by: Brenda Martinez There comes a time when some people start forgetting their meaning in life. Not only are they affected by this problem, but the families are as well. In a study done in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, published in January 10, 2017, stated that “patients with dementia with Lewy bodies often […]
Accuracy of Mobile Phone and Handheld Light Microscopy for the Diagnosis of Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Protozoa Infections in Ivory Coast
by: Aman Upadhyay Her hands are calloused, storied from the years of work on a cocoa bean plantation which she started when she was forced to leave school at the tender age of 5 to help her parents make ends meet. There is something else on her hands, however. Dotted along the length of her […]
Racism and Heart Disease: How Being Racist and Receiving Racism Both Have Negative Implications for Your Health
by: Isabel Marchand Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown are all recognizable names at the frontlines of the current debates regarding race relations and racism in America, representing a new wave of a push for civil rights. At such a pivotal time in our country’s history, issues regarding race are consistently on the front […]
How to be a Mind Reader: Brain-Computer Interface Gives a Voice to Those Who Cannot Speak
by: Katerina Furman Until now, mind-reading seemed like a distant fantasy. However, with the new Brain Computer Interface developed by the BioX scientists of Stanford University, it has become a feasible reality. The brand new technology directly reads brain signals to type out words as they are thought. The interface is working on methods of […]
Hope for Prion Research: A New Cell-Model to Study Prions
by: Kathyna Thai The Fore tribe in Papua New Guinea practiced cannibalism of the deceased as a way to “return the life force among the living”. The first documented cases of a disease relating to cannibalism erupted here in the 1950s. Individuals experiencing uncontrollable tremors, painful headaches, and unsteady gait were reported as having “Kuru”. […]
Beyond Bug Bites: Analyzing the Routes of Vertical Transmission of Zika Virus
by: Sasha Narain Since May 2015, it is estimated that up to 1.3 million people in Brazil alone have been infected with Zika virus (ZIKV). Zika was initially isolated in Uganda in the 1940s in mosquitoes and monkeys. Beginning in 2015, this little-known disease quickly spread throughout tropical climate regions, ranging from South and Central […]
First Steps to a Cure: Protein C4 Implicated in Schizophrenia Risk
by: Zachary Grimmett Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric disease that is characterized by impaired advanced cognitive function, typically presenting in late adolescence or early adulthood. Unfortunately, scientific researchers have been puzzled by the underlying mechanism behind this disease since its discovery. While drugs exist to treat symptoms of schizophrenic psychosis, there are many other symptoms […]
Like Mother Like Daughter: Study finds heritable transmission of emotional neurocircuitry
by: Sarah Rockwood Parents provide much more than food on the table, a roof to live under, and the occasional time-out. They contribute the genetic framework and environmental upbringing that shapes each one of us–the combination of nature and nurture that shapes us into unique individuals. These intergenerational effects determine a myriad of phenotypes, from […]
Why Costa Ricans Outlive Americans
by: Sandeep Kaur Why do some populations live longer than others? Many factors unquestionably influence the health indicators of a population. Researchers are attempting to understand why Costa Rica outperforms the United States in life expectancy, despite the United States having higher income and health care expenditures. For example, “mortality in the United States is […]
What Inuit genes may reveal about the secret to personalized diets
by: Mackenzie Moore For decades, health experts have touted the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids based on the paleo diet of Inuit tribes studied in the 1970s. Scientists correlated the decreased number of heart attacks in Arctic populations with the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids consumed through fatty fish and meats, but a closer […]