On January 20, I joined the ranks of those who've sacrificed themselves for science: I started one of those "low-carb" diets. So far, the sacrifice has been worth it.I'd always resisted celebrity-sponsored diets, smugly thinking my background in genetics and biochemistry made me more of an authority on matters nutritional than the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Sarah Ferguson. I've even taught the subject.But this low-carb diet is different. It prescribes "good carbs and good fats" while blacking

"EVERY man desires to live long; but no man would be old," wrote Jonathan Swift. In the quest to live life long and well, people have consumed everything from turtle soup to owl meat to gladiator's blood. Russian French microbiologist Ilya Mechnikov thought a human could live for 150 years on a steady diet of milk cultured with bacteria (he died at 71). While the Internet offers a wide variety of products for fountain-of-youth seekers, some researchers have turned their attention to the genes (s

WHAT A TANGLED WEB:Courtesy of Philip B. MessersmithFibroblasts are cellular workhorses of extracellular matrix production, spinning out the majority of collagens, the most abundant proteins in the animal kingdom.Appreciation in biology can come slowly. Researchers once deemed as junk the parts of genes not represented in proteins; likewise, neuroglia were thought to be mere bystanders to neurons. So it is with the extracellular matrix (ECM), the "scaffolding" and "glue" that fill the spaces amo

© 2003 Massachusetts Medical SocietyPsoriatic skin and an immune synapse (Inset). (From T.S. Kupper, N Eng J Med, 349:1987–90, 2003.)The red, cracked, and bleeding scales of psoriasis appear on the scalps, knees, elbows, and trunks of 2% of the global population. Psoriasis is more than the annoying skin condition portrayed in the 1960s-era advertisements bemoaning "the heartbreak of psoriasis." Understanding the immunological underpinnings of the disease has spawned new treatments and

LAND OF OUR FATHERS?© 1998 David L. Brill/Brill AtlantaA westward view of Ethiopia's Middle Awash Valley, from the Central Awash complex near Aramis.In a dusty, barren area in the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, about 140 miles northeast of Addis Ababa, lies a place that holds unique renown among paleontologists. Over the eons, seasonal rains have washed out and exposed bits of the past, including a spectacular, if scattered, assemblage of human ancestors. Here, a triangular area, 310 miles

PROPOSAL PATHWAYSelling YourselfPart of a prospectus is convincing the publisher that you are the right person to write the proposed textbook. Teaching experience is a plus; prestigious publications do not show that you can explain mitosis to a freshman. In your sample chapter, show concise writing that is inclusive, yet innovative.WRITING AND REWRITING CYCLERegarding ReviewsThe goal is to satisfy reviewers (course instructors) while retaining the flavor and rationale of your book. Reviewers can

To appreciate a natural wonder such as a mountain range or a canal system on Mars, an observer must stand back. So it is with the human genome. As annotation progresses, some researchers are stepping back to better see patterns within the sequence. In addition to offering clues about humanity's biology and origins, the research generates positive feedback where discoveries fueled by the sequence enable researchers to refine annotation.The human genome sequence is providing a broader, aerial view

Figure 1I did something heinous. After receiving a cup of Dunkin' Donuts Coffea arabica that had clearly exceeded the 15-minute half-life from coffee to sludge, and after abandoning Starbucks where the maker of my venti-no-fat-no-whip-mocha-valencia forgot the shot, I went home and mixed beans from both sources, grinding into intimate contact the helpless slivers of endosperm, mindlessly obliterating the embryos within. I don't know the farmers who grew the brew, whether it was fruity or bold, o

Viruses hijack a host protein that normally sorts the trash

Genetic Testing Timeline The histories of the most well-known single-gene disorders started long before anyone ever thought about sequencing the human genome (see A Genetic Checkup: Lessons from Huntington Disease and Cystic Fibrosis). Click to view enlarged PDF (108K) --Compiled by Ricki Lewis function sendData() { document.frm.pathName.value = location.pathname; result = false if (document.frm.score[0].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[1].checked) result = true; if (

Thom Graves Media While genome sequencing may be the new kid on the block--perhaps now with a cracking voice and fuzzy facial hair--predicting phenotypes is the stuff of classical genetics, honed on the rare single-gene disorders, such as Huntington disease (HD) and cystic fibrosis (CF), which dominated the field in the last century (see Genetic Testing Timeline). "Geneticists today are portrayed as soothsayers of the future. But predictive medicine and testing has a significant history," says

The Spice Ain't Always So Nice Anne Macnamara Capsaicin, the fiery alkaloid of chili pepper fame, sets tongue and skin afire, a sensation that some find irresistible. But, researchers recently associated it and its chemical cousins with chest pain.1 Isolated more than a century ago, capsaicin's structure was revealed in 1919, and its target, the vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1), was cloned in 1997. "VR1 functions as a molecular integrator of painful chemical and physical stimuli, including heat an