Adios Fidel

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/well/move/born-to-move.html?_r=0
This is an article from the NYT about an article in the American Journal of Human Biology summarizing a study done at Yale and the U of Arizona about the Hazda, a hunter-gatherer people. 46 people from this tribe agreed to wear a chest monitor. One conclusion from the study is that we were "born to move" not stare at or swipe screens.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/opinion/sunday/octopuses-and-the-puzzle-of-aging.html?_r=0
This is a column in the Sunday Review section of the NYT about our lifespan. The writer/researcher uses the example of octopi, which have a lifespan of only two years. Nautiluses who are also cephalopods. live for 20 years. Why is this?

Maybe Snow Flurries

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/climate-change-in-trumps-age-of-ignorance.html?_r=0 An article in the NYT  by Robert Proctor of Stanford about the election of a president with no interest in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Dedicated to Susan Lindquist

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/science/susan-lindquist-scientist-who-made-genetic-discoveries-using-yeast-dies-at-67.html?_r=0 This is the obit of Susan Lindquist, a personal hero of mine, who did extremely important work on protein folding and diseases resulting from improper protein folding. She used yeast cells to stdu neurodegenerative diseases.





http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2016/10/30/new-study-further-proves-why-anti-vaccination-thinking-is-deadly/#5ef6918c5de2  This is an article from Forbes about a new measles study on SSPE (Subacute-Sclerosing Pan Encephalitis) which someone who has had measles can contract and is fatal 100% of the time. Normally it shows up in 1 out of 100,000 but it has increased in infants and children who contract measles before vaccination. This is another effect of the anti-vaxx movement.




http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/47392/title/FDA-Approves-Clinical-Trials-to-Test-Cuban-Cancer-Vaccine/  The FDA is poised to begin clinical trials of the Cuban NSSLC lung cancer vaccine. It is to be combined with an FDA approved immunotherapy called Opdivo. The vaccine is called CIMAvax.




http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/47289/title/Immune-System-Maintains-Brain-Health/ This is an article from The Scientist about the immune system and the brain. Findings have shown that mice without T-cells don't perform cognitive functions as well as those with intact immune systems. This work was done in 2004 at the U of Virginia and has heralded a wave of research on the connections between immune cells and the brain.Michal Schwartz at the Weitzmann Institute has founded a company to test antibodies against T-cell checkpoints as therapy for Alzheimers Disease.




http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/video-how-cram-your-entire-genome-tiny-nucleus Video from Science magazine showing compaction of DNA into nucleus.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/watch-these-ticklish-rats-laugh-and-jump-joy  This is an article from Science magazine about research that shows that rats are ticklish. There is a tickle center in the mammalian brain that when stimulated causes rats to "chortle". This work was done at Humboldt University in Berlin and published in Science.
https://youtu.be/KnHtxknPVvg

Working Title

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n17/steven-rose/how-to-get-another-thorax
This is an article from The London Review by Steven Rose on Epigenetics, which has to do with influences beside the genotype on phenotype, such as environmental influences. This topic is quite controversial as there are strict "fundamentalists" who believe in the overriding nature of the gene. Epigenetics might explain differences between genetically identical twins. Epigenetics is also providing a way for Developmental Biologists and strict Geneticists to have a conversation. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote a piece in the NYer on Epigenetics that is inciting many corrections and responses. In any case, the issue is by no means settled.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/science/ancient-dna-human-history.html?_r=0
This is an article from the NYT about an article published in Nature recounting the discovery of a single mutation in the DNA indicating that all non-Africans trace their lineage to a single population emerging from Africa from 50,000 to 80,000 years ago. This would have been one dispersal, although there were more, but these are our ancestors. Three research teams sequenced the genomes of 787 people, including Basques, African pygmies, Bedouins and others.


http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2016/09/confusion-persists-over-timing-of-flu-shots-for-older-adults/
This is an article from the American Society of Health Care Journalists about the timing of flu shots for older adults (65 and older). It also addresses the different vaccines that are available. It may be more advantageous to wait until the flu season starts to get full protection.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/health/birth-of-3-parent-baby-a-success-for-controversial-procedure.html?_r=0 This is an article from the NYT describing  the birth of a 3- parent baby. What this means actually is that the genetic material of a donor is in the genetic make-up of the offspring in addition to the genetic material of the two conceiving parents.  The mother had mutated mitochondria so the nuclear DNA of the mother was moved to the egg of a healthy donor after removing the donor's nuclear DNA.  This method was tried in China 30 years ago.




https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/24/why-women-leave-academia  Article in the Guardian Professional about the consequences of women leaving academia for industry. At the start of their careers 72% of women want to pursue an academic career but by the the end of their first year the numbers have decreased to 37%. By the third year 21% of men can be compared to 12% of women seeking academic jobs.

Whither Goeth Hermine?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/youre-how-old-well-be-in-touch.html?_r=0  This is a column in the Sunday Review opinion section of the NYT about age discrimination in the workplace. According to this article 20% of Americans 65 and older are working. Why are people over 50 unable to find work? The column says a network of attitudes and institutional practices is to blame.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/technology/goodbye-ivory-tower-hello-silicon-valley-candy-store.html  This NYT article is about economists moving from academia to private companies to help analyze data and improve sales.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/business/is-epipen-a-brand-name-or-a-generic-drug-mylan-casts-it-both-ways.html An article in the NYT about the profiteering in selling the Epipen by Mylan pharmaceuticals, which has exclusivity.  Mylan has been saying it is a generic, resulting in Medicaid overpayment. Mylan has raised the price six-fold since 2007. Shares of Mylan have dropped 15% in the weeks since the attention to Epipen's overpricing has been publicized.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/business/at-mylan-lets-pretend-is-more-than-a-game.html



http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2016/09/modifying-use-of-some-prescription-drugs-may-reduce-fracture-risk-in-older-adults/ The JAMA Internal Medicine published a study about how changing the drug regimen of older adults may lessen the likelihood their sustaining fractures. The study was done at Dartmouth U. 21 drug classes were associated with increased fracture risk.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/science/south-african-mine-life-on-mars.html?_r=0 This article from the Science Times is about microbes in a South African mine. A Princeton-led team is examining a methane-fed community of microbes which could be similar to the community on Mars. There is a theory that life originated on Mars then traveled to earth by way of meteorites. This is called the earth's deep biosphere.

Fall Semester

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/46878/title/Caloric-Restriction-Turns-White-Fat-Brown/ A report in the New Scientist about research done in mice at the U of Geneva to be published in Cell Metabolism which showed that restricting dietary calorie intake turned white fat into energy-burning brown fat. Calorie restriction by 40% in animal models has been shown to lead to longer lifespans and improved health outcomes. Finding a way to make the transition could help with diabetes and other diseases.





http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/graduate-students-the-laborers-of-academia  Article in the NYer about (adjuncts and) grad students, the laborers of academia.



http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/353/6302/872.full.pdf This is a link to a commentary in Science by David Baltimore's group about new strategies for understanding neurodegenerative diseases. For those of us who still bear onus against Baltimore for his claiming credit for his student's work, this commentary is a step towards forgiveness. He suggests that, just as we undertook new strategies from a cellular perspective to figure cancer out, he suggests we similarly "rethink the path to progress" in the case of Alzheimers and other diseases.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-review-finds-nondrug-approaches-effective-treatment-common-pain-conditions  This is a report of an NIH-funded study about non-drug treatment for pain.It was reported in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings that yoga, tai chi and acupuncture are effective treatments for back pain, osteoarthritis, neck pain, fibromyalgia, and severe headaches and migraine.



http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/science/oldest-fossils-on-earth.html?_r=0 An article from the NYT about a fossil discovery in Greenland which may be the oldest fossils ever found. This publication will appear in Nature. These fossils are thought to be stromatolites, layers of sediment packed together by microbial communities living in shallow water. They may antedate the oldest previously known fossils by 220 million years. The U of Wollongong  discovered the fossils.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/science/fda-bans-sale-of-many-antibacterial-soaps-saying-risks-outweigh-benefits.html  From the NYT an article about the banning the sale of most antibacterial soaps by the FDA. Most of the banned products contain triclosan or triclocarban. In 2013 the FDA said the companies that marketed these products would have to prove they did more good than harm and this week the decision was made that they did not. Studies in animals have shown that these two chemicals disrupt normal reproductive development and metabolism and they may behave similarly in animals.

Below Ninety Degrees

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/woman-may-know-secret-saving-brain-s-synapses?utm_campaign=news_weekly_2016-08-19&et_rid=167369815&et_cid=731076
This is an article from Science about a neuroscientist at BostonChildren's Hospital working on gene knockout mice looking at the gene C1q, which is necessary for synaptic refinement, which is important in development for organization of the neurvous system, called "pruning". Later in life, C1q can cause nervous system damage. This may lead to therapies for glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/20/sunday-review/climate-change-hot-future.html?_r=0 This is a graphic in the Sunday Review section of NYT, with a projection forward to 2100, of the days over one hundred degrees in the US. In 1991-2100 Phoenix had 92, 2060 projection is 132, 2100, projection is 163. This work was done by an environmental research group called Climate Central. A publication in Nature last year  said that 3 out of 4 daily heat extremes can be linked to global warming. Invest in sunscreen.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/donald-trump-s-lack-of-respect-for-science-is-alarming/ From Scientific American, a column devoted to Donald Trump's lack of respect for science. For the September 1 issue.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/us/dr-donald-a-henderson-who-helped-end-smallpox-dies-at-87.html?_r=0  This is an obit in the NYT for Don Henderson, one of my heros, who was significant in the worldwide eradication of smallpox.




http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2543281 This is an article from JAMA Pediatrics about a data-mining study about the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy and behavioral difficulties in children. Confounding variables do not invalidate the association.




http://www.nytimes.com/by/gina-kolata This is an article in the Science Times by Gina Kolata about anew report that perhaps nodules on the thyroid do not necessitate surgery. This was a report in NEJM about the lifelong consequences of thyroid removal on patients with thyroid cancer, many of whose cancers never progress beyond the nodular stage.





http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/the-underused-hpv-vaccine/ Article in Science Times by Jane Brody about the underutilization of the HPV vaccine. Parents don't get their pre-teens vaccinated due to their wish to believe they are not sexually active. The CDC reports that about 14 million Americans become infected with HPV annually, most teens or young adults. HPV is a cause of cervical cancer.


https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/aug/23/scientists-losing-science-communication-skeptic-cox  Article from The Guardian about scientists inability to communicate science to the public.


http://www.sciencealert.com/thousands-of-strange-blue-lakes-are-appearing-in-antarctica-and-it-s-very-bad-news Article in Science News, Durham University, UK, glaciologists, as reported by Chris Mooney in the Washington Post, note the appearance of lakes in Antarctica. This does not bode well for the stability of the entire ice shelf. This was published in Geophysical Research Letters.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/health/zika-a-formidable-enemy-attacks-and-destroys-parts-of-babies-brains.html?_r=0  This is a NYT article reporting from the journal Radiology about possible other effects on the brains of babies whose mothers were infected with the Zika virus that may continue after birth or throughout their development.Zika's brain targets are the corpus callosum, the basal ganglia and the cerebellum.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/science/gene-tests-identify-breast-cancer-patients-who-can-skip-chemotherapy-study-says.html?_r=0  This is an article from the Times about an important  recent study published in NEJM of early stage breast cancer patients who were able to avoid chemotherapy and its consequences, which would not have been effective due to their genes. Their DNA showed they were at low risk for recurrence.



http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/46600/title/New-Lyme-Disease-Test-Developed-by-Summer-Student/ This is an article from The Scientist about a new test for Lyme Disease that was developed by a summer student at George Mason U. It's a urine test that tests for the shedding of proteins by the causative agent, Borrelia Burgdorferi. The test will enableearlier stage detection. The work was published in Biomaterials.