Tag Archives: stem cells

The Weekend is Here!

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And what a wonderful weekend it is. I have very exciting news! I have been hired on to Intel’s MCG (mobile communication group), and I’ll start on June 10th. This means that I have a ton of stuff to do between now and then, including . . . buying a car, eep!

I have decided to keep this blog up, and to keep working on side projects. If you, or anyone you know needs a writer, or an editor, please contact me. Even if I can’t work on your project, I have a whole group of talented writers/editors that I can put you in touch with.

Now for the links!

  • Human news first, a lovely article by National Geographic on Empathy and Alzheimers. 
  • A young boy was woken from a vegetative state using stem cells from his preserved cord blood. This treatment has very interesting potential.
  • A Maine doctor decides to ditch insurance and charge his patients much less. Affordable health care? What an idea.
  • From Sci-News, genetic scientist have eliminated schizophrenia-like symptoms in lab mice. This could be great news, as schizophrenia is notoriously hard to treat with drugs or therapy.
  • In the plant world, we have managed to “reawaken” ancient plants. These plants were under glaciers for centuries, and have started growing after exposure. Pretty neat.
  • 32314184_705013c48b_oIt seems that some plants can sweat when they get overheated, and the pictures are beautiful.
  • In some (maybe?) bad science, or at least poor reporting, a mammoth has been found amazingly persevered. The specimen is said to have still flowing blood, and fresh looking meat. Which makes me wonder what mammoth barbecue would tase like.
  • A 160-million year old avian skeletion is causing controversy. Even if the specimen isn’t the earlest bird, it is still an important discovery.
  • Rio hosted a pterosaur symposium in May, 2013. I would have loved to be able to go hang out in Rio and talk about pterosaurs, maybe next year. Either way, the link has a lot of great information about pterosaurs.
  • Undated handout photo of Megaleledone selebos, one of the four new species of octopuses that researchers have discovered in Antarctica that come replete with anti-freeze venomAnd, finally, Antarctic octopi have been found with cold resistant venom! How cool is that. And the little guys are super cute! For new species have been found, and scientists are wondering what kind of medical applications the cold resistant venom could have.

There you have it, the Weekly Wrap-up.

As always, thanks for reading, please share. 

Human Health

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Most of the cool things I found this week were human related. My lovely mother is a nurse, and I grew up talking about health and wellness at the dinner table. Needless to say, I have a strong stomach when it comes to gross dinner conversation. I have a healthy (har har) appreciation for medical news. I love new innovation in medicine. I was excited to see so many good articles in the news this week. Here are a few of the best ones.

I give you some great links to check out:

  • A interesting post from Double X Science explaining all those statistics in regards to the giant increase in Autism diagnosis. Basically  it’s not as bad as it sounds.  
  • From the New York Times Science section, the story of an amazing, groundbreaking surgery for a two year old girl born without a windpipe. Doctors used the girl’s stem cells and plastic fibers to create the new windpipe. This is the sixth surgery of its kind, and the first preformed in the United States.
  • Cannibalism in the United States! Cosmic Log reports on Jamestown’s lean years, and anthropological evidence that early colonists resorted to cannibalism. Creepy, and fascinating.
  • In food related news, Discover gives good reason why companies should label their GMO products. An interesting, objective read. I highly recommend it.

_Your photo for the week, Eocypselus rowei, possibly the common ancestor for swifts, and hummingbirds. Found in Wyoming, the fossil is around 52 million years old. As you can see, the specimen is incredibly well preserved, so well that microscopic features were visible. This is very cool.

As always, thanks for reading! Please share.