Category: Health and Medicine

Disease, Health, Health and Medicine, Natural World

Viruses in Koalas Can Be Models for Genome Immunity

Ellie Teng ‘21 Retroviruses such as HIV are viruses that take genes from host cells and incorporate them into their own genomes. Transposons are DNA elements that can change positions in the genome, increasing the potential for mutations and genome instability. Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) guide the immune system towards silencing the transposons during germline development. Koalas infected by the retrovirus KoRV-A virus are immunodeficient and … Continue reading Viruses in Koalas Can Be Models for Genome Immunity

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Health, Health and Medicine, Technology

All Eyes and Ears: How Visual Deprivation Enhances Auditory Learning in Adult Mice

Mariam Malik ‘22 Past research and work has proven the interconnectedness of all senses and their corresponding cortices in the brain. For example, it has been scientifically proven that those lacking in one sense possess advanced abilities in others. Cross-modal learning, or the manipulation of one sense to cause alterations in another, is a key feature of further research. Researchers at the University of Maryland … Continue reading All Eyes and Ears: How Visual Deprivation Enhances Auditory Learning in Adult Mice

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Biology, Evolution, Health, Health and Medicine

21st Century Mind: The Effects of Blue-Light on the Brain, Retinas, and Rate of Aging

Mariam Malik ‘22 Blue light from electronic devices, such as smartphones and laptops, is of shorter wavelength on the light spectrum, thereby giving off higher amounts of energy. The harmful effects of absorbing too many light rays, such as UV and micro, have been researched and known. However, a recent study at Oregon State University on Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, shows the damaging … Continue reading 21st Century Mind: The Effects of Blue-Light on the Brain, Retinas, and Rate of Aging

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Health, Health and Medicine, Medicine and Physiology

Study Reveals Ability of Human Cartilage to Regenerate

Mariam Malik ‘22 Cartilage is malleable soft tissue meant to prevent excess friction from joints rubbing against one another. Located in numerous parts of the body, such as the larynx, respiratory tract, and the septum, human cartilage is the most malleable and widespread at birth, eventually being replaced by bone. For a long time, scientists believed that cartilage in joints could not be regrown; however, … Continue reading Study Reveals Ability of Human Cartilage to Regenerate

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Health, Health and Medicine, Medicine and Physiology

Cannabis as a Beneficial Alternative for Frequent Opioid Users with Chronic Pain

Priyanshi Patel ’22 The number of opioid-related deaths has continued to rise in  the United States and Canada. In regions where drug overdoses were declared a public health emergency, synthetic opioids in drug markets had caused large increases in death. Many people who use drugs lack access to adequate pain management through their healthcare system, thereby experiencing high rates of pain. More research is needed … Continue reading Cannabis as a Beneficial Alternative for Frequent Opioid Users with Chronic Pain

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Cancer, Disease, Health and Medicine, Pharmacology

Improved Body Composition After Testosterone Treatment in Young Male Cancer Survivors

Priyanshi Patel ’22 Young male cancer survivors have low testosterone levels compared to those of  healthy populations. Long term effects of low testosterone involve endocrine disorders that affect up to 50% of adult childhood cancer survivors, and younger survivors are often unsure as to whether they would benefit from testosterone treatment. A study was conducted in the United Kingdom on secondary hospital outpatients.. The study … Continue reading Improved Body Composition After Testosterone Treatment in Young Male Cancer Survivors

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Disease, Genetics, Health and Medicine

Growth Factor Induces Methylation Changes in Lung Fibroblasts

Priyanshi Patel ’22 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is an irreversible, chronic, and lethal disease of unknown etiology. IPF is characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), which is secreted mainly by activated fibroblasts under certain stimuli. Recent studies have evaluated alterations with DNA methylation as a collective driver of IPF. Few studies explore global DNA methylation in lung fibrosis, but none focused on transforming … Continue reading Growth Factor Induces Methylation Changes in Lung Fibroblasts

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Biology, Cancer, Health and Medicine

Biodiversity Offers Insight into the Ecosystem of Liver Cancer

Priyanshi Patel ’22 Liver cancer is the second most lethal malignancy in the world and includes mainly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). HCC is the most common type of primary liver cancer and often occurs in people with chronic liver diseases. iCCA is also a cancer that develops within the bile duct, whereas HCC occurs among alcoholics or those with fat accumulation in … Continue reading Biodiversity Offers Insight into the Ecosystem of Liver Cancer

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Cellular and Molecular Science, Disease, Health, Health and Medicine

Essential Role of the MEKK3-ERK5 Module in Endothelial Cell Death

Jorge Pincay ’20 Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the build-up of plaque in artery walls, which can lead to coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke. Since atherosclerosis results from endothelial cell injury and death, researchers are making greater efforts to acquire a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms that may lead to these unfavorable changes in endothelial cells. In particular, the … Continue reading Essential Role of the MEKK3-ERK5 Module in Endothelial Cell Death

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Health, Health and Medicine, Medicine and Physiology

Can a Reduction in Carbohydrate Consumption Produce Adverse Effects?

Jorge Pincay ’20 Low carbohydrate  diets (LCD) have been adopted by many patients as a means of battling diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and many other metabolic disorders. This type of diet is even widely used by the general population for maintaining and/or losing weight. However, not many studies  have investigated the adverse health effects that may result from a sudden halt in carbohydrates … Continue reading Can a Reduction in Carbohydrate Consumption Produce Adverse Effects?

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Cancer, Health and Medicine, Medicine and Physiology

Potential for Enhanced Cancer Therapy by Allosteric Inhibition of Phosphoglycerate Mutase

Jorge Pincay ’20 Phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) is a gene known to promote rapid tumor growth and invasiveness in several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PGAM1 encodes for an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 3-phosphoglycerate to 2-phosphoglycerate in the glycolytic pathway,  a compound that coordinates anabolic biosynthesis. In many forms of cancer, including NSCLC, urothelial bladder cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma, upregulation of … Continue reading Potential for Enhanced Cancer Therapy by Allosteric Inhibition of Phosphoglycerate Mutase

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Cancer, Disease, Medicine and Physiology

Common Fungi May Drive Pancreatic Cancer

Nicole Zhao ’20 Pancreatic cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and occurs more frequently in developed countries (1). What makes pancreatic cancer even more alarming is that patients seldom exhibit symptoms until an advanced stage of the disease when little can be done for them (1). Therefore, techniques in early detection and risk assessment are crucial in the prognosis of a … Continue reading Common Fungi May Drive Pancreatic Cancer

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