VITAMIN D PLAYS CRUCIAL ROLE IN FIGHT against TB
Vitamin D is crucial in attack against tuberculosis, new research has found. Its presence in sufficient levels influences how effectively our body’s immune cells attack Mycobacterium Tuberc-ulosis.
Vitamin D is a hormone produced naturally in our body, enhanced by exposure to sunlight. People with darker skin produce less Vitamin D — due to excess of melanin that protects from harmful sunlight but slows down Vitamin D production.
Researchers from UCCA found that abundant Vitamin D was needed to appropriately activate both innate and adaptive immunity.
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‘T. Rex bigger, grew faster than thought’
Tyrannosaurus rex grew faster and weighed more than previously thought, suggesting the fearsome predator would have been a ravenous teenager, researchers said on Wednesday.
Using three-dimensional laser scans and computer modelling, British and US scientists “weighed” five T. rex specimens, including the Chicago Field Museum’s “Sue”, the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton known.
They concluded that Sue, who roamed the Great Plains of North America 67 million years ago, would have tipped the scales at more than 9 tonnes, or some 30 per cent more than expected. Intriguingly, the smallest and youngest specimen weighed less than thought, shedding new light on the animals’ biology and indicating that T. rex grew more than twice as fast between 10 and 15 years of age as suggested in a study five years ago. —Reuters
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