Feb 25 2010
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common irregular heart rhythm, affecting one in four people over the age of 40. While not usually life-threatening on its own, individuals with the condition are at increased risk of stroke and heart failure. AF appears most frequently in older, male individuals with a history of obesity or cardiovascular [...]
Feb 23 2010
The journal Current Biology has a special review issue on the global genetic history of Homo sapiens. The articles are written for a fairly technical audience, but if it’s a topic you’re interested in, you might want to check it out. All of the articles are available online for free.
Archaeogenetics — Towards a ‘New [...]
Feb 22 2010
People chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus currently have only one treatment option: a combination of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-ylated interferon alpha and ribavirin (RBV). Not only does this drug regimen fail to eradicate the virus in about half of all patients who receive it, but even when it does work the side effects can [...]
Feb 18 2010
Group of hunters from the Ju/’hoansi tribe in the Namibian Bush/ Stephan C. Schuster
Researchers from Penn State University, the University of New South Wales in Australia, and the Baylor College of Medicine have sequenced the genomes of four individuals from different groups of the click-speaking San of southern Africa, as well as of Bishop Desmond [...]
Feb 16 2010
The candles on your birthday cake tell you how many years you’ve lived through, but they might not be a reflection of your biological age.
Little bits of DNA called telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes. Over time, through repeated rounds of cell division, telomeres get shorter and shorter. Thus, telomere length is a marker of [...]
Feb 10 2010
Artist’s impression of Inuk based on genetic analysis
Nuka Godfredsen/Nature
Tufts of hair rescued from the permafrost in Greenland and then tucked away in a basement in Denmark for more than 20 years have given scientists their first glimpse into the genetics of an ancient human.
Eske Willerslev and Morten Rasmussen of the Centre for GeoGenetics at the [...]
Feb 09 2010
Faces of America is a four-part series in which Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uses genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans in an effort to understand what made the United States the place it is today.
The list of participants includes:
Elizabeth Alexander, professor and poet
Mario Batali, chef
Stephen Colbert, comedian
Louise [...]
Feb 08 2010
There’s no doubt that blood saves lives. According to the Red Cross, in the United States alone about five million people need a total of 14 million pints of blood each year. That’s 38,000 pints every day.
But transfusions are not without their dangers. Among them is transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), a rare but potentially [...]
Feb 04 2010
Warfarin (Coumadin®) is a blood thinner given to people at high risk for the formation of blood clots due to conditions such as deep vein thrombosis, heart valve disease or replacement, and irregular heart beat. The drug is also given to prevent recurrence of pulmonary embolism, heart attack and stroke.
If too little warfarin is prescribed, [...]
