Does Geisinger Health System's latest pitch, to offer DNA sequencing as part of routine testing at the primary care visit, promise more than it can deliver?
Biomedicine & Biotech
The foundation was started by Henry A. Wallace, whose fortune was derived from starting pro-science endeavors. Given that legacy, it's hard to imagine Wallace not turning over in his grave given that his descendants are using money to smear science. But that is actually what's happened.
The co-founder of Microsoft recently met with health experts in Boston and pledged $12 million to help speed the development of a universal flu vaccine, which he argued is badly needed. Gates warned that the U.S., as well as the world, is distinctly unprepared for the next big pandemic that will eventually strike.
More than 140 children and 200 llamas, dating back to the 1400s, were discovered along the northern coast of Peru. Why is it believed this was likely an unprecedented child sacrifice?
It's dangerous being livestock. If you aren't being fattened up to be turned into a Happy Meal, you're wandering the fields, gobbling up plants that appear tasty and innocent – but are actually toxic. Plant poisonings cost the livestock industry more than $500 million every year.
The sudden loss of any body part is life-altering. Yet we live in a time with plentiful options that are continuously advancing, and which can be used to restore a person to a high degree of function.
A genetically-engineered enzyme could provide a more elegant solution for plastic bottles, most of which that can hang around the environment for hundreds of years.
The link between the bacteria in our bodies, or microbiome, and diseases of the immune system has been established for some time. However, the role bacteria play is not well understood. A new paper takes that linkage to the next level, showing how one bacterium may play a big role in autoimmune diseases, such as lupus.
Basically, exaggerated male sex organs may intensify an organism’s focus so much that they pay a hefty cost when it comes to their own survival. In some cases, they facilitate their own extinction.
The U.S. space agency recently launched sperm specimens, from humans and bulls, to the international space station. There, astronauts will conduct experiments on the impact of microgravity on sperm’s motility and function.
Mary Shelley popularized the work of Luigi Galvani, work that continues today. And while electricity does not reanimate the dead, bioelectricity – Galvani's legacy – may have a role in our embryologic development.
Damaged by the environment, tomb robbers and time, a severed mummified head from the early Middle Kingdom was finally identified. All thanks to science!