Famous 1848 Case Of A Man Who Survived A Terrible Brain Injury Has Modern Parallel
Poor Phineas Gage. In 1848, the supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont was using a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch rod to pack blasting powder into a rock when he triggered an explosion that drove the rod through his left cheek and out of the top of his head. As reported at the time, the rod was later found, "smeared with blood and brains...

Genetic Discovery Will Revolutionize Understanding Of Gene Expression
Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics that DNA consists of only four bases. Now, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have made a discovery that once again forces us to rewrite our textbooks. This time, however, the findings pertain to RNA, which like DNA carries information about our genes and how they are expressed...

Genetic Test May Predict Risk Of Schizophrenia
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have developed a test that can predict how likely an individual is to develop schizophrenia. The scientists combined data from several different types of studies in order to identify and prioritize a group of genes most associated with the disease. Combined, these genes can generate a score, and determine whether an individual is at lower or higher risk of developing schizophrenia. The study, which was conducted along with a group of national and international collaborators, is published online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry...