Inspired by September’s World Alzheimer's Awareness Month and driven by my interest in cognitive aging and dementia, I'm asking my fellow IRP postdoctoral researchers about which approaches they believe hold promise for advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.
By testing 6,000 FDA-approved drugs and experimental chemical compounds on Zika-infected human cells in the lab, a team that includes IRP scientists has shown that some existing drugs might be repurposed to fight Zika infection and prevent the virus from harming the developing brain.
“I kind of made it a mission of mine to find out as much as I can, what’s available out there as treatments, trials,” John says, “and just my way of giving back, whether it helps me directly or somebody who comes after me.”
Scientists use a variety of laboratory techniques to investigate the genetic cause of human diseases. While mice and rats have been common choices for modeling human diseases in the past, the use of zebrafish is rapidly gaining popularity. Does this surprise you? Let me explain.
From Travis’ appearance and attitude, you’d never believe that, inside his body, many things are wrong. His legs are different lengths, his bones are prone to breaking, and he has a long, “deep” tumor running from his lower spine down across his hip to below his knee. He also has lower back pain from constant irritation to the nerves in his spine.
As a theoretician in the lab of Dr. Ralph Nossal (NICHD), I use mathematical modeling to study how cells get to places in the body. Most of my time is focused on completing clearly written goals born from project plans. A system of timers, project plans, and goals keeps me on track to do what I need to do so that I can get back to the fun part of my job that I would happily do for free.
It started with a quick tour and meeting the team. We sat in the break room to chat about what Dr. Bin Gao’s lab at the NIH IRP is up to, in preparation to return a few days later to capture photos and video of their ‘Research in Action.’ What did we find?
We all know that exercise is important for a strong and healthy body. Less appreciated is that exercise seems also to be important for a strong and healthy mind, boosting memory and learning, while possibly delaying age-related cognitive decline. How is this so? Researchers have assembled a growing body of evidence that suggests skeletal muscle cells secrete proteins and other factors into the blood during exercise that have a regenerative effect on the brain.
Terran Dupree, 16, is one of the most positive teenagers you will ever meet. With the brightest smile and the most humbling personality, you would never know that she is fighting a rare form of cancer.
Hi, my name is James. I’ve always really liked science and I want to be a scientist when I grow up, but I never got to see where scientists work until I went to Take Your Child to Work Day at NIH with my Auntie Kit. It was awesome!
This page was last updated on Friday, January 14, 2022
