Biology

You may have recently heard about cases of acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) being cured in a few adults and children using a new type of cell therapy [1]. In these studies, scientists took a patient’s own immune cells, altered their genetic material so that…

They say that the key to a man’s heart is through his stomach. A more biologically accurate metaphor would be that your gut holds several keys—not to your heart, but to your brain. Remarkably, the gut is capable of altering the brain’s ability to process…

Scientists can study stress by observing people who suffer from it. What are the physiological changes these people undergo, if any? Is their appetite normal? And what about the heart rate? Lots of observations are possible, meaning there a lot of ways…

-- With increased air travel, the emergence of infectious diseases anywhere in the world is a global concern. A recent outbreak garnering attention is the emergence of a SARS-like virus in the United Kingdom. Many symptoms of this new virus, including…

-- Have you ever considered that your body is its own ecosystem? Our bodies are host to countless microbial organisms, which live in and on every conceivable part of our body and outnumber our human cells ten to one. We depend on these microbes for a…

In January 2013, a 5-year-old boy who was born without fingers on one hand was given a customizable 3-D printed prosthetic hand, built for only $150 in parts. Innovators are working to meet the demand for better and cheaper prosthetics, but how exactly…

-- Most people go on a “diet” to lose weight, but research has found that certain diets confer special benefits beyond weight loss –the proper diet can go so far as to help treat diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and even brain cancer.…

-- If it were possible for you to take a pill that would turn you into an Olympic champion but would kill you soon after, would you take it? This question may seem absurd to many people, but when elite athletes were asked a similar question, about 50%…

-- You're walking on the sidewalk and you come across a patch of ice. You don’t see it coming, so you lose your balance and fall hard on the ground with your elbow bearing the brunt of the impact. Although you get right back up, a tremendous bleeding…

Fossil fuels are running out Since the mid nineteenth century, humans have progressively mastered the discovery, extraction, and combustion of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the remains of organisms, mostly thick growths of plants from more than 500…