From the Yoruba tradition of throwing cowrie shells, to the Roma fortune tellers peering at palms, people throughout history have wondered if there was some sort of physical or external way to map out the path of our lives. Modern day scientists are still pondering how to predict the future, but instead of looking up
Anyone who knows me knows that mitochondria are pretty much my life. My Ph.D. focuses on making these little cellular power plants more efficient at producing energy so that they can help muscles heal faster after traumatic injury. More than that, though, I want to teach people that mitochondria are more than just “the powerhouse
Humans have shared a special bond with a certain animal since the time of Aristotle. Artworks as early as 1500 BC depicted interactions with this fascinating creature. Members of this species have assisted the US Navy, and have also been used as therapy animals for patients with Down syndrome and autism. These amiable beings are
The term psychedelics, or hallucinogens, describes a class of drugs that produce significantly altered perception when ingested. Due to their ability to cause lasting effects on a user's mood and thought, some researchers believe they have therapeutic potential for treating difficult mental illnesses like depression, addiction, PTSD, and Alzheimer's, though only a few institutions currently
If we accept the idea that animal models are holding back drug development due to a potential inability to predict safety and efficacy in humans, what can be done to fix it? Increasingly, scientists are using human cells cultured in vitro to assess the safety and efficacy of new drug compounds. While in vitro cell
You walk into the lunchroom, and all sorts of alarms go off in your head. While reaching for utensils you think “What if the last person used this for peanut butter and didn't wash it well.†You sit down at the table thinking “Someone ate nuts here last week, was the table cleaned since then?â€
One fact that was drilled into my head while studying biomedical science was how few experimental drugs ever make it past clinical trials. A failure rate of 90% is reported. This struck me as odd, but I chalked it up as an example of how difficult drug development is and didn't ask why. That changed
With only 50% of patients recovering fully in the long-term, anorexia is the deadliest psychiatric disorder. Typically associated with poor body-image and unhealthy eating habits, anorexia has captivated and bewildered the minds of laymen and scientists alike. While not every person suffering from anorexia is underweight, there is still a general misunderstanding of what is
Cancer, a complex disease caused by an accumulation of mutations in our DNA, affects millions of individuals each year. Cancer poses a very serious threat, but is it contagious? The short answer is “noâ€, at least for us humans. In humans, the only way to truly transfer cancer from one person to the next is
It's a girl (or boy)! Your bundle of joy is finally here. Stepping into parenthood, life is magical. But it is not all sunshine and roses either with the constant cleaning, frequent feedings and sleepless nights. The baby falling sick on top of it, is your worst fear. No wonder you find yourself paranoid, sterilizing
You probably know or love someone who suffers from diabetes mellitus. In fact, recent CDC reports estimate that nearly 10% of Americans have diabetes, and as many as a third of Americans are pre-diabetic and undiagnosed. So, there is a reason the cost of healthcare—and in particular, insulin, the lifesaving drug used to treat diabetes—has
This Halloween, as you see kids dressed up as zombies or witches, threatening neighbors into giving them candy it's easy to forget that these terrifying creatures once had a less sugary purpose: in the absence of modern science, our ancestors needed a supernatural technique to explain the plagues and diseases that reason couldn't. One of
