Despite their identical genomes, cells in the body develop distinct personalities—become neurons or liver cells, for instance—due to differences in gene expression. The mechanism that...
Apr, 01, 2009
A Seller’s Market for Biomedical Data Science Jobs
Just pondering the current job market for biomedical data scientists is likely to put a smile on the faces of many in the field.
“The bottom line is, compared to other disciplines,...
Oct, 07, 2015
The complexity and variability of aging itself, along with the fragmented nature of researchers’ current understanding of aging, call for tools that can help scientists dig through mounds of data to find often subtle connections.
Jeanne Louise Calment of Arles, France rode a bicycle until she was 100 years old. When she gave up smoking at age 117, her doctor suspected it was out of pride. (She couldn’t see well enough...
Apr, 01, 2008
There is growing recognition that epigenetics may be just as important as genetics in human health and disease.
In the early 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck explained evolution as the inheritance of acquired traits; he believed that changes due to behaviors and exposures in one generation could be passed...
Jun, 01, 2010
Experts reflect on challenges identified ten years ago.
The first issue of this magazine (June 2005) featured a story called “Top Ten Challenges of the Next Decade” written by Eric Jakobssen, PhD, who had recently left his position as Director...
Jun, 18, 2014
According to a new computational analysis of DNA structure, variations in DNA shape—along the grooves of the double helix—may play an important role in defining how the genome works. The...
Jul, 01, 2009
Still unknown: Whether they can get inside cells
Recent research illustrates a nightmare scenario for nanotechnology: simulated particles called buckyballs eagerly glomming onto nearby DNA. The study, published in Biophysical Journal in December...
Apr, 01, 2006
They're more than just pretty pictures adorning office walls and presentation slides. Beamed into operating room computer monitors, they're guiding the scalpels of brain surgeons. Dancing...
Jan, 01, 2006
The National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research has recently completed the first stage of an ambitious program to expand the computational infrastructure and software tools needed to...
Jan, 01, 2006
Simulations offer novel insights
Zooming in on a virus reveals a physical marvel. It can stuff a genome into a confined space (a protein casing called a capsid). It can eject its genome rapidly and fluidly into a cell. And it can...
Jun, 01, 2015