By Ann Marie Carias, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University and volunteer for C2ST and Alexandra Prokuda, Ph.D., Program Manager at C2ST
Currently, over 1 million people in the United States are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [1]. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that approximately 50,000 persons in the United States become infected with HIV each year with approximately 21,000 persons in the United States dying each year due to the epidemic [2]. Worldwide, the story is even more tragic with over 30 million persons, aged 15-49 years living with HIV, with 2.5 million people becoming infected annually, the majority of them women [1]. Continue reading “HIV Risk Factors: Why It’s Important to Get the Word Out”
According to popular media, there seems to be a new cure/treatment/fad for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) every few months. But sadly, the number of patients keeps rising, as does the fear and desperation of family, friends, and those at risk.
Functional images of calcium release within a neuron from a normal brain (left), and from an AD brain (right). More calcium is indicated by redder colors.
Continue reading “Why in the World Haven’t We Cured Alzheimer’s by Now?”
The human race, like all macrobiological life, evolved in a sea of microbes. There was no way to keep the bacterial and archaeal hoards at bay, so instead life evolved mechanisms to live with these invaders. The immune system was refined over millions of years to control our interaction with the microbial world, and even to use it as a mechanism of defense, food processing, and vitamin production. The immune system and the microbiome have shaped each other in extraordinarily elaborate and intricate ways.
Continue reading “How the Indoor Microbiome Influence Health”
