When a case of polio showed up in Rockland county, just north of New York City, in July 2022, and then polioviruses…
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post Thoughts on a Return of PolioRead more
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post Mellow Yellow: A Biotech Way to Make SaffronRead more
Biotechnology mass-produces valuable molecules from nature, from drugs to textiles to a jellyfish protein that lights up most anything a glowing green…
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post Can Curcumin, Black Pepper, and Ginger Treat Retinitis Pigmentosa? Steve Fialkoff’s Excellent ExperimentRead more
Steve Fialkoff and I weren’t friends at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY. We were in the class of 1972; earlier…
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post DNA Analysis Solves the Mystery of the Rabbit Invasion of AustraliaRead more
COVID and monkeypox seem to have come out of nowhere and exploded across continents. But the phenomenon of natural selection acting on…
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post Where Will the Next Pandemic Come From? Highlights from CDC’s Emerging Infectious DiseasesRead more
When monkeypox came from out of nowhere in the spring, it sounded like a joke to our collective COVID-fatigued brains. I think…
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post OrganEx Revives Pigs an Hour After Death, Holding Promise for TransplantsRead more
Transplant medicine could take a giant leap forward if donor organs could soak up oxygen for longer and decay delayed. A technology…
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post Did a Virus Type Used in Gene Therapy Cause the Recent Wave of Hepatitis in Kids?Read more
The last thing the field of gene therapy needs is another setback. Two studies, not yet peer-reviewed, point to adeno-associated virus (AAV)…
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post From Doodle Dogs to COVID: On the Meaning of Wild TypeRead more
Zeke, shown here retrieving a stick from the surf at Lambert’s Cove, Martha’s Vineyard, is an aussiedoodle – a cross between an…
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post Y Chromosome Loss Linked to Hiked Heart Disease Risk: The Human Y Isn’t Useless After AllRead more
I’ve never been fond of the human Y chromosome. Yes, the all-important SRY gene sets the early embryo on a path towards…
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post Repealing Roe: A View from a Long-time Biology Textbook AuthorRead more
The Supreme Court justices who dismantled Roe v Wade in Dobbs v Jackson Woman’s Health Organization should have taken a refresher course…
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post Jurassic World: Dominion Bashes BiotechRead more
If a new Planet of the Apes or Jurassic Park film comes out, I’m going to go see it. The latest, Jurassic…
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post Why a Sperm Donor isn’t a FatherRead more
As Father’s Day approaches, ads from the consumer DNA testing companies ramp up. But they don’t warn that in a few weeks…