From Science Fiction to Reality

     I just spent another exhilarating weekend at Duke - this time to honor the career of Jean Fox O’Barr, the founder of the Women’s Study Program at Duke. Sponsored by the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, the weekend conference was about “What does it Mean to be an Educated Woman?”. Along with honoring Dr. O’Barr, the conference focused on conversations on activism, scholarship, and pedagogy in women’s education. I’m old enough that we didn’t know what women’s studies programs were when I was a student. Dr. O’Barr came to Duke the year I graduated and I’ve always regretted not having the benefit of her wisdom when I was there.

     The benefits from the “New Generation of Healing” are covered in a captivating three-part series on the site this week by our Director of Medical News, Melissa Medalie. Don’t miss the details on how science is turning what used to be science fiction into fact . Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, Mass General Hospital for Children, Brown University and Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine are growing new body parts such as fingers, engineering ears, and bringing feeling back to injured nerves.

     In Part Two, read about gene therapy trials (there are currently more than 1,500 going on), and how genes may be an important key to healing. Part Three addresses the debate on stem cell treatment, and whether it can “...increase heart function in patients who suffered major heart attacks,” which Zannos Grekos, M.D., claims, or if “These patients are being charged an enormous amount of money for a therapy that’s unproven,” which Cam Patterson, M.D. asserts.

     In addition to our In-Depth Doctor’s Interview with Carl Awh, M.D. about an experimental procedure he’s using to treat wet macular degeneration which could decrease the need for repeated injections, we have another special series this week produced by our own Julie Manheim Marks. Check out her reports on the science of memory which are full of information about the brain and how our memories work.

     I was intrigued by the fact that the average three-pound brain contains up to 100 billion neurons and that it would take about 171 years to count them all, as well as with what an important part emotion plays in memory. Read about how investigators from Harvard are studying whether a certain drug can weaken the emotional response for those with painful memories, and how researchers at SUNY and UC Irvine are studying ways to help people erase disturbing memories.

     In case you missed them, you may want to check our past reports, Premium Content in Archives Cooking Brain Tumors or Premium Content in Archives Washing Away Varicose Veins. Premium Content in the Archives may be purchased for as little as $9 for 24-hour, unlimited access. If you would like to access Premium Content for the first time click here.

     Finally, don’t forget to vote on Tuesday!