Medicine

Defective Mitochondria Lead to Exhausted T Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment

2021, Biology, Medicine • 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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Why Young Investigators Should Consider Prehospital Care Research

2021, Medicine • February 22, 2021

Figure 1: The author (14 hours and 10 patients into a 16-hour shift) killing time until his next resuscitation with an issue of Prehospital Emergency Care A car drifts across a double yellow line and slams into an oncoming tractor trailer. A man collapses on the floor of a supermarket aisle after his heart suddenly …

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New Gene Therapy Strategy With the Potential to Delay Ageing

2021, Medicine • February 17, 2021

Figure 1: Age-related diseases are devastating for the people affected and the family members supporting them. Finding new and better treatments for these diseases is a top medical priority Source: Unsplash Ageing is a mysterious, albeit inevitable, part of life for which the science is hardly understood. Only in the 1980’s was it determined that …

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N501Y COVID-19 Variants – Should We Be Worried?

2021, Medicine • February 15, 2021

Figure 1: 3D printed models of the SARS-CoV-2 virion (the blue sphere in the background) decorated with spike proteins and a larger model of the spike protein (the multi-colored shape in the foreground; the Receptor Binding Domain is the green section of the model) Source: Wikimedia Commons The so-called “UK”, “Brazil”, and “South Africa” variants …

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COVID-19 Pneumonia – A Different Illness Than Its Traditional Counterpart

2021, Medicine • February 15, 2021

Figure 1: This is an image of a child with pneumonia. The fluid build-up in the lungs (known as pleural effusion) is visible here Source: Wikimedia Commons Pneumonia is a common illness with a variety of causes. It is often triggered by some form of viral or bacterial infection, like influenza. The alveolar space, the …

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Twin Impacts of the Chernobyl Disaster: Birth Defects and Mental Health

2021, Environment, Medicine, Neuroscience • February 13, 2021

Figure 1: Damage caused to reactor 4 of the Chernobyl plant after the explosion Source: Wikimedia Commons Introduction: The notorious Chernobyl Disaster took place at reactor 4 near the town of Pripyat, Ukraine on the morning of April 26, 1986. According to the National Cancer Institute, the accident caused 5 million people in Belarus, Russia …

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Fighting Hospital Hardships: An Intervention for Reducing Stress in Hospital Workers

2021, Medicine • February 8, 2021

Figure 1: This figure describes some of the symptoms of stress, which can have negative consequences for many body systems Source: Wikimedia Commons Hospital workers perform valuable work in caring for the sick and injured, but as part of their work, these workers are exposed to a variety of stressors. In a review of an …

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

2021, Biology, Medicine, Social Science • February 4, 2021

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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Genetic Cheating? Identifying CRISPR/Cas Gene Doping

2021, Biology, Medicine • February 4, 2021

Figure 1: Lance Armstrong, a well-known professional cyclist, has been implicated in drug doping scandals throughout his career Source: Wikimedia Commons When one considers cheating in the world of athletics, the typical cases that come to mind are those of Marion Jones, Tyson Gay, and Lance Armstrong, athletes who all admitted to using steroids and …

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COVID-19 May Inflict Lasting Damage on the Central Nervous System

2021, Medicine, Neuroscience • January 26, 2021

Figure 1: Transmission electron microscope image of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The ligands on the surface of the virus bind to receptors in the olfactory bulb Source: Wikimedia Commons Even as researchers continue to uncover more about the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, the long-term effects of COVID-19 remain unstudied. However, decades of past studies on similar viruses combined …

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