MOLECULAR NUGGETS
Turning a Parasite into a Therapeutic Factory
Mon, Jun 29th, 2026 12:56 pm
A surprising story has emerged from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that challenges conventional thinking in therapeutic development. A group there has engineered a hookworm (Ancylostoma ceylanicum) to be able to deliver a biologic therapeutic. Let that sink in for just a moment. While this is still in the experimental stage, why would infecting someone with a parasite even be considered as a therapeutic approach for disease treatment?
Mapping the Gene Behind Cystic Fibrosis
May 28th, 2026
In 1989, an amazing discovery was announced: the gene that caused cystic fibrosis was discovered. This was big news for two reasons: 1) While cystic fibrosis was originally identified in 1938 by American pathologist Dr. Dorothy Anderson, little...
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The Great Transformation: Cracking the Code of Life
Apr 24th, 2026
April 25th is DNA Day which celebrates the discovery of the structure of DNA and the publication of the first draft of the Human genome. It is hard to imagine now, however less than 100 years ago, we did not know that DNA was responsible for the...
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TB Then & Now: Koch’s Discovery Meets Modern Diagnostics
Mar 24th, 2026
Observed each year on March 24, World TB Day raises awareness of the ongoing global tuberculosis epidemic and commemorates Robert Koch’s 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for the disease. Tuberculosis has...
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Zombosomes: The “Undead” Vesicles Spreading Parkinson’s Pathology
Feb 27th, 2026
Cells are very dynamic creatures. We typically think about them in the context of growing, dividing, and specializing to generate organisms. The orchestra of activities to allow animals to thrive is almost inconceivable. They are also very sensitive...
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Cuckoos: Masters of Nest Deception
Nov 21st, 2025
Nature's most notorious deadbeat parents just got more interesting. Common cuckoos don't build nests or raise their young. Instead, they sneak their eggs into other birds' nests, tricking unsuspecting foster parents into doing all the work, a...
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Cancer’s Hidden Circles: How Extra DNA Helps Tumors Survive
Oct 17th, 2025
It seems like cancer cells are always one step ahead of us. In many cases whatever we throw at them, they can adapt and survive. Don’t get me wrong, we have made tremendous progress in targeting specific cancer cells and holding the disease at...
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Cell Division Secrets: The Tiny Tug-of-War Inside You
Sep 17th, 2025
When cells divide, they must ensure that each daughter cell receives an identical set of chromosomes. To achieve this, each chromosome is first duplicated, forming two identical sister chromatids that are connected at a central point called the...
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Genes That Rise Like Dough
Aug 21st, 2025
When we think of genome evolution, we typically think of the accumulation of mutations and variants within a gene that renders its function to be improved or altered and allows the individual to be better adapted to the environment and more likely...
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