Comment on Towards Personal Genomics
Posted on October 30, 2008

human genomes being sequenced

Comment on RioTinto Mar 08
Posted on October 29, 2008

Rio Tinto

Comment on Long-Term Memory Storage
Posted on October 29, 2008

Persistence is the most characteristic attribute of long-term memory (LTM). To understand LTM, we must understand how memory traces persist over time despite the short-lived nature and rapid turnover of their molecular substrates. It is widely accepted that LTM formation is dependent upon hippocampal de novo protein synthesis and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) signaling during or early after acquisition. Here we show that 12 hr after acquisition of a one-trial associative learning task, there is a novel protein synthesis and BDNF-dependent phase in the rat hippocampus that is critical for the persistence of LTM storage. Our findings indicate that a delayed stabilization phase is specifically required for maintenance, but not formation, of the memory trace. We propose that memory formation and memory persistence share some of the same molecular mechanisms and that recurrent rounds of consolidation- like events take place in the hippocampus for maintenance of the memory trace.

Comment on Inside the Cell
Posted on October 29, 2008

At this very moment, electricity is zapping through your brain, voracious killers are coursing through your veins, and corrosive chemicals sizzle in bubbles from your head to your toes. In fact, your entire body is like an electrical company, chemical factory, transportation grid, communications network, detoxification facility, hospital, and battlefield all rolled into one. The workers in each of these industries are your cells. Cells are the smallest form of life—the functional and structural units of all living things. Your body contains trillions of cells, organized into more than 200 major types. At any given time, each cell is doing thousands of jobs. Some of these tasks are so essential for life that they are carried out by virtually all cells. Others are done only by cells that are highly skilled for the work, whether it is covering up your insides (skin cells), preventing you from sloshing around like a pile of goo (bone cells), purging your body of toxic chemicals (liver cells), or enabling you to learn and remember (brain cells). Cells also must make the products your body needs, such as sweat, saliva, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies.

Comment on The New Genetics
Posted on October 29, 2008

Produced by the Office of Communications and Public Liaison National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Institutes of Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Comment on Medicines by Design
Posted on October 29, 2008

Produced by the Office of Communications and Public Liaison National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Institutes of Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Comment on Medicines by Design
Posted on October 29, 2008

May 17, 2050—You wake up feeling terrible, and you know it’s time to see a doctor. In the office, the physician looks you over, listens to your symptoms, and prescribes a drug. But first, the doctor takes a look at your DNA.