What is a dendrimer?

Dendrimer is a polimer molecule with a distinctive structure that resembles the crown of a tree (dendron means tree in Greek). Dendrimers are key molecules in nanotechnology and can be put to good use e.g. in medicine as carrier molecules for drugs or contrast agents.

Online nanoscience resources:

UK based nanoscience association with a special interest in biological systems called Nanotechnology Network. Nanonet gives a short, easy to comprehend summary of nanoscience (both theory and practice) for those who are unfamiliar with the field, and you can read about their latest projects in nanotechnology.

On current events in nanomedicine in Europe visit the Nanomedicine Technology Platform at the Nanotechnology Research Portal of the European Comission.

To find out more about the filed of nanotechnology visit the European Nanotechnology Gateway, the nanotechnology hompage of the EC or the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

Anticancer function of the immune system

Forensics of bullet wounds

Wound ballistics

A bizarre historical experiment in tarnsplantation surgery

In the late 1940s and early 1950s Soviet-Russian scientist Vladimir Demikhov conducted pioneering experiments in the field of transplantation surgery.

At that time, medical science had little knowledge of graft-versus-host disease and had no antirejection drugs. However, the work of Demikhov was one of the first significant steps towards today's successful transplantation surgery.

Another notable Soviet-Russian medical scientist of the time was Sergei Brukhonenko who made successful experiments in maintaining circulation and perfusion extracorporaly.

Noninvasive blood test for tumor cells

No need for needles any more. Laser scanning of surface veins can detect tumor cells in the blood stream without drawing blood.

Increasing circulating tumor cell counts indicate the progression of the tumor and suggest initiation of metastases while decreasing counts may indicate a positive reaction to the applied therapy.

European medical tourism

The phenomenon of medical tourism has been known for a long time in Hungary. A lot of patients - most of them from neighbouring Austria - have come to Hungary for dental care in the past 15 years. I personally know of a patient who came here for treatment from the United States.

In Hungary well-qualified, highly trained doctors and dentists offer high quality services at a reasonable price compared to Western Europe and the United States but Hungary and its doctors have still a lot to do in marketing this.

However, European medical tourism has now been discovered on the other side of the Atlantic.

The healthcare professionals of Hungary shouldn't miss this opportunity. Investing in medical tourism can be a good alternative for "rationalizing" the Hungarian healtcare system.

Elsevier's oncology journals now free online

Elsevier now provides free online access to its oncology journals at OncologySTAT.

On aspects of knowing

tacit knowledge and the relevance paradox