By Julia Parsons Esophageal cancer is currently increasing at the highest rate of any other cancer in white men, but lifestyle changes and careful monitoring can help reduce risk. Esophageal cancer is rare in young individuals, with incidence of the cancer peaking at around 70 to 80 years of age, said Dr. Hashem El-Serag, chief … Continue reading
By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H. My mother was a nurse, and in the small Texas town where I grew up, that made her a medical expert. When I was about 7 or 8, she came home with a small package and a bright smile on her face – her smile that lit up the world for … Continue reading
By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H. When marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, manatees and walruses moved from land to water, a series of physical abilities –– limbs adapted for swimming, less dense bones that make them more buoyant and a large store of oxygen relative to their body size – made it possible. Yet these animals … Continue reading
By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H. Changing lipid or fat metabolism in brain cells promotes the formation of lipid droplets that presage the loss of neurons, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital in a report that appears online in the journal Cell. Neuroscience graduate … Continue reading
Editor’s note: Much of the research that ends up benefiting humans starts in laboratories that focus on model animals such as fruit flies. They are critical step in determining the cause and possible treatments for human disease. Yet research as a whole and that in model organisms is suffering from a decline in support from … Continue reading
Take a blank sheet of paper and fold it. If you are skilled in the ancient Japanese art of origami, that paper can become a crane, an insect or a warrior. The differences lies with the folds. Each cell in the human body faces a similar problem. The genome inside each cell of the … Continue reading
By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H. Rat pups born too small are likely to be obese in adulthood and at greater risk for metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, which often precede diabetes and heart disease – all as a result of epigenetic changes that affect the architecture of the DNA (genetic code) and chromatin (histone code). Those … Continue reading
