Biomedical Beat Blog – National Institute of General Medical Sciences
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Skin cancer cells from a mouse. Credit: Catherine and James Galbraith, Oregon Health and Science University, Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine, Knight Cancer Institute. This heart-shaped image shows two mouse skin cancer cells connected to each other with actin, a protein that is part of the cellular skeleton. Researchers use mouse cells like these to …
Another cool fact about Pi: The mirror reflection of the numbers 3 1 4 spells out P I E. Why do math lovers around the world call March 14 “Pi Day”? Because Pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is 3.14. Pi is a Greek letter (π) that represents a constant in …
Continue reading “On Pi Day, Computational Biologists Share What They Love About Math”
Leafing through my favorite biology textbook from a handful of years ago, I was struck by the relative brevity of the chapter on human evolution. While other fields of biological research have enjoyed a steady gallop of productivity over the last few decades due in part to advances in computing power, imaging technology and experimental …
Continue reading “Field Focus: High-Quality Genome Sequences Inform the Study of Human Evolution”
This Sunday, February 12, is Darwin Day—an occasion to recognize the scientific contributions of 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin. In this video (originally posted on Darwin Day 2016), our own evolutionary geneticist, Dan Janes, answers questions about Darwin and the role of evolution in health and biomedicine. Your browser does not support iframes.
This is the second post in a new series highlighting NIGMS’ efforts toward developing a robust, diverse and well-trained scientific workforce. Credit: Christa Reynolds. Austin Phanouvong Academic Institution: Portland State University Major: Biology Minor: Chemistry Mentor: Suzanne Mitchell Favorite Book: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho Favorite Food: Sushi Hobbies: Hiking, cooking and traveling BUILD and the …
Continue reading “Not Discounting His Future: Austin Works Toward His Goals”
Students from Connecticut to Washington State and points in between peppered our experts with questions during the recent live Cell Day web chat. They fielded questions about cell structures, microscopes and other tools, life as a scientist, and whether there are still discoveries to be made in cell biology. One of the Cell Day moderators, Jessica Faupel-Badger, …
Continue reading “You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers: Cell Day 2016”
Science is beautiful. For several years, we’ve used this blog to highlight pictures we think are cool, scientifically relevant and visually striking. The images were created by NIGMS-funded researchers in the process of doing their research. Many come from our Life: Magnified collection, which features dozens of stunning photos of life, close-up. We’ll continue to …
Credit: Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Schmidtea mediterranea Home: Freshwater habitats along the Mediterranean Party trick: Regenerating its head Most charismatic feature: Eyespots Work site: Science labs worldwide The planarian has a power few creatures can match. Remove its head, its tail or nearly any of its body parts, and this aquatic …
Continue reading “Interview With a Worm: We’re Not So Different”
Icelandic hot springs are the natural habitat of Rhodothermus marinus, one of many species of thermophiles that the Gennis Lab studies to better understand membrane proteins. Credit: Stock image. As the temperature climbs, most humans look for ways to cool down fast. But for some species of microorganisms, a midsummer heat wave isn’t nearly hot …
Continue reading “How Heat-Loving Organisms Are Helping Advance Medicine”