Americans Sour on U.S. Healthcare Quality
Original article from Gallup ~~ For the first time in Gallup’s two-decade trend, less than half of Americans are complimentary about the quality of U.S. healthcare, with 48% rating it “excellent” or “good.” The slight majority now rate healthcare quality as subpar,[...]
The Human Genome Project Turns 20: Here’s How It Altered the World
On April 14 2003, scientists announced the end to one of the most remarkable achievements in history: the first (nearly) complete sequencing of a human genome. It was the culmination of a decade-plus endeavor that involved thousands of scientists across the globe. Many people hoped[...]
UCSF Entering 2024 ‘Amazingly Positioned’ to Lead in Health Care AI Revolution
Original article from UCSF. To watch video, go to youtube. It is clear the next year will be a pivotal one for UCSF’s place in the growth and application of artificial intelligence in health care. Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, spent a significant portion of his[...]
Katharine Moser chose to find out her genetic destiny in 2005. We revisit her story on her 40th birthday.
Original article from the New York Times Katharine Moser chose to find out her genetic destiny in 2005. We revisit her story on her 40th birthday. More than 15 years ago, Katharine Moser became part of the vanguard of genetic testing. While in her early 20s,[...]
Epigenetics 101: a beginner’s guide to explaining everything
Article from The Guardian The word ‘epigenetics’ is everywhere these days, from academic journals and popular science articles to ads touting miracle cures. But what is epigenetics, and why is it so important? Epigenetics is one of the hottest fields in the life sciences. It’s a[...]
Your dog’s breed doesn’t determine its personality, study suggests
Article courtesy of Science Work challenges popular idea that breeds have specific, reliable behaviorsWhen Kathleen Morrill was 12, she decided she needed a puppy. Not just any puppy—a pint-size papillon with a black button nose and bushy, perky ears. When her parents resisted, “I turned on[...]
What’s a Telomere and What’s It Got to Do With Aging?
Article courtesy of American Specialty Health What’s a Telomere and What’s It Got to Do With Aging? Telomeres are special strands of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that form caps at the ends of chromosomes that live in every cell in the body. They help protect chromosomes from[...]
Identical Twins Raised Apart in Different Countries Have Huge IQ Difference
Article courtesy of Newsweek Scientists have found that two identical twins raised in different countries have a huge IQ difference. A report published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, assessed the differences between one twin raised in the United States and the other in South[...]
Swapping 20% of beef for plant protein could cut deforestation in half +++
Original article from The Guardian. Move would also lower emissions by reducing razing of trees and methane emissions from livestock, scientists say.Replacing 20% of the world’s beef consumption with microbial protein, such as Quorn, could halve the destruction of the planet’s forests over the next three[...]
Neanderthal gene may be behind 1,000,000 Covid deaths
Original article from Metro UK and Nature. One romantic tryst in the distant past between a Homo Sapien and a Neanderthal may be to blame for over a million deaths related to the coronavirus. At present, the virus has been responsible for 6.3 million deaths worldwide.[...]
A $100 genome? New DNA sequencers could be a ‘game changer’ for biology, medicine
Article courtesy of Science For DNA sequencing, this “is the year of the big shake-up,” says Michael Snyder, a systems biologist at Stanford University. Sequencing is crucial to fields from basic biology to virology to human evolution, and its importance keeps growing. Clinicians are clamoring to[...]
CRISPR debuted 10 years ago, in a paper hardly anyone noticed.
Original article seen in STAT News Jennifer Doudna reflects on the DNA scissors’ first decade n June 28, 2012, a joint press release went out from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announcing a new paper in Science from an international[...]
The need for diversity in genome sequencing
Original article from DW A majority of the DNA that has been sequenced for research comes from donors of European ancestry. That causes a knowledge gap about the genome of people from the rest of the world. Among various things that unite humans around the world,[...]
Meet the Covid Super-Dodgers
Original article from The Washington Post The no-covid club gets more exclusive every day. And some members have no idea how they’re still there. Joe and Susannah Altman are serious poker players. Sometimes, when they play in tournaments, they’ll place what’s called a “Last Longer” bet[...]
FDA’s rotten definition of “healthy” food is finally getting tossed
Article courtesy of ArstechnicaFor now, salmon, nuts are not eligible for "healthy" label, but sugary cereals are. The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday proposed a long-awaited revision to the definition of the term "healthy" on food packaging—finally scrapping the mind-boggling criteria from the 1990s[...]
Hibernating bears could hold a clue to treating diabetes
Article courtesy of National GeographicScientists have discovered eight key proteins—also found in people—that help keep grizzly bears diabetes free. If a human ate tens of thousands of calories a day, ballooned in size, then barely moved for months, the health outcomes would be catastrophic. Scientists have[...]
Understanding what’s in our genes
Article courtesy of Bloomberg News About 20 years ago, mapping out a person’s genes cost about $100 million. It will soon cost $200. Illumina, the main company behind the machines that interpret genetic code, says its latest model can produce faster, more accurate results at about[...]
Migratory birds in North America are shrinking as their wings get bigger. Climate change is to blame.
Article courtesy of LiveScience.com North American migratory birds are becoming smaller as the planet warms due to climate change, a new study finds. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) examined more than 30 years of data for adult male birds across 105 avian[...]
People Who Have Had Covid Should Get Single Vaccine Dose, Studies Suggest
Article courtesy of the New York Times Nearly 30 million people in the United States — and probably many others whose illnesses were never diagnosed — have been infected with the coronavirus so far. Should these people still be vaccinated? Two new studies answer that[...]
Personality traits consistently associated with blood mitochondrial DNA copy number estimated from genome sequences
Article courtesy of the NIH and PubMed Abstract Background: Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) in tissues and blood can be altered in conditions like diabetes and major depression and may play a role in aging and longevity. However, little is known about the association between mtDNAcn[...]
How far should we go with gene editing in pursuit of the ‘perfect’ human
Article courtesy of The GuardianAs the world’s top human genome editing researchers gather in London, the ethical issues posed by pioneering scientific advances will be high on their agenda. The name He Jiankui is not listed as a registered delegate for the Third International Summit on[...]
Mother’s Empathy Linked to “Epigenetic” Changes to the Oxytocin Gene
Original article courtesy of Technology Networks Parenting behavior is deeply linked to the ability to empathize with one’s children. Thus, to better understand why certain parents react to certain situations in a certain way, it is crucial to gain insight into how empathy is shaped. Scientists[...]
Why some scientists believe life may have started on Mars
Article courtesy of Salon Prominent scientists in different fields say that there are clues that life could have started on the red planetOn February 18, NASA's Perseverance rover will parachute through thin Martian air, marking a new era in red planet exploration. Landing on the Jezero[...]
This adorable underwater creature is capable of regenerating body parts — including its brain
Article courtesy of Business Insider The story begins with the Aztec God of death and lightning, the Xolotl. As legends have it, he was a monstrous dog that guarded the sun god and ushered souls to the underworld every night. One day, as Gods began sacrificing[...]
This sea slug can lose its head and regenerate new body in three weeks
Article courtesy of Ars Technica She severs sea slugs down by the seashore... or rather, Sayaka Mitoh does so in the lab.At least two species of sacoglossan sea slugs are capable of severing their own heads from their bodies and then growing an entirely new body,[...]