Throughout all of my training as a geneticist, I've never been taught about the original Eugenics Movement. What is Eugenics and why does it sound so familiar? The definition that I've found that best describes Eugenics is by Edward Larson in his book, Sex, Race, and Science: “Eugenics is that science which studies the inborn
I spent most of my life breathing easy and smelling the roses, then I moved to the state of Georgia. I acquired a feline roommate for the first time and spent lots of time outside inhaling the Georgia pollen.
Well, maybe I should clarify. I did get infected with a virus, but it's probably not the one that comes to mind when one hears the term “herpes.†There are actually eight different herpes viruses that commonly infect humans, and only two of them are categorized as sexually transmitted diseases. I caught one of the
It's safe to say that parents want what's best for their children. But determining what exactly is best isn't always black and white. One of the first things a new parent has to provide for their newborn baby is nutrients. An increasing number of studies are showing evidence of the benefits of breast milk for
My heart skips a beat everytime I read about new technologies that could have saved my brother's life. My brother passed away last year due to complications from congestive heart failure. A heart transplant could have possibly saved his life, but it's well known that the demand for organ transplants in this country far outweighs
When disasters strike we see images of destroyed buildings, injured individuals, and the far-reaching devastation that accompanies the forces of Mother Nature. The media covers the aftermath for a few weeks, but then coverage slowly dissipates and people watching from afar forget about the struggle still facing those affected. But for these individuals, devastation and
With the constant news of terror attacks, devastating civil wars, or even just political debates, our world seems irreconcilably divided. So when there is a problem so large that 193 countries agree to fight it together, you know it must be bad. The giant problem the UN General Assembly addressed this year at a High-Level
Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz sang of trees of green. Or where they red? If you're colorblind, you may not be sure. When we imagine how a color-blind person sees the world, we may picture something like the dusty Kansas landscapes before Dorothy travels over the rainbow to the colorful world that houses the
Preparing for the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, George Foreman only considered whether he should be “merciful or not†to the aged Muhammad Ali. Younger and renowned for his unbelievable raw power, Foreman knew Ali would be down early – “just one more knockout victim.†But, come the seventh round, Ali was still up
“The body remembers. Stuffed until an event, a sound, a sight, a touch, a word, or a person awakens themâ€. The body remembers pain, domestic abuse, and the horrors of war. Unfortunately these memories become a burden on a person's mind and body. This debilitating and stressful illness is commonly known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,
In today's society, the words college and drinking have almost become synonymous. College drinking is incredibly prevalent, with four out of five college students admitting to drinking. Obviously there are many risks associated with drinking alcohol, but one of the more common ones among college students is called “blacking out.†One study at Duke University
In the womb, a fetus's digestive system is squeaky clean. After birth, a baby is exposed to microbes which quickly colonize its gut. After only one year of age, a baby has already attained a complex community of intestinal flora comparable to that of a full-grown adult. A long-standing relationship Research in recent years has
