Biology

Exploring the Gut-Microbiota Hypothesis of Neurodegenerative Disease Pathogenesis

First Author: Jillian Troth1 Co-Authors [Alphabetical Order]: Caroline Conway1, Allison Kifer2, Vincent Lai4, Grace Lee3, Varun Lindagal1, Callie Moody1, and Melanie Prakash1 Dartmouth College1, University of California San Diego2, Williams College3, Rice University4 Figure 1: Fluorescent microscope imaging of neuroinflammation in wild-type mice, AD-model mice, and AD patient. Aggregation of amyloid precursor protein (red) indicates …

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Were We Smarter Than Neanderthals?

Biology / By Frankie Carr / Dartmouth College / March 8, 2021

Figure 1: A comparison of the skulls of a human (left) and Neanderthal (right). Source: Wikimedia Commons Studies of evolution rely heavily on the use of fossils. However, in order to understand the differences in intelligence between humans and one of our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, it is necessary to study the differences in the …

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Bispecific Antibody Recruits Vγ9+ γδ T cells for Leukemia Treatment

17 Comments / Biology, Medicine / By Matthew Lutchko / Dartmouth College / February 28, 2021

Figure 1: The image is taken from an elderly woman who has a type of acute myeloid leukemia in which the accumulation of immature blood-forming cells (purple) interferes with the production of normal white blood cells (pink) Source: Wikimedia Commons Leukemia is a type of blood cancer generally characterized by the suppression of proper function …

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A Spoonful of (Modified) Sugar as an Antiviral Medicine

Biology, Chemistry, Medicine / By Frankie Carr / Dartmouth College / February 28, 2021

Figure 1: A negative stain transmission electron micrograph of Influenza virions Source: Wikimedia Commons Researchers at the University of Manchester have developed a new sugar-based virucidal medicine that is effective against a broad array of viruses (Jones et al., 2020). Cyclodextrins (also called CDs) are non-toxic cyclic glucose oligosaccharides produced as a result of starch …

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PANDAS––A Self-Destruction of the Mind

Biology, Medicine / By Brandon Yu / University of Toronto Scarborough / February 25, 2021

Figure 1: PANDAS, characterized by acute neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms, was systematically reviewed by Sigra et al (2018) in hopes of encouraging further investigation towards the etiology and treatments associated with PANDAS and related disorders Source: Flickr Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS), pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), childhood acute neuropsychiatric symptoms …

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The Next Source of Antibiotics: Viruses

Biology, Medicine / By Frankie Carr / Dartmouth College / February 22, 2021

Figure 1: A computer-generated image of a bacteriophage called a levivirus along with its mapped genome. The Lysis gene is also known as sgi and produces antibiotic proteins Source: Wikimedia Commons We have a crisis on our hands: bacteria are developing resistance to our most effective antibiotics. Many of these are inhibitors of proteins that …

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Defective Mitochondria Lead to Exhausted T Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment

Biology, Medicine / By Matthew Lutchko / Dartmouth College / February 22, 2021

Figure 1: T cells (green, blue, and red) surround and prepare to kill a cancer cell (green and blue). Vesicles (shown in red) in the T cells contain perforin and granzymes, proteins that orchestrate the killing of target cells. This process of targeted cell destruction is compromised when mitochondria are rendered defective by excessive antigen …

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Role of Endonuclease G in Autophagy Regulation

Biology / By Matthew Lutchko / Dartmouth College / February 8, 2021

Figure 1: The bottom arrow points to an autophagic vesicle engulfing and beginning to degrade the mitochondria (indicated by the arrowhead on the left) in addition to other cytoplasmic material Source: Wikimedia Commons Autophagy is an important process by which cells degrade and recycle damaged or unnecessary components (Rees, 2020). Currently, autophagy is a key …

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The “Old Friends” Hypothesis and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Biology, Medicine, Social Science / By September 24, 2020

Authors: Sakeena Badrane1, Vivek Babu2, Sanah Handu1 1University of Pittsburgh, 2Drexel University Source: Wikimedia Commons Introduction Since the onset of the pandemic, the American populace has lived in varying levels of isolation. In March, the country entered a complete lockdown. Fear of the unknown in conjunction with warnings from the CDC resulted in most Americans …

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