I don’t usually take too kindly to the evil geneticist stereotype in fiction, but I can’t resist a good dystopian novel. "When She Woke," by Hillary Jordan, is the perfect book Read More
Genetic Linkage
New Roads to Drug Discovery for the New Year
December 22, 2011
In this age of expiring drug patents and stalled pipelines, I was pleasantly surprised to find in my morning batch of news releases four reports of promising, eclectic ways to fight diverse diseases. The Read More
A Living Blood Vessel "Stamp"
December 16, 2011
I still marvel at the interface between a tissue and an organ, even after a quarter century of writing college biology textbooks.
I can easily envision a sheet of epithelium folding itself up into the tiny tube of a capillary. But how do only four basic tissue types connect and contort to fashion such Read More
I can easily envision a sheet of epithelium folding itself up into the tiny tube of a capillary. But how do only four basic tissue types connect and contort to fashion such Read More
Bed Bug Orgies and Evolution
December 6, 2011
Seeking evidence for evolution? Look at bed bugs.
For the past century, the 5-millimeter-long, triangular headed, reddish residents of urban hotel bedrooms have mutated themselves into resistance to any insecticide we can throw at them. Cimex lectularius was nearly vanquished mid-century, when Read More
For the past century, the 5-millimeter-long, triangular headed, reddish residents of urban hotel bedrooms have mutated themselves into resistance to any insecticide we can throw at them. Cimex lectularius was nearly vanquished mid-century, when Read More
Respiratory Replacement Parts -- Thanks to Stem Cells
November 29, 2011
We humans might not be able to regrow a leg, as can a cockroach or salamander, or regenerate a missing half, like a flatworm, but our organs can replenish themselves – thanks to stem cells. Two new reports about opposite ends of the respiratory system may pave the way for replacement breathing parts.
A 36-year-old Read More
A 36-year-old Read More
Gavin's Story: Whole Exome Sequencing Finds Mystery Mutation
November 19, 2011
In a hotel ballroom on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on a midsummer Saturday in 2010, an unusual roll call was under way at the Family Conference for the
Foundation for Retinal Research. Betsy Brint, co-head of organization, was calling out what sounded like code words – CEP290, Read More
Foundation for Retinal Research. Betsy Brint, co-head of organization, was calling out what sounded like code words – CEP290, Read More
Gene therapy on fetuses?
November 4, 2011
Gene therapy is experiencing a renaissance, with many of the recent successes in children. For some conditions, the younger the child, the better the genetic correction, because affected tissues degenerate with time. This is the case for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), the “Lorenzo’s Oil” disease that strips the insulation from brain neurons. One goal of Read More
When Health News is Old: Regaining Weight
October 27, 2011
“Keeping weight off a battle with body,” trumpeted the Associated Press’s version of The New England Journal of Medicine report that hormones hike hunger so lost weight rapidly returns. NPR, NBC, everyone, it seemed, covered the study, with nary a comment Read More
Pig Parts
October 20, 2011
According to a new review in The Lancet, when it comes to transplants from pigs, smaller is better. (“Clinical transplantation: the next medical revolution?” from David K. C. Cooper and colleagues at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.)
People have harbored pig parts for years, in the form of bladder linings, ligaments, and of course heart valves. Read More
People have harbored pig parts for years, in the form of bladder linings, ligaments, and of course heart valves. Read More