AI Finds New Antibiotic The last decade has seen a significant rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that has become a serious medical problem. Some bacterial strains are now resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics leaving little left to treat them with, and we need entirely new types of antibiotics to combat the surge in resistant bacteria. […]
Author Archives: Van Wilson
Coronavirus Update Part 2
With COVID-19 case numbers reaching nearly 80,000 and new cases popping up outside China in Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, containment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus seems to be failing. There are many factors that make containment difficult including asymptomatic viral shedders, difficulty in screening to identify infected individuals, thousands of international travelers […]
Go Mediterranean with Your Microbiome
The list of mental and physical attributes that decline with aging is long and well-known. Collectively our diminishing bodily functions contribute to increased frailty and more general inflammation. In the medical context, frailty includes not just weaker muscles and bones, but also reduced organ functions, decreased immunity, and cognitive decline. The combined negative changes can […]
Coronavirus Update
The COVID-19 disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 virus has not been as easily contained as the related SARS outbreak in 2003. Cases continue to mount in China with spread into roughly 30 other countries so far. New evidence suggests possible fecal transmission as well as by aerosol and close contact with infected individuals. Infected […]
A Coronavirus by Any Other Name
The new coronavirus outbreak is causing fear, social anxiety, and economic disruption worldwide as we struggle to contain its spread and find treatments or vaccines. Amid the medical and social issues comes the confusing matter of nomenclature, i.e. what do we call this virus and the disease it causes? This week the World Health Organization […]
The Genetics of Cancer
Cancer – that dreaded and mysterious disease that manifests in so many diverse ways and affects nearly everyone in some way or another. As different as leukemia might seem from prostate cancer or breast cancer, these three and all other cancers are fundamentally genetic disorders. One of the stunning discoveries of the 1970s was the […]
Ageotypes – Personal Markers of Aging
Although we all age, the rate and extent of our aging varies greatly and is somewhat disconnected from our chronological age. Some individuals are vigorous and healthy well into their 90s while others experience failing health decades earlier. To account for these differences, scientists introduced the concept of biological age. Biological age describes molecular and […]
Is a Herpesvirus Messing with MS?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a puzzling and complex autoimmune disease. During MS the immune system attacks cells in the brain causing damage to and loss of the myelin protein that is produced by cells called oligodendrocytes. Myelin acts as an insulating sheath around nerve cells (like the rubber coating on electrical wires), and damage to […]
Hey, 98.6, It’d Be Good to Have You Back Again!
Everyone knows that the normal human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), but it’s really more complicated than that single number. This temperature number was originally established in the mid-1800s based on millions of temperature measurements on thousands of people. The canonical 98.6 number is actually an average value with the normal […]
Can You Catch Type 1 Diabetes?
There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 2, known as adult onset diabetes, usually occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin, though in some cases it results from low production of insulin. In contrast, type 1 diabetes exclusively results from insufficient insulin production by the pancreas and is sometimes […]
