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Putting West Virginia Students on the Path to Scientific Careers
Credit: NIGMS. Two NIGMS-funded programs are teaming up to shape the future of science and technology in West Virginia (WV). One engages high school students in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEM+M); introduces them to research; and provides direct access to college through tuition waivers. In the other program, undergraduate students are paired with a researcher at their institution for a paid internship—an important step toward a career in science. The Health Sciences & Technology Academy “We liken our students to rosebuds. As they grow, you see them blossom into self-confident lea...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 31, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist STEM Education SEPA Training Source Type: blogs

What Do Fats Do in the Body?
It’s common knowledge that too much cholesterol and other fats can lead to disease and that a healthy diet involves watching how much fatty food we eat. However, our bodies need a certain amount of fat to function—and we can’t make it from scratch. Hepatocytes, like the one shown here, are the most abundant type of cell in the human liver. One important role they play is producing bile, a liquid that aids in digesting fats. Credit: Donna Beer Stolz, University of Pittsburgh. Triglycerides, cholesterol, and other essential fatty acids—the fats our bodies can’t make on their own—store energy, ins...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 24, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Common questions Source Type: blogs

Research Organism Superheroes: Fruit Flies
Credit: iStock. Those pesky little bugs flying around the overripe bananas in your kitchen may hold the key to understanding something new about how our bodies work. That’s right, the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is a widely used research organism in genetics because of its superpower of reproducing quickly with similar genes to people. Researchers have been studying fruit flies for over a century for many reasons. First, they’re easy to please—just keep them at room temperature and feed them corn meal, sugar, and yeast (or those bananas on your counter!). Second, they reproduce more quickly and have shor...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 17, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: STEM Education Tools and Techniques Cool Creatures Research Organisms Source Type: blogs

RISE-ing Stars From Northern Arizona University
Chantel Tsosie at her college graduation, wearing her Tribe’s formal, traditional rug dress that her grandmother made. Credit: Courtesy of Chantel Tsosie. “Science is for everyone. It’s in everything. It exists in cultures everywhere,” says Chantel Tsosie, a master’s student in the NIGMS-supported Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff. The program aims to prepare a diverse group of students for research careers through culturally relevant support, hands-on research experiences, and a tailored curriculum. Chantel started her bachelor’...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 10, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

How Can the Immune System Go Awry?
This post is part of a miniseries on the immune system. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series that you may have missed. The immune system is designed to closely monitor the body for signs of intruders that may cause infection. But what happens if it malfunctions? Overactive and underactive immune systems can both have negative effects on your health. Autoimmune Disorders To effectively monitor the body for pathogens, the adaptive immune system has to learn what a pathogen “looks like” on a molecular level. During their development, white blood cells go through training to learn how to differe...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 8, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Injury and Illness Diseases Immunology Miniseries Infectious Diseases Microbes Sepsis Source Type: blogs

Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists Through CityLab
Credit: CityLab. “Many of the students we work with don’t have access to a laboratory through their local schools. For them, CityLab is their first exposure to a laboratory environment—these are hugely important moments for these kids,” says Carl Franzblau, Ph.D., the founder of CityLab at Boston University (BU). CityLab was established more than 30 years ago as a science education outreach program for precollege students and teachers through a partnership between the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development at BU. “Since our first Science Edu...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 3, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology STEM Education SEPA Training Source Type: blogs

Ring In the New Year With Basic Research
Empowering basic biomedical research, which focuses on understanding how living systems work, is one of NIGMS’ main goals. This type of research not only helps us learn how our bodies and those of other organisms function but also lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. We’re excited to see what the upcoming year has in store for the field! In preparation, we’re highlighting what NIGMS-supported scientists had to say in 2023 about the many merits of basic research. Also check out the links to the Biomedical Beat posts that feature them if you haven’t already. ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 27, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Scientific Process Source Type: blogs

Seeking Success in Science Through NIH-Funded Training
Credit: Courtesy of Hasset Nurelegne. “What’s great about a career in research is that there are so many paths you can take. I get so excited for the future when I think about all the open doors ahead of me,” says Hasset Nurelegne, a senior at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Hasset is majoring in neuroscience and behavioral biology (NBB) as well as English. Since her first year on campus, Hasset has been an active participant in an NIGMS-funded program at Emory that aims to develop a diverse pool of scientists, the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) (which is now just for graduate student...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 20, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Science Snippet: Zooming In on Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles come in many different shapes and configurations. Credit: Adapted from Stevens, et. al., under Creative Commons License 4.0. Nanoparticles may sound like gadgets from a science fiction movie, but they exist in real life. They’re particles of any material that are less than 100 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter) in all dimensions. Nanoparticles appear in nature, and humans have, mostly unknowingly, used them since ancient times. For example, hair dyeing in ancient Egypt involved lead sulfite nanoparticles, and artisans in the Middle Ages added gold and silver nanoparticles to stained-glass windows. Over...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 13, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Cool Videos Medicines Science Snippet Source Type: blogs

What Is the Immune System?
A computer-generated image of the rotavirus, a virus that commonly causes illness in children through inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Credit: Bridget Carragher, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California. What do antibodies, mucus, and stomach acid have in common? They’re all parts of the immune system! The immune system is a trained army of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to block, detect, and eliminate harmful insults to your body. It can protect you from invaders like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Innate and Adaptive The immune system is often thought of as two...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 11, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Common questions Immunology Miniseries Infectious Diseases Microbes Source Type: blogs

Award-Winning Safety Training Videos Showcase Inclusivity in the Lab
Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU’s) Center on Health Disparities and safety and risk management department in Richmond teamed up to develop a series of six lab safety training videos with supplemental funding to their NIGMS-funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program. The videos cover topics such as safety culture, biosafety, chemical safety, and emergency response, but what sets them apart is how they showcase diversity and inclusion in the lab. The first video in the safety training series describes the importance of maintaining positive safety culture, which includes people’s p...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 6, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cool Videos Training Source Type: blogs

Making Microprotein Discoveries With Alan Saghatelian
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Alan Saghatelian. “There aren’t many professions that can provide this much opportunity for learning, especially when it comes to understanding how our bodies work. I really love what I do—I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” says Alan Saghatelian, Ph.D., a professor in the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. From studying new facts and experimental techniques to adopting new ways of thinking, researchers never stop learning, and Dr. Saghatelian credits his love for learning and exploring as reasons why h...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 29, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Profiles Proteins Source Type: blogs

What Is Antibiotic Resistance?
Antibiotic resistance is a risk for patients undergoing joint replacement surgery, for example, when the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus group together (blue) and attach to the surface of the implant (green). Credit: Tripti Thapa Gupta, Khushi Patel, and Paul Stoodley, The Ohio State University; Alex Horswill, University of Colorado School of Medicine. Bacteria can cause many common illnesses, including strep throat and ear infections. If you’ve ever gone to the doctor for one of these infections, they likely prescribed an antibiotic—a medicine designed to fight bacteria. Because bacteria can also cause life-threateni...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 22, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Injury and Illness Bacteria Common questions Drug Resistance Infectious Diseases Medicines Source Type: blogs

Curiosity-Driven Science: Q & A With Saad Bhamla
What do worm blobs and insect pee have to do with human health? We talked to Saad Bhamla, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, to find out. Q: What did your path to becoming a scientist look like? Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech. A: I grew up in Dubai and did my undergraduate work in India, which is where I was first introduced to science. The science faculty members seemed to be having so much fun and would say things like “for the love of science,” but I couldn’t figure out what joy they were getting until I got a ta...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 15, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Profiles Research Organisms Source Type: blogs

Quiz: Do You Know Pharmacology Facts?
This is the final post in our miniseries on pharmacology. Check out the others: “What Is Pharmacology?“, “What Happens to Medicine In Your Body?“, and “How Do Medicines Work?“ Credit: NIGMS. Pharmacologists research how the body acts on medicines (e.g., absorption, excretion) and how medicines act in the body, as well as how these effects vary from person to person. NIGMS-funded pharmacology researchers are: Conducting research to design medicines with fewer side effects Exploring how genes cause people to respond differently to medicines Developing new methods and molecul...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 13, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Common questions Medicines Miniseries Quiz Source Type: blogs