by Ya’el Courtney In 2022, the majority of Americans (52%) followed a particular diet or eating pattern, primarily motivated by two things: a desire to protect long-term health and a desire to lose weight. According to data from the International Food Information Council, 23 million Americans chose to follow a ketogenic, or “keto”, diet last year to work towards these goals. This number has more … Continue reading Keto – It’s Probably Not Right for You
by Ryan Camirefigures by Shreya Mantri Many of us exercise and push ourselves to new limits without a specific goal; we lace up our sneakers and don our neon running shorts for the purest of intentions – to ‘stay healthy’. But what exactly does this mean? Most of us think only of the physical benefits reaped by our hardworking muscles. Exercise can help improve heart … Continue reading Exercise in a bottle? How transferable exercise factors may promote brain health
by Jessica Schifffigures by Rebecca Senft For millennia, people have held to the notion that spending time in nature is healing and restorative. Hippocrates stated that “Nature itself is the best physician”. At some point in our lives, many of us have gone on an adventure into nature and left feeling rejuvenated and relaxed. However, it wasn’t until the past few decades that scientists really … Continue reading “Nature itself is the best physician”
Base repair editing may be the cure for a genetic mutation leading to childhood aging syndrome. Continue reading Gene Editing Discovery Could End Childhood Premature Aging Syndrome
Why is it that some people get really sick from COVID-19, and others don’t? The answer may lie in a weakened innate immune response. Continue reading Severe vs Mild COVID-19 infections: differences in immune responses
Scientists discovered that a family of proteins known as Sestrins can actually mimic the beneficial effects of exercise. This could potentially be useful for maintaining the health of people who have difficulty moving and exercising. Continue reading Could we replace exercise with protein supplements?
by Nivanthika K. Wimalasena figures by Rebecca Clements Imagine going in for a surgery where the surgeon, instead of looking down and seeing only your swollen leg, can see the exact location of your fracture before making a single incision. Now imagine that this doesn’t require x-ray vision or the stuff of science fiction, but is possible through augmented reality (AR), used to overlay an image … Continue reading Augmented Medicine: the power of augmented reality in the operating room
by Alex Cabral figures by Sean Wilson In 2003, with the completion of the Human Genome Project, the entire human genome was sequenced for the first time. The sequencing cost nearly $1 billion and took 13 years to complete. Today, the human genome can be sequenced for about $1000 in less than two days. Industry leaders hope to bring that cost down to just $100 within … Continue reading The Computer Science behind DNA Sequencing
by Lara Roach figures by Rebecca Senft In Greek, macrophage means “big eater,” and that is exactly their job. Like a growing teenager or athlete after a big game, macrophages are activated immune cells whose primary focus is to “eat.” But instead of, say, a plate of pasta, macrophages take in and digest pathogenic microbes, unhealthy molecules, and even other cells in the body when they … Continue reading The Big Eater: How the immune system alters the pancreas during obesity
Over the past decade, the gut microbiome and its effects on human health have become a topic of considerable interest in the scientific community and popular media. The gut microbiome is composed of bacteria that naturally reside in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which have an effect on various biological processes such as digestion, metabolism, regulation of the immune system and protection against pathogens. Interestingly, researchers … Continue reading Bacteria may live naturally inside the human brain