Energy CrisisPublished On June 17, 2019 KATIE HART HAS BEEN sick most of her life, but it took more than three decades for her to find out what was behind her debilitating fatigue, persistent headaches, muscle pain and dizziness. During her adolescence, medical… Jun 17 19June 17, 2019Article at Proto Magazine
Hear ThisPublished On January 22, 2019 THE SENSATION OF SOUND, like all phenomena that make up the human experience, depends on an intricate relay of biological cells and signals running between the outside world and the brain. Human hearing begins when sound… Jan 22 19January 22, 2019Article at Proto Magazine
A Decade of ChangeSINCE PROTO’S LAUNCH 10 YEARS AGO, its opening pages have always taken a brief intermission from documenting “medicine’s leading edge” to look back at one of its past successes—the formulation of aspirin, the publication of Gray’s Anatomy, the advent… Oct 01 15October 01, 2015Article at Proto Magazine
Progress on ProstatesPublished On September 29, 2015 The polarizing debate over cancer screening tends to get particularly heated when it involves prostate cancer, a leading cause of cancer death in men. On one side are supporters of screening who point to lives saved.… Sep 29 15September 29, 2015Article at Proto Magazine
The Awakening of Oliver SacksPublished On June 10, 2015 Medical writing owes a debt to Oliver Sacks, whose books bring readers nose to nose with great neurological puzzles. The British physician is best known for capturing detailed, narrative case histories that convey a human… Jun 10 15June 10, 2015Article at Proto Magazine
An Outbreak Told in GenomesPublished On June 10, 2015 The fight against the Ebola virus in 2014 brought many experimental technologies to bear. One of the most revolutionary was rapid genomic sequencing, which was used to analyze the virus as it spread in Sierra Leone.… Jun 10 15June 10, 2015Article at Proto Magazine
A New Weapon Against Sepsis?Published On April 8, 2015 Sepsis kills more than 140,000 people every week. It occurs when the immune system overreacts to injury or infection: it’s difficult to treat—even with antibiotics—and it’s also hard to diagnose . Patients often don’t… Apr 08 15April 08, 2015Article at Proto Magazine
Where Have All the Microbes Gone?Published On November 17, 2014 Martin Blaser is the director of the Human Microbiome Program at New York University’s Langone Medical Center and a long-time researcher on the effects of microbes on health. His recent book, Missing Microbes, considers… Nov 17 14November 17, 2014Article at Proto Magazine
From the Bottom UpPublished On September 22, 2014 IN THE LATE 1950s, A DENVER SURGEON named Ben Eiseman saw four patients who were dreadfully ill with recurrent diarrhea caused by antibiotics, which had obliterated the friendly bacteria in their gut, leaving them… Sep 22 14September 22, 2014Article at Proto Magazine
A New Driver in ResearchPublished On July 23, 2013 NINE-YEAR-OLD SHAN RÉE OF WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia, was no stranger to hospitals. Since infancy, she had been admitted two or three times a year for the intravenous antibiotics and intensive breathing treatments… Jul 23 13July 23, 2013Article at Proto Magazine
Clearing Hep CPublished On January 15, 2013 The discovery of the hepatitis C virus in 1989, after more than five years of searching, used previously untried techniques and required frequent leaps of faith. It was one of the triumphs of molecular biology, and the… Jan 15 13January 15, 2013Article at Proto Magazine
Designer DrugsPublished On September 22, 2012 MAKING ANY KIND OF DRUG IS AN EXACTING PROCESS. Manufacturers must make sure that whatever form the medicine takes, each dose is exactly like any other. Still, as involved as it is to blend the chemical compounds of… Sep 22 12September 22, 2012Article at Proto Magazine
Glia’s Hidden TalentsPublished On May 3, 2011 IN 1888, WHEN THE SPANISH ANATOMIST SANTIAGO RAMÓN Y CAJAL began almost obsessively drawing every kind of brain tissue he could obtain—from humans, rabbits, pigs, dogs, fish, frogs, mice and other creatures—he depicted many… May 03 11May 03, 2011Article at Proto Magazine
The Injured BrainPublished On May 3, 2011 WE WALK AROUND EACH DAY WITH OUR BRAIN, a three-pound organ with the consistency of custard, sloshing about inside a sealed chamber of cerebrospinal fluid. It’s protected, though only just, by a tough outer membrane, the dura… May 03 11May 03, 2011Article at Proto Magazine
The Mind’s Healing PowerHome // Genetics // The Mind’s Healing Power Published On September 22, 2010 In the early 1970s, in the very laboratory at Harvard Medical School where physiologist Walter Cannon discovered the fight-or-flight response, a young cardiologist named… Sep 22 10September 22, 2010Article at Proto Magazine
Our Native FloraPublished On July 23, 2010 IN 1984, WHEN A YOUNG AUSTRALIAN PHYSICIAN NAMED BARRY MARSHALL DRANK a test tube full of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, he expected bad things to happen. Though many bacteria are harmless or even beneficial, Marshall… Jul 23 10July 23, 2010Article at Proto Magazine
Origami MedicinePublished On May 3, 2010 THE PROTEOSTASIS NETWORK HAS ALWAYS EXISTED, BUT THE NAME IS NEW, and only recently emerging is the notion that the network is as essential to life as a beating heart or DNA. Proteostasis is what the cell aspires to: a state… May 03 10May 03, 2010Article at Proto Magazine
Striking UnluckyPublished On May 3, 2009 “DON’T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT THESE TESTS,” the pediatric gastroenterologist reassured us. “If he has any of these conditions, it would be like getting struck by lightning twice.” We all laughed nervously. My husband and I sat… May 03 09May 03, 2009Article at Proto Magazine
