As an overachiever and recovering perfectionist, I prided myself on the fact that I never quit. ‘Quitters never win, and winners never quit‘ is a familiar mantra that I’ve used to push through physical, emotional, and spiritual pains. I keep my promises, honor my commitments, sprint through finish lines, and stay on schedule. The very word […]
I’m psyched that this Science Pants collection depicts the process of immune tolerance, a task that kept me busy for several years during my PhD! My sister Jacqueline made this pattern using images I acquired from a confocal microscope; in these images, we see peanut-allergic Dendritic Cells, which are very important immune messenger cells, happily gobbling up red […]
I’ve experienced intense anxiety for the last couple days, as today I had an afternoon meeting in which 3 incredibly intimidating professors evaluated my research progress. I characterize this type of anxiety as acute and specific, because it’s short-term and has a definite cause (as opposed to chronic, nonspecific anxiety, where your brain just plays endless loops […]
Just like we are all capable of far more than we know, we’re learning that our cells do way more than we originally thought. We live in a wonderful scientific age in which long-standing paradigms are being challenged, and one of the most exciting areas of rediscovery (imo) is immunology; we’re finding that immune cells […]
Stay in it. That unsolicited thought stopped me in my tracks. Monday evening found me tired and hungry, 6 hours after the weight of her death created a physical pain in my chest and throat, jabbing me during my busy day of meetings and experiments. I was eagerly eyeing the fresh beer I had poured, […]
Ann Pollina, the longtime Head of Westover School, was the most influential person I’ve ever met. As I’m cautious to use superlatives (academia shuns strong or direct language), let me explain how I reached this conclusion. If we measure global contribution and influence by the quantity and quality of lives improved, then Ann would be a leading […]
I’ve had the privilege to work in the lab of Ruslan Medzhitov, an immunology legend who will get the Nobel prize, and I’ve been endlessly impressed with him as a scientist, manager, and person. Scientifically, his achievements speak for themselves (discovering a fundamental immunological signaling molecule was just the beginning of his illustrious career), and the unique […]
For the last 30 days, I did not touch the hot water knob in my shower, instead spending at least 5 minutes under icy water each day. Why would I take on such a masochistic experiment? General curiosity. Yes, curiosity may kill cats but has served me well as a scientist and the person who often […]
Another reason to get in cold water; taking cold showers or going for a swim changes the way your liver processes fat, ultimately lowering blood levels of cholesterol and creating a beneficial, fat-burning #microbiome!
www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n7/full/nm.4357.html
nature.com
During cold stimulation, cholesterol is converted to bile acids in an alternative pathway. The bile acids then alter the microbiota, which in turn promotes more heat generation.
Maybe there is something to those 3-day juice cleanses! In this study, people drank fruit/vegetable juice (greens + apples + ginger + beet + pineapple) for 3 days, and significant reductions in body weight were observed, as well as shifts in microbiota and nutrient utilization. Pretty cool!
www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02200-6
Health benefit of vegetable/fruit juice-based diet: Role of microbiome
nature.com
The gut microbiota is an important contributor to human health. Vegetable/fruit juices provide polyphenols, oligosaccharides, fiber and nitrate (beet juice), which may induce a prebiotic-like effect. Juice-based diets are becoming popular. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence of their hea...
Throwback article I co-wrote a couple years ago!
Seems coconut oil is back in the news. What I do I think about it? Check out this article I wrote back in 2015...
Super awesome research that could restore vision in blind people! Scientists made an implant with materials similar to solar cells, and after installing them into the eyes of blind rats, the rats could SEE for up to 10 months (about 30 human years!).
www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v16/n6/full/nmat4874.html
nature.com
A retinal prosthesis fabricated from an organic photovoltaic polymer can restore degenerative blindness in vivo, and over long implantation periods.