, the synthetic melanin acts as a super melanin. With amazing results shown for topical applications to injured skin and effects with the immune system. Not only healing and protecting the skin. But has the ability to allow the body to have a calming effect and lower rates of inflammation. As scientists call this super melanin, who is this powerful cream for? Clinical trial testing is currenting ongoing to test for efficacy of the synthetic melanin cream. However, this cream can act as a sunscreen, treatment for poison ivy, treatment for wound care and cancer patients. Synthetic melanin cream is versatile, offering a one-size-fits-all solution that caters to a broad spectrum of applications.

 Links:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231102135130.htm

https://www.science.org/content/article/synthetic-super-melanin-speeds-skin-repair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLau91eVD-I&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.northwestern.edu%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.northwestern.edu&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Longer Life Span?

     Nobody wants to die, living a longer life is a goal that most people have. People have tried many many things to try to live a longer life, with not much success. Dr. Ajit, a researcher at the University of California may be on to something. His research has uncovered a gene that may be linked to a longer lifespan. This gene (CD33rSIGLEC) is involved anti inflammation. Dr Ajit's research as proven that mice with less copies of this gene show signs of early aging and death. This research is the first of its kind that links a specific gene to living longer, although this is still the beginning of  this research it is looking promising.


     Inflammation is a natural process of the bodies immune system, it is completely normal for the body to respond to infection or tissue damage with swelling. However, chronic inflammation can be a hazard to the body, such  as arthritis, or celiac disease. Having inflammation for long periods of time can destroy tissues and cause premature aging. With this information it makes sense that having a gene that codes against inflammation would cause you to live longer. The issue that arose in this research is that they have yet to find out if this gene is linked to a longer life, or if mammals would develop more of this gene because they were living longer. There is still research to be done on this topic but I believe that these scientists are on the right track.


Article: A Longer Life May Lie in Number of Anti-Inflammatory Genes
Article 2: More Anti-inflammatory Genes Mean Longer Lifespans for Mammals

Anti- Inflammatory Gene key to a longer life ?

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have just uncovered new research that seems to tie a specific gene which reduces inflammation to a longer healthier lifestyle. The researchers have uncovered a gene called CD33rSIGLEC this specific gene is known to help stop inflammation in the tissues. This is nothing new, but what is new is learning that the amount of the gene you have regulates the amount of inflammation you have in certain tissues. The whole idea behind the research is that the more CD33rSIGLEC you have the less inflammation you have which will lead to a longer healthier life. Mediterranean diets which are high in fruits and healthy oils are also known to reduce inflammation and significantly increase your life span.

I think that this research is very important because many diseases are cause by inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis. If there was a way that we could regulate this gene and have a healthy equilibrium in our cells to fight inflammation we could drastically increase the quality of life for many people. Inflammation is not something that will kill you right away it is something you have to manage that follows you every day like a curse and if we could do something to help people rid themselves of this curse that would be ground breaking.


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Understanding the body's response to worms and allergies

When the body is affected by parasitic worms or allergens, the body has specialized cells that protect the body from harm.  In this study, dendritic cells were studied when exposed to worms or lung allergens.  When the body is exposed to these certain environments, the dendritic cells send signals to turn on inflammation.  Inflammation can lead to very serious and maybe deadly reactions to the body.  During this experiment, it was found that a protein, Mbd2, was used for in the dendritic cells to turn on inflammation.  This information can be used to treat inflammation specifically for lung irritants and parasitic worms.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150424085001.htm

As an EMT, this was an exciting article to read.  When people suffer allergic reactions, the biggest concern, as an EMT, is to make sure the patient can breath because allergic reactions can cause inflammation of the throat.  Perhaps with this newly found information, a more effective anti inflammatory can be made so that patients suffering from an allergic reaction can keep an open airway.

Gut Microbes Gobble Cocoa

In this article, Microbes like bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria that reside in the human gut feast on chocolate. It was said that when you eat dark chocolate, these bacteria grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti inflammatory. In the human digestive tract, food scientists tested three cocoa powders. Researchers found that within the mock gut, cocoa is fermented and the large polyphenolic polymers are metabolized to smaller molecules. Gut microbes could help reduce a persons feeling of hunger after digesting cocoa. The fiber is broken down into short fatty chain acids, which are absorbed and could have an affect on satiety. Researchers have yet to confirm results meaning do not go to your local candy store and start eating all the chocolate bars in sight, many of these products contain sugar and fat which is not good for you.

http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/gutmicrobes/