Six Things to Know About DNA and DNA Repair
Deoxyribonucleic acid, better known as DNA, was first identified on a discarded surgical bandage almost 150 years ago. Increasingly sophisticated tools and techniques have allowed scientists to learn more about this chemical compound that includes all the instructions necessary for building a living organism. From among the dozens of fascinating things known about DNA, here are six items touching on the make up of DNA’s double helix, the vast amounts of DNA packed into every human’s cells, common DNA errors and a few ways DNA can repair itself.
1. DNA is in every living thing.
DNA consists of two long, twisted chains...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - April 11, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Anne Oplinger Tags: Genetics DNA DNA repair Source Type: blogs
Vaping Opponents Have Lost Scientific Rigor; Now Concluding that E-Cigarettes Cause Heart Attacks Based on a Science Fair Project
Vaping opponents are using the results of a new " study " as evidence that vaping causes heart attacks.Here is what my colleague Dr. Stan Glantzwrote about this " study " :" Every time I have posted a comment on a new study showing that e-cigarettes adversely affect blood vessels and blood in ways that increase risk of a heart attack, a friend and colleague who remains part of the (shrinking) collection of e-cigarette enthusiasts emails me and with he comment that, “if they are so bad where’s the evidence that e-cigarettes increase the risk of a heart attack?” The first evidence just appeared. Using the Nationa...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - March 31, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs
CDER 2017 Guidance Agenda
In January, FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) released its annual guidance agenda, announcing the new and revised draft guidances that the Center plans to publish during the 2017 calendar year. CDER’s 102-part agenda is organized by category and touches on a variety of topics, giving us a glimpse of what to expect throughout the year. This year’s agenda follows a similar pattern to the Center’s 2016 agenda, placing an emphasis on the clinical aspects of drug development, pharmaceutical quality, generics, and procedural activities. However, CDER is not bound by this list of topics, required to iss...
Source: Policy and Medicine - March 31, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Heroin in Vietnam: The True Story of the Robins Study
Editor's note: The famous Robins study on heroin use among Vietnam veterans has been sooften —and so recently—misinterpreted that I felt motivated to reprint an older post on the subject.[Originally posted 7/24/10]In 1971, under the direction of Dr. Jerome Jaffe of the Special Action Office on Drug Abuse Prevention, Dr. Lee Robins of Washington University in St. Louis undertook an investigation of heroin use among young American servicemen in Vietnam. Nothing about addiction research would ever be quite the same after the Robins study. The results of the Robins investigation turned the official story of ...
Source: Addiction Inbox - March 25, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs
Early Signs of Dementia, Falls, Changes in Balance and Gait
According to this study, a fall by an older adult who otherwise has a low risk of falling may signal a need for diagnostic evaluation for Alzheimer's," continued Carrillo.Memory TestsThe 8-month study followed 125 older adults currentlyenrolled in longitudinal studies of memory and aging at Washington University's federally funded Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC).All participants had PiB PET imaging and contributed samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).Each participant was asked to record in a journal how many times they experienced a fall, which was defined as unintentional movement to the floor, ground or...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - March 10, 2017 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's alzheimer's symptoms alzheimers help balance dementia care falls gait heath help with dementia care lifestyle memory care facility nursing home Source Type: blogs
ACA Repeal Replace Legislation and the Future of Medicaid
George Washington University's Sara Rosenbaum examines how the bill deals with the ACA Medicaid expansion for poor working-age adults, as well as how the Medicaid program—which services 74 million adults and children—would function as a whole.
(Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog)
Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog - March 3, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: blogs
What Does the Draft ACA Repeal/Replace Legislation Tell Us About the Future of Medicaid?
George Washington University's Sara Rosenbaum examines how the draft ACA repeal bill approaches Medicaid expansion for poor working-age adults, as well as how the Medicaid program—which services 74 million adults and children—would function as a whole.
(Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog)
Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog - March 2, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: blogs
FDA Cleared: MRIdian Linac, The First Linear Accelerator and MRI In One
ViewRay out of Oakwood Village, Ohio, received FDA clearance for its MRIdian Linac radiotherapy system, the first that combines a linear accelerator with an MRI to provide combined image guidance and therapy. It can allow physicians to see whether the radiation beam is properly hitting the tumor and what effect it may be having.
The system features 6 megavolt linear accelerator and 0.35 T MRI, and the two can work simultaneously thanks to the shielding that protects the linac from the magnets.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Washington University in St. Louis will be the first hospitals to ...
Source: Medgadget - March 1, 2017 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: Radiation Oncology Source Type: blogs
Event February 27th: U.S. Military Posture and Persian Gulf Oil
Since at least World War II, U.S. foreign policy has been shaped by the necessity of securing scarce oil supplies. And for more than 30 years, it has been shaped by a commitment to safeguard the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Many of the defining moments in U.S. foreign policy since then – including the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s, the 1980s ‘tanker war’ and even the 1991 Persian Gulf War – have been shaped by this commitment, perhaps most clearly articulated by President Carter in 1980:Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be r...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 21, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Emma Ashford Source Type: blogs
How green tea could help treat bone marrow disorders
Posted by Erika Ebsworth-Goold-WUSTL February 10th, 2017 http://www.futurity.org/amyloidosis-green-tea-1356282-2/ Scientists are investigating a compound found in green tea for often-fatal medical complications associated with bone-marrow disorders. Jan Bieschke of Washington University in St. Louis studies how proteins fold and shape themselves, and how these processes can contribute to a variety of diseases. He says the compound […] (Source: beth's myeloma blog)
Source: beth's myeloma blog - February 14, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Beth Tags: Myeloma EGCG epigallocatechine-3-gallate green tea Source Type: blogs
Immigrants make America great
In 1949, my maternal grandparents left everything and everyone they knew — a happy family, a comfortable home, a thriving medical practice — to travel further across the Earth than any of their family ever had before, to come through Ellis Island, and to trek to the Mayo Clinic so my grandfather could become a pioneering anesthesiologist.
Twenty-one of my aunts, uncles, and cousins have since followed in their footsteps and practice today as doctors in the United States. My sister and I, too, became physicians.
In 1960, my father flew to New York with $20 in his pocket and a burning desire to pursue the America...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 13, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/alexi-gharib-nazem" rel="tag" > Alexi Gharib Nazem, MD, MBA < /a > Tags: Physician Health IT Source Type: blogs
Research for Cancer People
I would be happy to participate in research that might benefit other cancer people in the future. However, I am always told that I have too many other ailments and am not eligible. Insert ' Unhappy Face ' here.But I was overjoyed to find out that there will be a program on this Friday February 10 at 12 pm ET that will talk about how people with cancer can participate in research. Its a webex session meaning that you can participate remotely.I learned about this program by being subscribed toJohns Hopkins Artemis (which provides the best information on new breast cancer research). If you have breast cancer and aren ' t subs...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - February 7, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer cancer research Source Type: blogs
Insights from a Brain Training Study on Tinnitus
In this study, patients spent 40 hours working on the exercises embodied in the BrainHQ [ http://www.brainhq.com ] ‘course’ titled “Auditory Intensive” http://www.brainhq.com/welcome#challenges/auditoryrehab_1_challenge/intro
If you complete that “Challenge, I would recommend you consider adding “Focus on Auditory Memory” http://www.brainhq.com/welcome#challenges/auditory_memory_1_challenge/intro
The post Insights from a Brain Training Study on Tinnitus appeared first on "On the Brain" with Dr. Michael Merzenich. (Source: On the Br...
Source: On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. - January 31, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. Merzenich Tags: BrainHQ Posit Science Tinnitus Source Type: blogs
Drug Halts Alzheimer ’s Related Tau Damage in Brain
In some people, the brain protein tau collects into toxic tangles that damage brain cells and contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer ’s.By Alzheimer's Reading RoomResearchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a drug that can lower tau levels and prevent some neurological damage.I thought this information was interesting so I decided to bring this research summary up for all to read.Note: Oligonucleotide treatments have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for two neuromuscular diseases.How to Adapt the Caregiver Brain to Alzheimer's and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer's...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - January 27, 2017 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer alzheimers drug alzheimers treatment dementia care health help alzheimer's help with dementia care science tau Source Type: blogs
