Innovations in Basic Research
Q: Does one mental disorder stand out as being particularly misunderstood?
A: ADHD has been consistently trivialized as a disorder of perfectly normal kids who happen to be high-strung or nonconformist or, on the flip side, kids who just need discipline. That image does a terrible injustice to children who, in fact, are suffering and are impaired.
Age of Enlightenment
Light-activated genes, now illuminating brain circuitry in rodents and monkeys, may help solve mysteries of human disease.
Hard to Conceive
The potential to regenerate women’s eggs is the latest breakthrough in reproductive research. But there are risks to perturbing nature.
Research Gems
Issues of privacy and consent are scarcely slowing the race to build enormous, invaluable “biobanks” of human tissue and data.
Lending Libraries for Research
Networks for sharing tissue and data across institutions and continents could be invaluable. But we’re not there yet.
Raising the Voltage
Scientist Walter Rudolf Hess conducted one of the first experiments to test whether neural activity in a defined part of a cat's brain causes specific actions.
What’s Next for Optogenetics?
Using flashes of light to control brain cells may be only the beginning for a remarkable research tool.
The Trouble with Older Fathers
As men age, genetic mutations in their sperm multiply, raising risks for their offspring.
Treasure Troves of Tissue and Data
Universities, health organizations and government groups are amassing huge biobanks to help scientists probe the origins and development of human disease.
Dividing the Best From the Rest
An influential measurement uses a Moneyball approach to rank medical journals.
With his creation of the American College of Surgeons 100 years ago, Franklin Martin introduced a vital aspect to surgery: regulation.
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hygiene hypothesis ['hī-jēn hī-pä-thə-səs] n: the notion that an almost obsessive emphasis on cleanliness in Western cultures has caused an increase in such autoimmune disorders as allergies and asthma.
