Giovanni Battista Morgagni and the foundation of modern medicine

Microbiology, a scientific field dedicated to the study of microorganisms, has undergone profound development since its inception in the 17th century. Its history is marked by key discoveries and technological advancements that have shaped our understanding of life at the microscopic level and transformed medicine, agriculture, and industry.Early Foundations of MicrobiologyThe early foundations of microbiology were built on groundbreaking observations and the development of pioneering...

The human circulatory system consists of blood, blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart, around the body, and back to the heart, and the heart itself, which acts as a central pump. The systemic circuit supplies blood to the whole body, the coronary circuit supplies blood to the heart, and the pulmonary circuit supplies blood flow between the heart and lungs.

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...

Microorganisms play a fundamental role in vaccine development, gene therapy, and therapeutic production. Their biological properties are harnessed to advance medicine and public health. Beyond immunization, microorganisms contribute to gut health, antibiotic synthesis, and genetic disease treatment.Live Attenuated and Inactivated VaccinesLive attenuated vaccines, such as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, utilize weakened forms of pathogens to closely resemble natural infections.

Although digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids may begin in the stomach, it is completed in the intestine. The absorption of nutrients, water, and electrolytes from food and drink also occurs in the intestine. The intestines can be divided into two structurally distinct organs—the small and large intestines.Small IntestinesThe small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the small intestine...

Among all the organelles in an animal cell, only mitochondria have their own independent genomes. Animal mitochondrial DNA is a double-stranded, closed-circular molecule with around 20,000 base pairs. Mitochondrial DNA is unique in that one of its two strands, the heavy, or H, -strand is guanine rich, whereas the complementary strand is cytosine rich and called the light, or L, -strand. Compared to nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA has a very low percentage of non-coding regions and is marked by...