Our J. Julius Zhu, PhD, and his colleagues have created a way for us to see brain cells called neurons "talk" with each other. Imaging these discussions will help us better understand how the brain works and let us develop new and better treatments for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's,…
HealthDay has done a story with our Dr. Rachel Moon discussing whether high-tech baby monitors are safe (and worth the price). Dr. Moon cautions that such monitors could lead parents into a false sense of security: "My main concern is people become complacent. They decide that since the baby's monitored, …
I have a loved one who has severe allergies to wasp stings, so I thought I should share. From the Washington Post: The new drug, from Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, is the first to be deemed a therapeutic equivalent of the EpiPen, which means that it can be automatically substituted at the pharmacy…
It's real, and you don't want it. It's gonorrhea that's developed resistance to the antibiotics that would normally be used to treat it. Our Alison K. Criss, PhD, is working on the problem. She and her collaborators in the United Kingdom have discovered a new way that the bacteria resist…
Our John Lukens, PhD, and his colleagues have revealed that the health of the mother's microbiome during pregnancy determines the risk of autism in her offspring. What's the microbiome? It's the collection of microscopic organisms that naturally live inside us, and it's proving increasingly vital to good health. The good…
For the first time ever, we can actually see a bacterium steal a piece of DNA in real time. In the video you'll find at the link above, the bacterium Vibrio cholerae reaches out and grabs a free-floating piece of DNA so that it can stitch it into its genome.…