“Powerhouse of the Cell.” The punchy headline of Philip Siekevitz’s 1957 Scientific American article on the role of mitochondria lives on to this day in public school classrooms and internet message boards. Ph.D. candidate William Aisenberg shares how the story of the mitochondrion teaches us not to forget to understand the context of what we’re learning.
Perspectives in Research
Graduate School Is the Cat’s Meow
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchHave you ever wondered if your cat really loves you? A recent study has shown that cats have the same ability as infants and dogs to form strong attachments to their caregivers.
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Twitter Post
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchNeil deGrasse Tyson’s tweet about the El Paso shooting was more than insensitive — it was bad science.
Cancer Diagnosis — It’s in Your Blood
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchThe benefits of detecting and treating cancer at early developmental stages have long been observed by clinical oncologists. Colonoscopies as well as other methods for early detection have been estimated to prevent as many as 60% of deaths attributable to colorectal cancer by identifying and removing precancerous growths1. More broadly, patients with early stage cancer […]
A Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease? Breakthroughs and Limitations
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchRecently, researchers at Washington University, St. Louis made a significant breakthrough in developing a blood test for early indications of Alzheimer’s disease. But what exactly is Alzheimer’s disease, how prevalent is it, and why do we seem to be so far away from a treatment or cure? In this post, I provide an overview of […]
A Primer on Platelets — Tiny but Mighty
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchWhen I tell people I study platelets, I am not often met with excitement. Most people know platelets as those tiny things that form clots, and if they have a fully functional clotting cascade, they aren’t bothered that much about them. When I mention that I study how platelets play a role in the immune […]
50 Years Since Humankind’s Giant Leap
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchOn July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle touched down on the surface of the moon. Approximately 650 million people around the world watched in awe as Neil Armstrong took his historic first steps on the moon on national television. Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had set out on an eight-day-long […]
Their DNA Will Remember: The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Detention
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchOne of the hottest topics debated in the 2020 presidential race so far has been immigration reform. There has been widespread outrage centered on the separation of families and the horrible conditions and long stays in detention centers along our southern borders. Detainees hope they’ll be released as soon as possible, but for the children […]
The Dengue Vaccine Controversy Explained
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchDengue, a virus endemic to Latin America and Southeast Asia, infects about 400 million people and causes about 25,000 deaths each year by dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). To date there is no cure for dengue, and its toll hits hardest in areas with poorly developed medical systems. Due to the deadly consequences of this virus, […]
The ‘GRExit’: Cause and Effect
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchWithin the past few years, a growing number of biomedical Ph.D. programs across the country have been ditching the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as an admissions requirement and moving toward a more holistic approach. With arguably little information about each applicant to use for admissions decisions, admissions committees rely on GRE scores as part of […]