Biomedicine & Disease
Worldwide cost of Ebola, so far
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues to rage, with the number of people infected roughly doubling every three to ...
Cell contamination confunds decades of cancer research
In the field of thyroid cancer, 58-year-old Kenneth Ain is a star. ... In June 2007, all that changed. Ain attended ...
Closer examination of risk factors for Latinos underscores cultural diversity
Investigations into the genetics of disease in Latino populations are yielding interesting patterns of risk and protection from disease. The ...
Natural Resources Defense Council sues EPA to block rollout of Dow Enlist Duo GMO system
The NRDC filed what is expected to be the first of numerous suits challenging the EPA's approval of Enlist Duo, ...
Food 2.0: Will farmers be able to meet the ecological challenges ahead?
Financial columnist Paul Farrell recently explored the investment challenges and opportunities for food tech companies. We deconstruct some of his ...
Cancer cure? Patients’ blood reprogrammed to destroy diseased cells
The blood cells of cancer patients, reprogrammed by doctors to attack their leukemia and re-infused back into the patients’ veins, ...
When you get jetlagged, so does your microbiome
Your genome is the same right now as it was yesterday, last week, last year, or the day you were ...
DNA ‘Big Data’: Geneticists build massive databases to fight diseases
Early last year, three researchers set out to create one genetic data set to rule them all. The trio wanted ...
Restoring eyesight, human embryonic stem cell trial marks major milestone
Wills Eye Institute ophthalmologist Carl Regillo delicately placed 100,000 cells beneath the retina of 52-year-old Maurie Hill’s left eye. She ...
‘Miracle’ drug grows young girls limbs, costs of rare disease treatments pose challenges
Evie Elsaesser is 5 years old and she loves to run. And that is a medical miracle. When Evie was born, ...
Can the ability to learn be restored in an aging brain?
The time window for the brain to develop optimal connections based on learning and experience is relatively short-lived, occurring prior ...
Epigentics act as on/off switch for our predispositions to diabetes and cancers
It’s no secret that diet and exercise can directly impact our health. But for many people, genetic predisposition to disease ...
Beyond universal donors, some people are programed with no blood type at all
People genetically coded with the RH-null blood type have a blood type more rare than extremely rare disease. Their numbers ...
Ebola infographic: Is this outbreak poised for pandemic?
A second Texas healthcare worker tests positive for the virus amid predictions that as many as 10,000 people a day ...
If not for the NIH, we might have an Ebola vaccine
Because it is election season, government-funded academia and science media have been claiming that politics can be blamed for the ...
CDC faced a nearly impossible balancing act with Ebola, and failed
In an attempt to claim public concerns from turning into mass hysteria, the CDC made some major blunders--some medical and ...
Cornell plant geneticist: GMOs not a black and white issue
“The picture is complex, and if you only point to a part of it, you can probably find a part ...
Promising Canadian Ebola vaccine to begin clinical trials
Clinical trials are now starting for an experimental made-in-Canada Ebola vaccine amid growing global concern over the disease that’s left more than ...
‘Third generation’ vaccines promise simpler, improved treatments for infectious disease
Over the last several decades, the advent of biotechnology has enabled a brand new class of “third generation” vaccines, including ...
‘Alzheimer’s in a Dish’—human brain cells in gel—opens new avenues for research
For the first time, and to the astonishment of many of their colleagues, researchers created what they call Alzheimer’s in ...
Genetic screening of embryos for Alzheimer’s but hiding results from parents
Doctors are devising new ways to shield patients from information about their odds for disease as genetic testing becomes more ...
Older moms carry more mitochondrial mutations, leading to more diseases
It’s a widely known truth that older mothers have increased chances of giving birth to children with a wide variety ...
What genes tell us about history, race and ourselves: Christine Kenneally’s new book has hits, misses
Christine Kenneally's "The Invisible History of the Human Race" tracks human migrations and much other genetic and evolutionary lore. It's ...
Is organic agriculture leading to an increase in antibiotic resistance?
Conventional agriculture is under attack by organic and anti-GMO activists for contributing to antibiotic resistance as the result of animals ...
Penises grown from stem cells may soon be used for transplants
Penises grown in laboratories could soon be tested on men by scientists developing technology to help people with congenital abnormalities, ...
Can knowledge of epigenetics help us improve our health?
In September 2014, one of us (MJK) spoke on the topic of epigenetics at the Annual Meeting of the Association for State and Territorial ...
Mystery of immune system infections slowly unravels
The mutations were familiar, but the patients’ conditions seemed baffling at first. A team lead by Rockefeller University researchers had ...
