Turing Skin into Blood

Researchers have found a way to get blood from skin cells, no not by cutting people. More specifically they can use skin cells to produce blood – something that was thought impossible. This will have huge positive effects on people requiring blood treatments.

Among the first applications McMaster will pursue is to eliminate the need for bone-marrow registries that seek to match cancer patients to donors against very long odds. Instead, the new process could turn patients into their own ideal donors, said McMaster vice-president and dean of health sciences John Kelton, himself a hematologist.

The director of Canada’s Stem Cell Network said the McMaster discovery is significant and could soon lead to what called “personalized blood cells”.

It is also important because it suggests skin cells can be converted into other types of cells, such as muscle or pancreatic cells, said Michael Rudnicki.

Read more at TheSpec.com

Work Out Your Will Power for More Will Power

You read that odd title right! Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario have discovered that will power is just like any muscle – the more you use the stronger it gets!

You can read more about the research here.

Researchers also found that participants who had done the willpower-busting Stroop test were more likely to skip workouts they had previously scheduled.

Doing the dishes or avoiding biting your nails may require a lot of willpower, but that shouldn’t be an excuse not to work out, said Kathleen Martin Ginis, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster and lead author of the study.

She said if you plan a regular exercise routine and don’t have to think about details such as duration, you’re more likely to follow through.

You can also build up willpower by regularly challenging yourself to tasks that test your self-control.

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