Linkage
The Secret Origin of the Vertebrate Brain
By Rob Mitchum The acorn worm is an eye-less, ear-less invertebrate that lives in the intertidal zone, scavenging food particles from the sand and water. One wouldn’t expect to find the developmental clues for the creation of the vertebrate brain in such a humble creature. But a new study led by a University of Chicago […]
A Nano-Vehicle to Fight Brain Cancer
By Rob Mitchum Treating a brain tumor in a lab dish is easy. Scientists have developed a full arsenal of treatments to kill tumor cells, using natural toxins, chemotherapeutic drugs, and even gene therapy to send them to an early grave. But making those therapies work in the actual setting of the brain is a […]
A Nasal Path to Migraine Relief
Roughly 30 million Americans suffer from migraines, and as you might expect, there’s a large pharmaceutical market to prevent or stop these debilitating headaches. Drugs such as Imitrex and Verapamil employ different pharmacological modes of action, reducing migraines by adjusting neurotransmitter levels, blocking ion channels, or simulating the body’s natural painkillers. There’s also a less […]
Linkage 9/2: Counting Species, Ancient Drug Resistance, Sleep & Hypertension
Writing about science means looking up a lot of numbers. Trying to find a figure for the number of cells in the body or the protein-encoding genes in human DNA or patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer from 1980 through 1995 can eat up a lot of time and internet bandwidth. For some of these oft-cited […]
Linkage 8/26: Abortion Access, Bronchial Thermoplasty & Facebook
Since the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, abortion has been a woman’s legal right (with ever-changing state-specific restrictions) in the United States. But one factor often trumps the legal status of abortion: access. Though abortion training is required for medical residents studying to become obstetrician-gynecologists, physicians are not required to perform the procedure or […]
Linkage 8/19: 1200 Patients, Stressed-Out Finches
The future of genetic medicine comes in many flavors, from the discovery of the rare mutations responsible for uncommon diseases to the cataloging of variants that may be responsible for common diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. A segment from last night’s ABC 7 Chicago news focused on both aspects of this potential, […]
Linkage 8/12: Physicians of Tomorrow & Molecular Furniture
Medical school isn’t cheap. Today, medical students graduate with an average debt over $155,000, and the need to pay off those mortgage-sized loans drives many a young doctor away from more modestly compensated but sorely needed fields such as primary care and family medicine. To alleviate this financial pressure, many organizations have started scholarships to […]
Linkage 7/29: Debt & Doctors, New Hearts, and Brain Models
One of the sectors closely monitoring the debt debate in Washington is the medical world, where hospitals, physicians, and patients anxiously await the final agreement on cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Of particular concern to academic medical centers [pdf] are proposed cuts to graduate medical education, funding used to pay the salary of residents and […]
