In the past month I've run across a couple different studies that have shed a little enlightenment on the role of calcium channels in physiology - the ion channels are getting a little love in the literature.

Calcium channels are proteins in cell membranes that activate signalin… Read full post »

Cell publishing has made a wonderful new review free for your download and reading. If you want a crash course on why cancer happens, or want to gather a list of subtopics to explore to fully understand cancer, I recommend stopping by their site while it's there.

 Hallmarks of Cancer:… Read full post »

Really, I'm ok. Still kicking and all. Thought I'd let ya know. Yes, I saw the messages - I just cleared out 100 that dated back as far as October. I guess I've been a bit distracted (and that may also be an underestimate).

 Want to know why I've been absent?… Read full post »

I haven't been around much - sometimes I sort through my inbox and read/rate recent articles - but I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, regardless of how, when, or what you celebrate this time year.

I'm hoping to do a year in research recap before the… Read full post »

December 1, today, is World AIDS Day - a day to promote awareness about the disease. Now, for 20 years people have been pretty aware that it's out there, but you would not believe the misconceptions and misinformation out there. So I'm taking this opportunity to enlighten anyone who may wander… Read full post »

Reading through the retractions and "editorial concerns" from major scientific publishing houses got me thinking about how the internet has compromised the dissemination of research information. It is usually thought of going the other way - the internet aids in the dissemination of information, but… Read full post »

Traditionally, the term species means that one group of critters is different from another group of critters. In the genomic age, it refers to genetic differences - though chimps and humans have 96-99% similarity when comparing the genomes - there is just something that creates those differe/… Read full post »

I met the most interesting woman today.

She's 88 years old. She was in the Navy in WW II (WAVES, a program of women helping with meals, clothing, and the fighting men's living quarters). She survived cancer.  She felt her life was rich even when they didn't have much. She threw… Read full post »

 Sisters, circa 2001 (all rights reserved)

My sister is in her sophomore year of college. She was a Biology major. I say "was" because this week she switched it - to Environmental Management. The reason? Genetics class - she didn't want to have to finish genetics.

Now, my mom,… Read full post »

Today is a big day. The first round of Health Care Reform provisions takes effect.

Rep. Larson gave HuffPo a rundown of 10 major benefits we’ll see. Basically, an insurance company can’t drop your policy when you’re sick, deny your kids a policy if they’… Read full post »

You have probably read it or heard it when a controversial drug hits the market - "they were approved but require postmarketing safety studies". And then you don't hear about the drug for awhile, until it either gets surpassed by a competitor or kills someone.

Well, the FDA does require postmarketing… Read full post »

A TheScientist recap of recent transgenics news in July had two different stories that caught my eye (full recap here), as the technology was being harnassed in a simple way to address a specific problem. 

First, Enviropig. This is a specific, trademarked strain of Yorkshi… Read full post »

The Roman god Janus is depicted as two faces, one looking right and one looking left. There is an enzyme named after him, JAK, and January is attributed to be his namesake. The god of doorways....

 I think of the images of Janus whenever I read about the… Read full post »

I've been quite busy lately, and I have not kept up here at all. I know - excuses excuses :)

 I just wanted to give a quick medical update on the health problems I mentioned previously since so many offered kind words, I didn't want to leave you wondering.

I'm… Read full post »

12 members of a 33-member FDA advisory panel recommended that Avandia, a once popular diabetes drug, be taken off the market. 20 made various recommendations about keeping it on the market but including stronger warnings about the heart risk because they're worried that banning the drug will open up… Read full post »

Remember in February when I said to expect a recall of the diabetes drug Avandia - well the FDA finally released its report in advance of a panel that will be held next week to make the final decision.

The findings are not good for Avandia maker GlaxoSmithKline. The FDA… Read full post »

For the past couple of months we've all been bombarded with the Gulf - news is constantly turning to the oil spill, the animals, the environment, the economics, the politics, the anger of the residents - and it has profound effects on our perception of this place given the term "the… Read full post »

And people think scientists don't have a sense of humor...

Tumor vessels are eph-ing complicated

Yep, that there is a real title from the Cell journals, a respectable publisher. I'm picturing a frustrated researcher cursing at his cell cultures :)

Stem cells have a lot of potential, some of which is already being tapped to treat diseases like leukemia and blood disorders (via bone marrow transplants). Private clinics offering stem cell therapies are popping up everywhere. But with 200 of these clinics currently open worldwide, therapies are be… Read full post »

So this oil spill, it doesn't seem to be going away. huh

Photo credit: IBRRC

When the Deepwater Horizon rig first exploded in April (yeah, it was that long ago already) it was one of those "damn, did you see this, feel bad for the guys" moments, but… Read full post »

I am busy busy busy...I've taken on new responsibilities and also have verbally committed to helping make repurposed dishrags and handtowels for the Institute for Marine Mammal Research, who is one of the groups volunteering to clean oil-covered animals in the Gulf - so not only is my keyboard buzzin… Read full post »

I'm trying to flesh out my Squidoo lens on genetics in evolution and I'm hitting a wall as far as ideas go. So I'm coming to you all for suggestions (since there are a number of science inclined peeps around here, plus some smart laymen who are my target audience!)… Read full post »

The doctor that started the autism-vaccine connection has been stripped of his medical license by the UK after a 2 and half year investigation. In January, the General Medical Council ruled that Andrew Wakefield had acted in an unethical manner in regards to his 1998 paper claiming that the MMR vacci… Read full post »

bow chicka wow wow....whew look at those cells go (for a discussion on how the mitosis movies are advancing research, see The Scientist)

This weekend the British media were all aflutter with news that the World Health Organization had found 30 minutes of cell phone use a day over 10 years to increase the risk of brain cancer. On Monday it hit its stride hours before the study was actually released. The… Read full post »