FREE Email Newsletter Bioscience Technology Daily
Next-Gen Sequencing Maps 'Highly Degraded' DNA
February 6, 2024 12:46 pm | by Sean Alloca, Editor, Forensic Magazine | CommentsNext-generation sequencing (NGS) technology can now profile highly damaged DNA samples that contain 75 percent less base-pair information, compared with previous systems. This is a significant improvement for law enforcement in cases involving missing persons or unidentified human remains.
Beethoven’s Arrhythmias Likely Inspired Some of His Masterpieces
February 3, 2024 1:54 pm | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | Comments"Washington University cardiologist Zachary Goldberger once made music out of heartbeats. Now, with a Beethoven scholar and a medical historian, he has discovered that three musical compositions that Beethoven created while stressed are arrhythmic in a way mirroring the composer's own probable heart arrhythmias."
Women Less Welcome Than Men in Fields Demanding Brilliance
January 28, 2024 4:25 pm | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsWomen are less welcome than men in fields—including philosophy, physics, math, and music composition—where brilliance is viewed as more important than effort, says a co-ed Princeton University/University of Illinois group in a recent Science.
President Obama Announces Precision Medicine Initiative
January 22, 2024 12:32 pm | by Ryan Bushey, Associate Editor | CommentsThe President briefly mentioned the project during the State of The Union earlier this week.
Blueberries, Avocados and Cocoa Beans May Keep Cardiologists at Bay
January 20, 2024 5:21 pm | by Bioscience Technology Staff | CommentsTimes have changed. It used to be that an apple a day kept the doctor away. But three recent studies indicate this mantra could be changed to “a blueberry- avocado-cocoa-bean-smoothie a day” keeps the doctor away—if the doctor is a cardiologist.
Eradicating Ebola: What Will It Take?
January 20, 2024 10:25 am | by Ryan Bushey, Associate Editor | CommentsThese factors may not be enough to finally end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Red-Hot Coverage for Study: “Cold Noses Cause Colds"
January 15, 2024 9:46 am | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsColds can come from cold noses, according to a high-profile study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Five Biotech Startups to Watch in 2015
January 13, 2024 5:02 pm | by Ryan Bushey, Associate Editor | CommentsThese companies have an interesting year ahead of them.
Genome Sequencing of 200-Year-Old Whales May Help Humans Fight Disease
January 13, 2024 9:07 am | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsFor the first time, the genome of a mammal longer-lived than man has been sequenced: the bowhead whale, who lives 200-plus years, and gets far less cancer given its size.
Virtual Reality vs. Real Life: How Brain Neurons Light Up
January 12, 2024 8:56 am | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsSpace-mapping brain neurons do not “light up” in scans when exposed to the virtual reality (VR) at work in kids’ video games, the way they do in the “real world.” The neurons—found in the hippocampus—only mirror the “reality” state some 50 percent of the time.
Pros and Cons: Alcohol Consumption for 10M Years
January 8, 2024 5:16 pm | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsWe’ve been imbibing alcohol for ten million years, and the start of that long drinking binge coincided with our descent from the trees. So alcohol may have brought us (along with lots of hangovers), some measure of our humanity.
Egg and Sperm Cells Made From Adult Cells
January 7, 2024 1:23 pm | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsFor the first time, scientists have made human sperm and egg precursor cells from human adult skin cells. The work, detailed in a recent paper in Cell, could ultimately change the age at which women stop having children.
Mystery Lingers Over STAP “Acid Bath” Stem Cells
January 7, 2024 10:22 am | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsAn investigatory panel hired by the Riken Institute in Toyko, Japan recently issued reports finding that STAP “acid bath” stem cells were, in the main, simply garden-variety embryonic stem (ES) cell lines.
New Clues Why Older Women Are More Susceptible to Breast Cancer
January 5, 2024 3:48 pm | by Skip Derra, Contributing Writer | CommentsThe idea that breast cancer becomes more prevalent with age is fairly well established, but the reasons why are still uncertain. Now, scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have new insights into why older women are more susceptible to breast cancer.
A Fascinating Year in Breast Cancer Advances
January 5, 2024 8:50 am | by Cynthia Fox, Science Writer | CommentsSome of the most important advances in breast cancer this year were related to all kinds of heterogeneity: within tumors, between tumors in a single patient, and between tumors in early and later stages, according to oncologists speaking at conferences, and contacted by Bioscience Technology.
