How do you study humans without studying humans? With mice, of course! These living test tubes closely mimic the genetic makeup of humans—95 percent close, in fact. And their small size and short gestation period make them ideal models for studying human disease. But in research, the garden-variety rodent doesn’t make the cut. Technological advances […]
By Adam Cohen Rayna Dubose never was afraid of the boys. Even back when she was nine years old, she’d get out on the basketball court and mix it up with them. Sure, she had a pony tail. And, yes, most were older than she was. But she stood half a head taller than most […]
Science is essentially an attempt to observe and describe the things our limited senses can’t detect or predict. As technology improves, scientists are privileged observers of inconceivably complex and beautifully orchestrated biological processes. Free radicals have been blamed for nearly anything that ails us. As a result, people pop vitamin tablets and drink red wine […]
By Michael Bratcher Growing up, Judith James rarely passed up an episode of Star Trek. From her living room in Pond Creek, she sat transfixed as Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise boldly went where no man had gone before. For the future physician and medical researcher, the workings of […]
In the Words of Dr. Philip Silverman • Majorie Nichlos Chair in Medical Research Learning your genetic “secrets” can be a deeply emotional issue. Can you live happily without knowing? Or not? You need to sort out how you’ll deal with it beforehand, because once you have the results, the “gene’s” out of the bottle. […]
By Adam Cohen “That’s not good,” Dr. James Brewer says to me. I blink, shifting my eyes from the watery blue of the Pacific Ocean to Brewer’s worried face. We’re sitting on the deck of a restaurant perched a few hundred feet above the water, our half-finished bowls of pasta warmed by the California sun. […]
By Shari Hawkins It was windy that Thursday in November—the kind of swirling wind Oklahoma is famous for. Shrubs whipped back and forth. Leaves somersaulted across the portico of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Huguette White moved nimbly across the stone porch, her long hair flying behind her. No matter that she walked on a […]
In the words of Mike Kellum, father of Will, 6, who has autism We grieved when we learned Will was autistic. We thought we could find the key to unlock the door, and he’d walk right through, but it’s never that easy. Finally, you put on your work gloves and you go to work. Will […]
By Michael Bratcher Dr. Jim Rand devoted his career to understanding how cells communicate with one another. Little did he suspect that this research would one day lead him back to his own family. When Jeremy Rand was a kindergartener, he figured out that one-quarter of one-quarter was one-sixteenth. He knew his multiplication tables. And […]
