Tag: health

  • Did Mutation Shape the Homo Sapien Brain?

    Neanderthals are cousins to modern humans and both are grouped in the genus Homo. While designated as different species (Homo neanderthalensis versusHomo sapiens), Neanderthals and humans are genetically close and likely co-existed for thousands of years, primarily in Eurasia. Once considered a more primitive species, evolving science indicates that Neanderthals had brains similar in size…

  • The $100 Genome?

    Our human genomes are contained within 23 pairs of chromosomes comprised of DNA. It was 70 years ago in 1953 that Watson and Crick first solved the physical structure of DNA, a groundbreaking achievement that earned them the Nobel Prize. They showed that DNA is a long chain molecule with two strands wound around each…

  • It’s In Your Gut

    America is an increasingly overweight country and the problem seems to be getting worse. Already over one-half of Americans are considered overweight and each year more and more people tip the scales into the overweight category. Many factors likely contribute to this trend, but ultimately if we consume more calories than we burn each day…

  • The Viruses Within

    One of the most startling findings from sequencing the human genome is that humans aren’t entirely human. Approximately 8% of our DNA is viral, the result of ancient viruses invading our cells and inserting their DNA into our genomes. These insertions are scattered throughout our genomes and are primarily the remnants of a family of…

  • Human Brain Evolution

    Primates are our closest relatives with chimpanzees sharing almost 99% of our DNA genomes. Neanderthals are even closer to modern humans with genomes 99.7% identical to ours and with brains nearly the same size as modern humans. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) and humans (Homo sapiens) were so genetically similar that successful interbreeding occurred, resulting in a…

  • Mosquitoes, Scents, and Viruses

    Many viral diseases are spread via mosquitoes. Some of the more familiar viral diseases in the Americas that are transmitted by these insects include West Nile, Saint Louis encephalitis (SLE), Zika, and dengue fever. Mosquitoes are typically not the primary host for these viruses and are just vectors that carry the virus from animal to…

  • Polio 2022

    The last three years with COVID and the current monkeypox outbreak have dramatically illustrated that viruses are and will remain persistent dangers to human health. In addition to these new threats, the usual panoply of human viruses is ever present and continually spreading among susceptible individuals. The recent polio case in New York (an unvaccinated…

  • Sniff, Sniff, Bite (Mosquitoes are Hunting You)

    Mosquitoes, the bane of summer, are persistent pests that can plague our outdoor activities. Not only do they produce itchy bites, but they can also carry a variety of disease-causing viruses including Zika virus, West Nile virus, dengue virus, and St. Louis encephalitis virus. There are 176 species of mosquito found in North America, with…

  • A Mutational Limit for Lifespan?

    It has long been known that mammalian lifespan roughly correlates with animal size, i.e. larger animals live longer than smaller ones. Mice generally live less than 2 years, your average dog lives 10-13 years, and humans have a typical lifespan of 73 years. What is less clear is the mechanistic basis for this observation. Differences…