How to use precision medicine to personalize COVID-19 treatment according to the patient's genes

Precision medicine is often touted as the future of medicine. But so far, it hasn't been helpful in the war against COVID-19. Here is how it could be used to tease apart the nuances of the disease.

David Finegold, Professor, Department of Human Genetics, Pitt Public Health, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Sept. 1, 2020 • ~8 min

Brain scientists haven't been able to find major differences between women's and men's brains, despite over a century of searching

Attempts to find brain structures responsible for supposed cognitive sex differences have not succeeded.

Ari Berkowitz, Presidential Professor of Biology; Director, Cellular & Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma • conversation
Aug. 6, 2020 • ~8 min

ALS scientific breakthrough: Diabetes drug metformin shows promise in mouse study for a common type of ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a crippling, progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. Now it seems that a diabetes drug may help some cases.

Laura P.W. Ranum, Director, Center for NeuroGenetics and Kitzman Family Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida • conversation
July 20, 2020 • ~10 min

Coronavirus: its impact cannot be explained away through the prism of race

There's no evidence COVID-19 death rates are related to the genetic differences used to racialise people.

Winston Morgan, Reader in Toxicology and Clinical Biochemistry, Director of Impact and Innovation, University of East London • conversation
May 28, 2020 • ~8 min

Coronavirus: its impact cannot be explained through the prism of race

There's no evidence COVID-19 death rates are related to the genetic differences used to racialise people.

Winston Morgan, Reader in Toxicology and Clinical Biochemistry, Director of Impact and Innovation, University of East London • conversation
May 28, 2020 • ~8 min

Your genes could determine whether the coronavirus puts you in the hospital – and we're starting to unravel which ones matter

Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University found that variations in genes that code for parts of the cellular alarm system might play a role in how well people fight off COVID-19.

Reid Thompson, Assistant Professor of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University • conversation
May 5, 2020 • ~6 min

Is racism and bigotry in our DNA?

If we are not careful, the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a rise in xenophobic attitudes.

Tom Oliver, Professor of Applied Ecology, University of Reading • conversation
April 2, 2020 • ~16 min

Labs are experimenting with new – but unproven – methods to create a coronavirus vaccine fast

Under pressure to develop a coronavirus vaccine, researchers have turned to protein synthesis, genetics and hybrid viruses. It is likely a mix of these approaches will be used to fight the coronavirus.

Jean Peccoud, Professor, Abell Chair in Synthetic Biology, Colorado State University • conversation
March 26, 2020 • ~10 min

Modern tomatoes are very different from their wild ancestors – and we found missing links in their evolution

Through genetic detective work, scientists have identified missing links in the tomato’s evolution from a wild blueberry-sized fruit in South America to the larger modern tomato of today.

Ana Caicedo, Associate Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst • conversation
Jan. 30, 2020 • ~6 min

/

10