When the Human Genome Project wrapped in 2003, we assumed this ginormous data set would provide the much needed parts-list to fill in the blanks of human health and disease. But in the last 10 years it’s become exceedingly clear that things are just not that simple. Yes, our genes are obviously more than a ...
Like all humans, scientists come in every shape, size and color imaginable. Every now and then I run into a real character. That is most certainly the case with the subject of my story on the News@Northeastern today. Professor Michail Sitkovsky is a burly man with a mutinous brow and thick accent that makes everything ...
Well, I had a wonderful day, how about you? Not only is it Friday, which is awesome, but I got to spend most of it with a bunch of middle schoolers learning about some of the science research taking place here at Northeastern. Each year the Driscoll Middle School in Brookline holds an event called ...
Uterine fibroids. Not something most of us like to talk about. What are they? Calcified deposits stuck to the lining of a woman’s uterus. Are they common? Yes. Are they dangerous? Not usually. Painful? Yes — when they get big enough….and they can weigh up to several pounds. Also, they can range from very soft ...
I love starting the week off with a bang. The topic of this morning’s symposium, hosted by the Institute on Urban Health Research, just totally gets my engines going. Four experts in personal health technology came from all over the country to talk shop. As IUHR Interim Director Alisa Lincoln said, there were people from ...
The Puerto Rican population is the largest Latino group in the northeastern United States, but data about health disparities is largely focused on Mexican Americans, according to Katherine Tucker, whose Puerto Rican Health Study is the longest, most comprehensive study of its kind for the Puerto Rican population. “This is important, because all Hispanics are ...
Here’s a statistic for you: From internet and mobile phone use to credit card transactions and voting records, we now generate more socio-economic data each 1.2 years than we did during all of previous human history combined. That’s according to a McKinsey Global Institute Study cited in the first pages of the new open-access online ...
Since you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably heard of network science and big data by now. It’s the field of research in which scientists leverage the amazing amounts of data we have these days to understand the world’s myriad networks, be they social, genetic or even transportation-based (ie., the network of airline flights across the ...
Over the weekend I watched Night at the Museum 2 with my nephew. In it, Robin Williams’ Teddy Roosevelt character says that the secret to happiness is diet and exercise. I was delighted by that line — so true…and yet so difficult. Why is that? We all know that a good diet and regular exercise ...
In the last fifty years, pharmaceutical companies have spent tens of billions of dollars trying to find new classes of antibiotic drugs. Only one has made it into clinical practice. Seem surprising to you? Yeah, me too. At the same time, antibacterial resistance has been rising, meaning the pathogens that infect us are getting better ...
I got to go on another field trip on Wednesday (have I mentioned recently how much I love my job?). Not only did it mean navigating the infamous tunnels for the first time, but I also got to meet some brilliant students with even more impressive implementation skilz. Two colleagues and I made our way ...