What We’re Reading

“WHAT ROSALIND FRANKLIN TRULY CONTRIBUTED TO THE DISCOVERY OF DNA’S STRUCTURE”

Nature

April 25, 2023

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01313-5

“In this telling, Franklin, who died of ovarian cancer in 1958 at just 37, is portrayed as a brilliant scientist, but one who was ultimately unable to decipher what her own data were telling her about DNA. She supposedly sat on the image for months without realizing its significance, only for Watson to understand it at a glance. … But this is not what happened.”

“MY TRANSPLANTED HEART AND I WILL DIE SOON”

New York Times

April 18, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/opinion/heart-transplant-donor.html

“Organ transplantation is mired in stagnant science and antiquated, imprecise medicine that fails patients and organ donors. And I understand the irony of an incredibly successful and fortunate two-time heart transplant recipient making this case, but my longevity also provides me with a unique vantage point. Standing on the edge of death now, I feel compelled to use my experience in the transplant trenches to illuminate and challenge the status quo.”

“23 PANDEMIC DECISIONS THAT ACTUALLY WENT RIGHT”

The Atlantic

May 9, 2023

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/05/pandemic-lessons-decision-making-public-health-crisis-playbook/673994

“17: Basic research spending matters. The COVID vaccines wouldn’t have been ready for the public nearly as quickly without a number of existing advances in immunology, Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told us. Scientists had known for years that mRNA had immense potential as a delivery platform for vaccines, but before SARS-CoV-2 appeared, they hadn’t had quite the means or urgency to move the shots to market. And research into vaccines against other viruses, such as RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] and MERS [Middle East respiratory syndrome], had already offered hints about the sorts of genetic modifications that might be needed to stabilize the coronavirus’s spike protein into a form that would marshal a strong, lasting immune response.”