Stand Up To Cancer (http://www.StandUp2Cancer.org) is an initiative to raise philanthropic dollars for accelerating ground breaking research through an unprecedented collaboration uniting the major television networks, entertainment industry executives, celebrities and prominent leaders in cancer research and patent advocacy [1]. On Friday, September 5th, at 8:00 pm EST and PST, ABC, CBS and NBC will donate one hour of simultaneous commercial-free prime time for a national fundraising event.
Living Life to its Fullest: The Song of Randy Pausch
July 25, 2008 | by
Randy Pausch lost his battle with pancreatic cancer today. In September 2007, the Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Professor was asked to give a Journeys Lecture, in which faculty speak to their students as if it were their last lecture. In Pausch’s case, it was indeed. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006; by August 2007, the cancer had metastasized to his liver and spleen and he was given just six months to live.
Exactly What are Stem Cells?
July 7, 2008 | by
The ethical and moral debate over the use of stem cells has taken center stage over the past decade. Stem cells are of great medical interest, since they have the potential to develop into almost any type of cell in the body. Regenerative medicine focuses on the potential uses of stem cells in medicine and how they can provide effective treatment for a range of diseases.
Stem cells have the capacity to divide indefinitely to replenish other cells in the body. When a stem cell divides, each daughter cell can remain a stem cell or become a more specialized cell, such as a red blood cell, a muscle cell or a nerve cell. An increasing body of evidence also suggests that molecular pathways and properties associated with normal stem cells is relevant to cancer development [1].
Warfarin Dosing Accuracy and Genomic Medicine: A Helix Health CliniCast
June 30, 2008 | by
Warfarin, also known under the brand names of Coumadin, Jantoven, Marevan and Waran, is an oral anticoagulant used worldwide for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic disease. However, warfarin therapy can be difficult to manage because there is a wide variability in patient response and the drug has a narrow therapeutic index. Taking too small a dose can lead to a blood clot while too much can cause life-threatening bleeding.
Gene Genie #32 – Googling the Genie
May 25, 2008 | by
Welcome to the 32nd edition of Gene Genie, a blog carnival devoted to genes and genetic conditions. This edition includes some excellent articles on genes and gene-related diseases, genetics, genomics and personalized genetics.
Google Health launched publicly this week and to recognize the event, the last section of the carnival is devoted to articles specifically about the service. Google, financial backer of 23andMe, also funds the Personal Genome Project, which plans to unlock the secrets of common diseases by decoding the DNA of 100,000 people in the world’s biggest gene sequencing project [1]. With the vast number of genetic data points collected for each genome sequenced, a digital system for the movement and storage of personal health information is critical for the widespread use of individualized healthcare. Google’s entrance into the online personal health records market may thus help to accelerate the era of personalized medicine.
With these thoughts in mind, let’s get to this month’s edition of the Genie.
