12 7 / 2012
This is a video showing blindsight, which I talked about last week. Patient TN had lost his sight due to a brain injury to his visual cortex. They persuaded him to walk without his cane in this video, through a hallway with obstacles (but they also followed him just in case).
09 6 / 2012
Inside the human heart
National Geographic have an impressive gallery showcasing one of the most beautiful, complex and important organs of the human anatomy: the heart.
From NG:
Tissue-paper thin but tough, the valves of the human heart open and close to pump 6 quarts (0.9 liters) of blood a day through 60,000 miles (97,000 kilometers) of vessels. That’s equivalent to 20 treks across the United States from coast to coast. The heart is a magnificent machine when it’s in good working order. But coronary heart disease is the number one killer of American men as well as women, resulting in 500,000 deaths in the United States and killing 7.2 million people worldwide each year.
Photograph by Lennart Nilsson
08 6 / 2012
I found my son’s killer.
It took three years.
But we did it.
I should clarify one point: my son is very much alive.
Yet, my wife Cristina and I have been found responsible for his death.
That’s how Matt Might (of The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D. fame) introduces us to his heart-wrenching tale of a sick child. Months of research, dozens of doctors’ visits and no answers found … only more questions. Time was, and is, running out for their son.So they decided to go beyond the cutting edge, and have their genomes sequenced (the parts that encode proteins, anyway). Their son is patient zero of a never-before seen disorder, and the knowledge to save his life lies just beyond our reach.
It’s a must-read, and a reminder of why we toil in labs across the world: To move that line a bit farther out, and help people like Matt and his son.
If you’d like to help support this work, Matt is selling printed copies of his famous Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D. with proceeds going to research to benefit genetic disorders.
07 6 / 2012
Paralyzed Rats Regain Mobility in Lab
After severe spinal cord damage, paralyzed rats are able to walk again with the help of a robot to hold them up and stimulate their nerves, a new study shows.
After the rats are trained on the machine for about two months, they gained the ability to control their hind legs — which had previously been cut off from communicating with the brain — with enough dexterity to climb stairs and navigate around objects. This control means that the brain has forged new connections to get around the spinal cord injury.
06 6 / 2012
Fluorescent microscopy capturing neuron differentiation.
Dr. Torsten Wittman, Scripps Research Institute
3rd Place Winner, Nikon Small World Contest 2004
05 6 / 2012
HeLa cells treated with a compound so that distinct groups of proteins become visible. That is; tubulin, which is a generic family of proteins turns red, and DNA blue.
There’s more here, by the way.
04 6 / 2012
03 6 / 2012
Smithsonian to Create Its 1st Human Genome Exhibit
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is developing its first major exhibit on the human genome with a $3 million pledge announced Monday from a biotechnology company.
The philanthropic foundation of Life Technologies Corp. is the lead sponsor for a 2,500-square-foot exhibition slated to open on the National Mall in June 2013.
The museum will collaborate with the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health to develop a high-tech presentation of the history and future of genome sciences. The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health also raised $500,000 for the project.
The effort marks the 10th anniversary of researchers producing the first complete human genome sequence as a blueprint of the human body. The Human Genome Project was launched as an international effort in 1990 to better understand the genetic impact on health and disease.
Elizabeth Duggal, the museum’s associate director for public programs, said most people probably don’t know how quickly genomic science has advanced since then and how much of an impact it can have on their lives.
Carlsbad, Calif.-based Life Technologies recently announced it has developed a machine to decode an individual’s DNA in a day for $1,000. The cost of sequencing DNA has tumbled since the first sequencing of the basic human genome was announced at the White House in 2000.
“Genetic research is probably one of the most important components of the 21st century in terms of life science advances,” she said.
Reaching the $1,000 target is considered a key step in making the technique more accessible and practical for doctors to use to help their patents by revealing vulnerabilities or tailoring medical treatments.
“What science has taught us about genomics in the last 10 years will undoubtedly be dwarfed by the revolutionary advancements to come,” Gregory Lucier, chairman and CEO of Life Technologies, said in a statement.
The museum also plans to delve into ethical questions that arise with advancements in genetic science.
Curators will ask visitors their thoughts on whether to find out about prenatal health issues or risks their children may face. In some cases, treatment can begin for a genetic defect before symptoms ever develop to dramatically improve the lives of those children.
Knowing more about the latest research can empower visitors and get them thinking about how their own choices can impact their genome.
“I think all of us know someone who maybe has cancer or diabetes and how those things can be looked at from both a genetic and environmental factor,” Duggal said.
Genetic research also is part of the museum’s future. It recently built the world’s largest natural history biorepository with 24 liquid nitrogen tanks and 58 freezers to store animal DNA, RNA and tissue samples, and it is planning a genomics research lab on the National Mall, said Dr. Jonathan Coddington, the museum’s associate director for research.
“So we’re thinking about becoming a museum of genomes,” he said. “We’ll still be the old fashioned museum we’ve always been, but we’ll add to that genomics.”
The human genome exhibit will be open at least a year in Washington before traveling nationally and internationally.
03 6 / 2012
Chagas Disease: Poverty, Immigration, and a ‘New HIV/AIDS’
Is this protozoan, Trypanosoma cruzi, causing a silent disease emergency? The insect-borne sickness, termed Chagas disease, can lead to heart enlargement and cardiac failure in as many as a third of those infected.
With as many as 10 million people worldwide infected, most of them in tropical, poverty-ridden locales, maybe it’s time to pay close attention to this emerging danger? Maryn McKenna has a great write-up of how “immigrant bias” might be giving public health officials an excuse to keep the sufferers at arm’s length. The problem is that Chagas is already in the U.S., and its hotspots (like Texas) aren’t requiring blood donor screening.
To fight an epidemic, you must first recognize that it’s beginning. Prejudices against the gay community prevented a head start against HIV, and we should make sure that doesn’t happen again with Chagas.
(via Wired Science, you can also read the original paper in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
26 4 / 2012
