SARS-CoV-2: the ultimate foe.

In order to defeat our enemy, we need to understand it. One of my favorite topics in college was virology. Viruses are simply packets of genes that exist solely to invade and reproduce, which sounds a lot like the dark moments in our history of colonialism or war. But while humans can also love, regret,...

Brain waves in a dish?

Brain waves – what are they anyway? This term refers to the synchronized activity of brain cells, or neurons, in a network. Rather than a room full of random and chaotic conversation, the brain is more akin to a choir. Each chorister gets their cue from the singers around them. The result is an intricate...

How *good* scientists plan experiments

Image: "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham, www.phdcomics.com Sometimes, when progress is happening slowly, it's hard to recognize growth. Comparing myself now to me two years ago, I'm honestly proud of how far I've come as a scientist. Specifically, apart from developing my hard skillset, for the first time, I feel like I'm understanding what...

A life without microbes: How “germ-free” research is revealing the necessity of bacteria for our brains

David Vetter was a normal boy, mostly. He grew up in Texas, and he liked Star Wars. He was also born with a genetic defect that left his immune system completely nonfunctional. As a result, he was forced to live in a sterile isolator for his twelve short years of life, earning him the nickname...

Could we grow a brain in the lab?

What if you could grow a human brain in a petri dish? Well, we're not there yet, but the rise of 3-D human brain cell culture has opened the door to some exciting possibilities. We spend a lot of time and resources studying mouse or rat brains. Ideally, though, we want to study human brains....

Our genes disagree with decades of psychiatric diagnoses.

You haven't been feeling well lately. You've been a bit down and unmotivated, anxious most of the time, and you haven't been eating or sleeping much. You go to see a psychiatrist. He or she may decide to give you one of about 300 diagnoses from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM), which is considered psychiatry's...

How inflammation in Mom predicts baby’s brain wiring

Our immune systems and our brains are inextricably linked. Inflammation (meaning the concerted attack on infection or damage by immune cells and chemical signals) is critical to our survival. Too much inflammation, however, can damage our bodies and our brains and is likely involved in psychiatric disorders, such as depression. The reverse is also true...

Severe caloric restriction means a longer life. But is it a life worth living?

A diet of lots of, well, nothing, is very en vogue. Lots of articles pop up about the benefits of intermittent fasting or substantially cutting calories. Caloric restriction has been shown to increase lifespan in a number of species, including humans. The evidence is strong: eat less, live longer. But are there any negative consequences...

p is for…?

There is one letter (well, a letter that represents a numerical value) that determines if a scientist will publish her data or pursue a hypothesis further. It can make the difference in a grant application or tenure decision. While we want many numbers in our life to be high -- income, number of papers published,...

Obesity hurts our bodies and brains. Could boosting gut bacteria reverse the damage?

There's no need to harp on about the negative effects of holding too much belly fat. Studies in lab mice, however, suggest that obesity may actually harm our brains. A normal mouse fed lab chow (which, admittedly, probably doesn't taste very good) will maintain a steady weight, eating only what he needs for fuel. When...