by Melissa Lau | Jul 14, 2014 | BioGPS, GeneOfTheWeek
In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security seized 96 tons of marijuana at the US-Mexico border.1 At airport security checkpoints, the TSA confiscates 40 firearms (often loaded) every week.2 And for as long as anyone can remember, the 700-ft, icy monstrosity that...
by Melissa Lau | Jul 7, 2014 | BioGPS, GeneOfTheWeek
Today’s funerary practices might include trends like eco-friendly burial shrouds and artificial reefs made from cremated remains, but for the Fore tribespeople in Papua New Guinea, their traditional mortuary ritual involved a different custom… cannibalism. Although...
by Melissa Lau | Jun 30, 2014 | BioGPS, breast cancer, cancer, GeneOfTheWeek
America is failing. Or rather… our infrastructure is. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the condition and performance of our infrastructure is so poor, that we failed their “2013 Report Card” with a resounding grade of D+.1 Besides being...
by Kerin Higa | Jun 23, 2014 | BioGPS, GeneOfTheWeek
Medicinal mushrooms (MMs) have been used as natural medicines for millennia. Today, there are approximately 1.5 million species of fungi on Earth, and at least 300 species of mushrooms have been found to possess therapeutic properties1. These MMs have over 100 (!)...
by Melissa Lau | Jun 16, 2014 | BioGPS, GeneOfTheWeek
1981 was an eventful year. The Iran Hostage Crisis had finally ended. Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the United States, and shortly thereafter, survived an assassination attempt. In the soap opera General Hospital, the marriage of two beloved characters...
by Kerin Higa | Jun 9, 2014 | BioGPS, GeneOfTheWeek
This week’s gene is Beta-Klotho (KLB). Sounds pretty epic, right? To be honest, I chose to write about KLB because it sounds like it belongs in Game of Thrones. I thought I could make this into a really fun GoT-themed GotW post, in which I could pretend KLB was...
