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Hed-inthelab Innovations in Basic Research
interview
Eric Chivian with cone snails at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology

Q: You also mention that cone snails have secrets to teach us.

A: There may be 700 different species of cone snails, and each one is thought to make at least 100, maybe even 200, extremely potent toxins to paralyze prey. A synthetic derivative of one toxin is now on the market, a painkiller called Prialt. It’s thought to be at least 1,000 times more potent than morphine, and it doesn’t seem to cause addiction or tolerance.

“A chemotherapy drug was minimally toxic to healthy tissues when given to mice at dusk, but the mice died if they got it at dawn.”

Could It Taste as Sweet?

New compounds that realign perceptions of sweetness and bitterness are nearing the marketplace.

circadian sidebar

Turns for the Worse

Understanding circadian rhythms may help doctors time treatments for optimum effect.

Placenta: The Shape of Things to Come

Could unusual configurations forecast health problems?

placenta thumb

Organ of Change

Though routinely discarded, the placenta has a rich story to tell, full of information about fetal development and future health.

cancer stem cells

The Missing Piece

Rare, elusive stem cells could explain why cancer is so difficult to cure—if they even exist.

glia

Glia’s Hidden Talents

Each discovery adds to the sense that these long-ignored cells matter—for brain development, learning, memory and more.

milestone

In 1966, the anaesthetist-in-chief of Massachusetts General Hospital published a paper that would yield greater protection for clinical trial subjects.

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defined

incidentalome [in(t)-sə-'den-təl-ōm] n: a neologism that denotes incidental findings in genetic tests and, according to the term’s originator, “threatens to undermine the promise of molecular medicine.”