Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Spotlighting SEPA for National STEM Day
The NIGMS Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program provides opportunities for pre-K-12 students from underserved communities to access STEM educational resources. SEPA grants support innovative, research-based, science education programs, furthering NIGMS’ mission to ensure a strong and diverse biomedical research workforce. SEPA projects generate resources that are mapped to state and national teaching standards for STEM and are rigorously evaluated for effectiveness; most are also available at no cost. These resources include mobile laboratories, interactive health exhibits in museums and science centers, edu...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 8, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: STEM Education Research Roundup SEPA Training Source Type: blogs

Why Do Cells Die?
You might know that tiny individual units called cells make up your body. But did you know some of your cells die every day as a part of their normal life cycle? These deaths are balanced by other cells splitting into two identical cells, a process called mitosis. A confocal microscope films two cells: The cell on the left undergoes a type of cell death called apoptosis, and the one on the right undergoes mitosis. Credit: Dr. Dylan Burnette, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Regulated Cell Death For the most part, cells die in a controlled way in response to specific signals that tell them to. The cell ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 1, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Cellular Processes Common questions Source Type: blogs

Understanding RNA-Modifying Enzymes: Q & A With Jeffrey Mugridge
Credit: Courtesy of Jeffrey Mugridge. “One of the best aspects of research is the excitement of discovery, being the first person in the world to know a small detail about the system you’re studying,” says Jeffrey Mugridge, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Delaware in Newark. We talked with Dr. Mugridge about how a pet store job sparked his early interest in science, why he decided to change his career trajectory after graduate school, and what he believes is key to being a successful researcher. Q: How did you first become interested in science? A: ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 25, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Profiles RNA Source Type: blogs

A Periodic Look at Elements
It’s National Chemistry Week! To celebrate, we’re looking back at a few recent blog posts highlighting elements important for human health and scientific research. Check out the posts and tell us what your favorite element is in the comments section! Credit: Adapted from Compound Interest. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Got Calcium? Calcium is the most abundant mineral in our bodies. It’s essential for lots of important functions—including keeping bones strong and allowing muscles to move. Even clicking on this post to learn more about its many roles requires calcium! Credit: Adapted from Compound...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 18, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Element Source Type: blogs

How Do Medicines Work?
Credit: iStock. What we put into our bodies can affect how they function and what they do. For example, a sugary snack will probably make you feel differently than a high-protein meal. Similarly, different medicines elicit different responses in your body, and pharmacologists try to fine-tune each medicine to balance the desired (on-target) with the undesired (off-target) effects—a branch of pharmacology called pharmacodynamics. Most medicines work by binding to a molecular target, usually proteins like receptors or enzymes, and either blocking or supporting its activity, which results in their therapeutic effects. ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 16, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Common questions Medicines Miniseries Source Type: blogs

Research Organism Superheroes: Tardigrades
A 3D rendering of a tardigrade. Credit: iStock. “Water bear” or “moss piglet”? No matter what you call them, tardigrades have secured the title of cutest invertebrate—at least in our book. They’re tiny creatures, averaging about the size of a grain of salt, so while you can spot them with the naked eye, using a microscope is the best way to see them. They earned their nickname of water bear and their official name (which comes from tardigradus, Latin for “slow walker”) because of the way they lumber slowly and deliberately on short, stubby legs. They’re excellent research organism...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 11, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Tools and Techniques Cool Creatures Research Organisms Source Type: blogs

Claira Sohn Cultivates Neurons and Diversity in the STEM Community
Credit: Courtesy of Claira Sohn. Claira Sohn credits her grandfather with sparking her interest in science. Although he never studied science at a 4-year university due to financial limitations, he took many community college classes and worked in chemistry labs developing products such as hair dyes and dissolvable stitches. “Every morning, my grandfather would take me to school, and we’d stop to get orange juice and a cookie and talk about science. When I was in elementary school, he bought me a book about quantum mechanics written for kids,” she says. “He inspired me to ask questions and encouraged me to go to ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 4, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cells Diseases Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Diversity Supplement Program Paves the Way for Talented Researchers
“I hope that one day I’m able to increase our understanding of evolution, and I also hope to increase access to research. I want others to know that this space is open to people who look like me, who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and who are underrepresented in the sciences,” says Nkrumah Grant, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate (postdoc) in microbiology and molecular genetics at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing. Dr. Grant’s work receives support from the NIGMS Diversity Supplement Program (DSP), which is designed to improve the recruitment and training of promising researchers from ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 27, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Diseases Microbes Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

In Other Words: Sandboxes Aren ’t Just for Kids
Did you know that kids aren’t the only ones playing around in sandboxes? The term sandbox may evoke a childhood memory of sensory play, but it’s also used to describe a virtual environment where someone can learn from digital products. Credit: NIGMS. High quantities of data that can be hard to manage, store, and understand are increasingly driving biomedical research. Scientists need access to high-performance computer infrastructure along with bioinformatics tools to do cutting-edge research, but often these resources are out of reach for smaller institutions. Cloud computing can provide access to top-of-the...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 20, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Tools and Techniques Bioinformatics Computational Biology Cool Tools/Techniques In Other Words Source Type: blogs

Quiz: Sepsis Science
Bacteria are the most common triggers of sepsis.Credit: Mark Ellisman and Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California San Diego. At least 1.7 million adults in the United States develop a life-threatening condition called sepsis each year. Sepsis is an overwhelming or impaired whole-body immune response that’s most often caused by bacterial infections. However, it can also be caused by viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza; fungal infections; or other injuries, including physical trauma.​​ Anyone can get sepsis, but there’s a higher risk ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 13, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Injury and Illness Quiz Research Roundup Sepsis Source Type: blogs

What Happens to Medicine in Your Body?
Medicines administered orally, by inhaler, and intravenously enter the stomach, lungs, and veins, respectively. They’re absorbed, then circulate throughout the body in the blood, are processed by the liver, and excreted by the kidneys and intestines. Credit: NIGMS. Have you ever wondered what happens inside your body when you take a medicine? An area of pharmacology called pharmacokinetics is the study of precisely that. Here, we follow a medicine as it enters the body, finds its therapeutic target (also called the active site), and then eventually leaves the body. To begin, a person takes or is given a dose of medi...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 11, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Common questions Medicines Miniseries Source Type: blogs

Q & A With Dylan Burnette: Muscle Cells, Cell Movement, and Microscopy
Courtesy of Dr. Dylan Burnette. “We scientists know very little of what can be known—I find that invigorating,” says Dylan Burnette, Ph.D., an associate professor of cell and developmental biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. “Most people find it exhausting, but I’m comfortable with not knowing all of biology’s secrets.” In an interview, Dr. Burnette shared his lab’s work on muscle cells, the knowledge he hopes readers take away from his research, and some advice to future scientists about being comfortable being wrong. Q: How did you first become interested in s...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 6, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cellular Imaging Cellular Processes Profiles Source Type: blogs

Bridging the Representation Gap in Biomedical Research
“We hope that students come out of our program feeling like they’re part of a community. Many of us feel inadequate or struggle in some way during graduate school—it can be a challenging time. I want to build a community that our students can always come back to for support,” says Elana Ehrlich, Ph.D., the co-director of the Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training Program (B2D) at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, alongside Michelle Snyder, Ph.D.. The Towson B2D is one of several NIGMS-supported B2Ds, which are dedicated to developing a diverse pool of well-trained biomedical scientists who will transiti...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 30, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Training Source Type: blogs

Up Your Game With NIH Kahoot! Quizzes
NIH is now a premium partner with Kahoot! Credit: NIGMS. We’re excited to announce our new partnership with Kahoot! Although we aren’t new Kahoot! gamers, we’ve recently partnered with them to provide you quizzes from across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a single place. “Reaching young people to teach them about biomedical science and inspire them to pursue careers in science is critically important to ensuring a diverse and vibrant biomedical research enterprise,” says NIGMS Director Jon Lorsch, Ph.D. “Our partnership with Kahoot! expands NIH’s STEM offerings, providing educators with free, in...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 23, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: STEM Education Source Type: blogs

Celebrating 10 Years of Biomedical Beat
This August marks 10 years of the blog! Throughout the past decade, we’ve brought you blog posts that explore basic science topics, quiz your knowledge, showcase cool images, and more! Some of our most-read favorites include: We’ve also interviewed over a hundred NIGMS-funded scientists about their research, mentorship, and careers. To celebrate 10 years, we went back to two of the first researchers featured on the blog to see what they’re up to now. Exploring Enzymes With Dr. Emily Scott Credit: University of Michigan. Around the time we first fe...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 16, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Molecular Structures Cool Tools/Techniques Profiles Research Roundup RNA Source Type: blogs