Did you ever think photosynthetic algae would throw light on the problem of helping paraplegics walk before they run? A new study in Nature Medicine …
Author: Bruce Goldman
Vitamins may help stem cells in the brain survive inflammatory damage
Although it sounds like a school for bulb-shaped behemoths, the hippocampus is, in fact, a key brain region where new experiences are cemented into memory. …
What if gut-bacteria communities "remember" past antibiotic exposures?
The number of beneficial microbes inhabiting each of our intestines is on the order of the number of synaptic connections in the human brain. That's …
Key Parkinson's-disease-associated molecule's function identified
Parkinson's disease afflicts one in 100 people over age 60 and one in 25 over age 80, making it the developed world's second-most-common neurodegenerative disorder …
A doctor's journey from Iran to the United States
As an 11-year-old in 1982, Roham Zamanian , MD, embarked on a perilous two-year effort to escape from Iran. Zamanian is now an assistant professor …
Firefly lights path to faster cancer drug research
Firefly luciferase - the protein that makes fireflies light up - could illuminate a path to accelerated cancer-drug research. In a study just published in …
Commonly used drugs can affect PSA measurement
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has become a first-resort workhorse for determining whether a male patient needs to be biopsied for prostate cancer. Simply put, …
Stanford study identifies molecular mechanism that triggers Parkinson’s
Stanford's Bingwei Lu, PhD, and his colleagues have unraveled a molecular pathway though which a frequently occurring mutation may be causing Parkinson's disease. The mutation …
Bioethicist "spits" on personalized genomics
Arthur Kaplan, PhD, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, has authored an opinion piece on MSNBC pooh-poohing personalized genomic testing …
Botox: frozen face = chilled emotional response?
"Smile though your heart is breaking," sang the Little Tramp Charlie Chaplin, and the whole world will light up. "Put on a happy face," advised …
Researchers manipulate microbes in gut
There are ten bacterial cells for each human cell in your body. You just know that all those trillions of microbes peacefully coexisting with us …
Your bacterial birthday suit reveals the mode of your birth
We come into this world wearing a coat not of cloth but of one-celled organisms. A new study led by Elizabeth Costello, PhD, now at …
Surprise! Warrior immune proteins also help heal injured nerves
It now looks as though antibodies - immune-system-generated molecules famous for fighting infections - may also be critical for the repair of damaged nerves. Many …
Universal influenza vaccine, maybe – eternal, maybe not
Having a "one-shot" vaccine that prevents all strains of influenza, present and future, is an ideal toward which many scientists (including several at Stanford) are …
Venter's "synthetic life" is a different disc in an old player (but it's still music)
Human-genome-sequencing pioneer Craig Venter, PhD, and his group have announced the achievement of a significant milestone: They've reconstructed the known genome of a bacterial organism, …
Crossing the valley of death: bridging the drug-development divide
Newsweek science columnists Sharon Begley and Mary Carmichael have written a cogent and provocative article about the impediments to moving promising early drug research out …