Regulating genetic testing, understanding probabilities, and knowing the future
Should we regulate people’s access to their own genome data?. More on the issue of regulating personal genetic testing, by Ars Technica‘s John Timmer. The headline is a bit misleading, since the issue is more about whether the “Direct-to-Consumer” (DTC) genetic testing industry should be regulated like any other medical tests or not. Definitely worth […]
Virology institute working on curing cancer
More recent freelance work for the Institute of Human Virology (IHV). Interestingly, this time both articles were on cancer! What do viruses have to do with cancer? Well, as Dr. Robert Gallo, Head of the IHV mentioned, it wasn’t long ago that no one thought cancers had infectious causes, but now 20-25% of all cancers […]
1950s Video of Immune System in Action
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_xh-bkiv_c[/youtube] Great video of a Neutrophil cell, a type of immune cell, relentlessly chasing down a bacterium while pushing aside red blood cells. I found it fascinating to see our immune system in action. The video was apparently taken from a 16-mm movie made in the 1950s by the late David Rogers at Vanderbilt University.
The Lancet retracts paper linking MMR vaccines and autism
The Lancet retracts paper linking MMR vaccines and autism. Important news for anyone who cares about our public health – shortly after the British General Medical Council concluded its ethics investigation of doctor Andrew Wakefield, the medical journal The Lancet formally retracted his controversial 1998 paper that purported to show a link between the MMR […]
Photo Gallery of Cool New Science Images
As I’ve previously noted, I like cool, preferably scientific, images. I really enjoyed taking pretty microscope pictures as a graduate student, and I’ve been enjoying working on the Megapixels section of Popular Science and the Bull’s-Eye section of Science Illustrated, as well as for the various photo galleries I created for PopSci.com or posted about […]
A couple of new articles
Did some more freelance work for Discovery, the newsletter of the Institute for Human Virology. I always enjoy talking to their scientists about their research, and this time I wrote about science that involved some broader issues outside of science and medicine as well. The two articles in the Fall newsletter are about the testing […]
Wellcome Awards: The Most Stunning Medical Images of 2009 | Popular Science
Wellcome Awards: The Most Stunning Medical Images of 2009 | Popular Science. Another gallery that I made for PopSci.com, with the best medical images from this year’s Wellcome Awards. A stunning collection of images which features, among other things, aspirin, cancer cells, skin, bone, and intestine, that all look unexpectedly artistic. Follow the link to […]
Drinking Alcohol May Make Head Injuries Less Harmful | Popular Science
Drinking Alcohol May Make Head Injuries Less Harmful | Popular Science. Another of my news items for PopSci.com, apparently a little alcohol in the blood could help survive head injuries. Alcohol in the blood probably contributed to some of those head injuries in the first place, so somewhat mixed blessings I guess…
Of mice and medicine: If a treatment works on rodents, will it cure us? | Alok Jha | Life and style | The Guardian
Of mice and medicine: If a treatment works on rodents, will it cure us? | Alok Jha | Life and style | The Guardian . Understanding some of the difficulties in applying research done in mice (the usual human-substitute for most laboratory research) directly to humans.