Biology Bytes
clinical trials
Stem Cell Awareness Day: October 8, 2014
Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 8, is Stem Cell Awareness Day. It’s a day to celebrate stem cells, have discussions on what stem cell research is, and learn about potential benefits and disease treatments using stem cells. Many national and international events (especially in California) are taking place to celebrate this special day — the California Institute … Continue reading
First Transplant using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Treating Blindness
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have enormous potential for being used in tissue transplants and therapies. Why is this? It’s because iPSCs can be made using virtually any cells from a person’s body — such as skin or fat samples that wouldn’t be missed. (And since they’re the patient’s own cells, the immune system should … Continue reading
The Science of ALS and the Irony of the Ice Bucket Challenge
With the ALS ice bucket challenge going viral, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been getting a lot of attention. But what exactly is ALS? It is essentially a poorly understood neurodegenerative disease that kills relatively quickly — with people usually dying within 3–5 years after onset of the first symptoms — and is responsible for … Continue reading
Ebola: What Is It and What Do You Have to Worry About?
Ebola has been in the headlines a lot lately, mostly because the current outbreak is the largest one we’ve ever seen. There have also been people transported into the United States who were infected, raising concerns about an Ebola outbreak happening in the country. However, while Ebola is a terrifying disease, it is unlikely to … Continue reading
Two New Drugs to Fight Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Because they help us fight bacterial infections, antibiotics are an amazing invention that has let us greatly improve our quality of life and life expectancy. However, their overuse has led to some extremely dangerous pathogens — antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Specifically, last fall it was found that more than 2 million people in the U.S. get infected … Continue reading
Stem Cell Trials to Treat Spinal Cord Injuries
While human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were originally created in 1998, it wasn’t until 2009 — over a decade later — that they were approved by the FDA for use in a clinical trial in people. It was a long wait, but the trial was quite the promising one. The clinical trial, undertaken by the … Continue reading
MERS Update: Now in the U.S.
Since it was first discovered in a person in mid-2012, MERS (short for Middle East respiratory syndrome) has been a looming viral threat. MERS is a disease caused a type of virus called a coronavirus (CoV), which typically infects the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. (Many common colds and even cases of pneumonia are caused by … Continue reading
H7N9: Pandemic Potential?
Have you heard of H7N9? It’s a new avian influenza virus, and it has good reasons to be making people worried. Early last year, the virus was first found in people in China. There it’s been found in poultry (domestic birds like chickens, ducks, and geese) and is thought to be primarily spread through contact … Continue reading
What Has Gene Therapy Done For You Lately?
“Gene therapy” might sound like science fiction, but the field has actually made real, tangible progress over the last few years. Gene therapy refers to using DNA to treat a disease or condition (usually a genetic one). Most often, the DNA specifically goes into a patient and replaces a non-functional gene with a working one. … Continue reading
Recent Breakthroughs with Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
It’s exciting times if you’re an induced pluripotent stem cell (also called an iPSC). OK, so maybe these stem cells don’t actually feel excitement, but there’s still some amazing progress being made with iPSCs. This includes making functional livers out of them, modifying them to attack cancerous tumors, and using them in their first clinical … Continue reading