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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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To Sleep, Perchance to Get Healthier
A good night’s sleep is one of those precious commodities that is often difficult to obtain in our hectic, modern lives. Between work and family, not to mention binge watching your favorite series, getting enough sleep each day can be challenging. We stay up too late, we rise too early, and often we don’t sleep […]
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How Old is Your Dog Really in Human Years?
The common metric is that each dog year equals 7 human years, but a new study suggests that the correlation is not that simple, at least for Labrador retrievers. To evaluate relative dog age, the researchers examined epigenetic changes in dog DNA and compared them with similar age-related changes in human DNA. Epigenetic changes refer […]