By: Derek Hsu A sentence other than death. Many individuals subjugated to the US incarceration system are exposed to gang rivalries, inhumane conditions, and low staffing levels – a sentence some would argue strips the personality and character of an individual. However, the physical layout of prisons, in particular their outdated building design, are causing […]
Is Chemotherapy Right for Everyone?: Cancer Cell Markers as Predictors of Chemotherapy Efficacy
By: Daniel Voronel Chemotherapy is one of the most common ways of treating cancer but is not always a foolproof method to help patients gain remission. Oftentimes, it is difficult to tell if chemotherapy will actually eliminate cancerous cells or fail to take effect. A recent paper written by Hanbing Song and Simon Bucher et […]
‘Tis the Season for Fires: Wildfire Smoke linked to Skin Disease
By: Shalini Saravanan Red skies, gray flakes, and the smell of something burnt. This is the reality of the wildfire seasons that come around to California on a yearly basis, although to the average native Californian, wildfire season simply marks the beginning of Fall. Due to decreased rainfall and the persisting drought, California wildfires have […]
Epilepsy Research
By: Jacob Yinger Epilepsy is a disease that 50 million people worldwide suffer from, and 80% of those reside in third world countries with minimal access to healthcare. This disease causes irreversible brain damage due to unwarranted electrical activity in the brain, which results in regular seizures. There are many treatments for epilepsy, mostly consisting […]
Take the Sick Out of Sickle Cell: CRISPR Technology Aims to Cure Disease
By: Diya Shinglot Every forty seconds, one person in the United States has a stroke. Every 4 minutes, one person in the United States dies from a stroke (Center of Disease Control and Prevention). While professionals know that a healthier lifestyle may reduce the risks of strokes and brain hemorrhages, there is still much to […]
TRPA1 Receptor and the Future of Pain Management
By: Cleo Lin A common but deleterious mistake many sushi lovers have likely made is taking ambitious serving sizes of the Japanese root wasabi with their rolls. Unfortunately, this mistake is quickly registered after the wasabi contacts our taste receptors, manifesting in tears and a minty heat filling up the mouth. This stinging, burning sensation, […]
Through the Eyes: Retinal Imaging for those with Alzheimer’s Risk Gene
By: Victoria Lee What can the eyes tell us about a person? According to a study conducted by researchers at the Department of Neurology at UCSF, they can be used to tell that a person possibly has Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD). Researchers studying the Apolipoprotein E or (APOE4) ε4 gene, a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, were […]
HIP Cells: A Novel Stem Cell Therapy to Treat Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases
by Dylan Feldstein Unethical. Overhyped. Polarizing. Indeed, there is great controversy surrounding stem cell therapies, particularly pertaining to human embryonic stem cells. With the advancements in science and technology, a new type of stem cell called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), generated by reprogramming adult somatic cells, eliminates the reliance on human embryos to harvest […]
A New Hope for AADC Deficiency: Gene Therapy’s Power in a New Environment
by Ashvin Irrinki 135. That’s the number of children in this world who are missing just one particular enzyme. For many of us, this enzyme is merely another protein that fits somewhere in a biochemical pathway that helps us without our knowledge- and it ends there. For these 135 individuals, however, this enzyme, and more […]
The ‘GrimAge’ Reaper: Accelerated mortality linked to major depressive disorder
by: Annika Pohlo In addition to the most commonly known symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD), this condition is also a risk factor for a number of issues associated with aging, such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Present in over 16.1 million Americans, MDD is a mood disorder tied to emotional and even physical […]