Introductory general biology courses and textbooks cover a vast amount of material. They tend to stress the similarities of life at the molecular and cellular levels, with Homo sapiens considered but one of many species. For students wishing to learn specifically about the female body, or about differences between the sexes, these courses aren't usually appropriate. ANALOGY: Like women's absence in past medical tests and clinical trials, many problems have not been addressed in biology, anat

Sometimes it seems as if genome projects are cropping up everywhere.1 But until costs come down, limited resources are being largely concentrated into what Joseph Nadeau, professor of genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, calls "the genome seven," an apples-and-oranges list of viruses, bacteria, fungi, Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and mouse, with Homo sapiens in its own category.2 Researchers widely acknowledge that in the rod

Glial cells were once considered neurons’ supporting actors, but new methods and model organisms are revealing their true importance in brain function.

From a rapid molecular test for COVID-19 to tools that can characterize the antibodies produced in the plasma of patients recovering from the disease, this year’s winners reflect the research community’s shared focus in a challenging year.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Biomedical innovation has rallied to address that pressing concern while continuing to tackle broader research challenges.

Photo: E.D. Laywell, UT MemphisMultipotent clones of cells derived from the adult human brain With the promises and challenges of stem cell research in the headlines, visions of artificial livers dance in the public's eye. Bioethicists, politicians, and citizens alike continue to debate whether public funds should be used to obtain cells from human embryos and fetuses. On the scientific front, however, the implications of stem cell research are even more profound than offering replacement parts.

WHAT FOLLOWS TAMOXIFEN? Warnings accompanied recent announcements from the University of Pittsburgh-based National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., that tamoxifen achieved a 45 percent reduction in the incidence of breast cancer compared to women who took a placebo in the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial. The 25-year-old drug still carries the risk of serious side effects for women over 50, officials said. But the overall results were