by: Lavanya Sankaran Since the 1930s, redlining maps (which evaluated neighborhood mortgage-lending risk) have played a key role in upholding racial disparities across the United States. Now, nearly 100 years later, the long-term health impacts of redlining are just being revealed. A recent study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley found that unfavorable birth […]
The Mystery of Multiple Sclerosis: What Does the Immune System Have to Do With It?
by: Katie Foulger Affecting one million Americans per year, of an unknown cause, with no treatment plans in place — the disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) truly is an enigma. MS is an autoimmune disease that directly affects the central nervous system (CNS), consisting of the brain and spinal cord. The immune system malfunctions and begins […]
Lung Cancer Screening Saves Lives: What if We Started Using Blood Plasma?
by: Hiba Elkhatib “Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the US and around the world. Almost everyone is going to know someone with lung cancer at some point. So, the goal is to try to diagnosis lung cancer as early as possible when patients have that possibility of a cure.” […]
Identifying Amyloid Deposits Using PET to Detect Earlier Stages of Memory Decline
by: Catherine Kim Recent studies reported that late intervention resulted in memory decline in cognitively normal (CN) individuals who tested negative for β-amyloid (Aβ). Researchers found that therapeutic interventions typically occur when individuals test positive for Aβ, which may be too late. Exactly how to identify those Aβ negative (Aβ-) individuals with cognitive decline using […]
Targeting the Undruggable Proteome – one probe at a time
by: Brandon Chan Recent advances in utilizing chemoproteomic platforms for drug discovery poses an enormous potential for investigating new novel therapeutics. This greatly expands the scope of discovering promising treatments for diseases, particularly in the realm of targeting proteins for degradation. Much interest has been devoted to understanding this strategy, as the hallmark of many […]
At Home EEG: Comparing the Effectiveness of the Wireless EEG System
by: Amy Wise Every second of every day, every network of cells in our brain is sending signals at specific rhythms that allow us to transmit an enormous amount of information. Brain cells communicate with each other through electrical impulses. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test used to evaluate the electrical activity in the brain […]
The Heart of an Industry: The Long Term Impacts of Historical Gold Mining
by: Katherine Stenger In 1849, California was considered to be the land of gold; today, it is a region filled with more toxins than shiny metals, a direct consequence of mining activity from the California Gold Rush nearly 200 years ago. Community members in the Sierra Nevada foothills had been particularly concerned for decades, worried […]
Sleep Patterns: The Key to Predicting Alzheimer’s
by: Doris Ma Sleep patterns could be the key to predicting one’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A recent study published in JNeurosci shows that the accumulation of β-amyloid and tau proteins are associated with the disease which could be an early indicator of AD. Two proteins are thought to be the culprits of […]
Mental Health Neglect and Associated Stigmas in University Settings
by: Alina Das Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting over 300 million people across the globe. One in four people between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness (World Health Organization, 2018). Despite its immense contribution to the overall global burden of disease, mental illness remains largely circumvented […]
CasX enzymes comprise a distinct family of RNA-guided genome editors
by: Ken Hinh Advancements in genetic engineering have skyrocketed in the past seven years as the emerging genome editing tool—CRISPR-Cas9—has been utilized on bacteria, animals, and plants to edit DNA, which has the potential for curing a variety of genetic diseases. More specifically, the CRISPR system has the potential to cut DNA of any genome […]