Foundations of Science

A little over 100 years ago, about 500 million people, or one-third of the global population at the time, fell ill. At least 50 million died, with 675,000 deaths occurring in the U.S.¹

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic is frequently compared with the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. The destruction caused by that pandemic a century ago may sound familiar. Yet, direct comparisons of the 1918 flu…

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 

For some, volunteering at their local food bank is a preferred way to give back. Some donate money to organizations or non-profits they believe in. Others donate blood. But there is another way people can give back that may not be as top of mind:…

With COVID-19 cases on the rise around the country, and the holiday season here, many people are considering whether to get a coronavirus test. Diagnostic testing is a critical tool in helping to understand and control the spread of the virus. And for indviduals, test results help to guide their…

With the potential to offer targeted therapies and reduced side-effects, the drive towards biologics is exciting. Biologics have revolutionized the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, autoimmune conditions, and other diseases. Biosimilars have the potential to enhance treatment accessibility, and with biologic patents beginning to expire, this is an interesting era for the two treatment options.^1…

“Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.” – George Eliot

Instinctually, intuitively, we know that music makes life better.

For millennia, humans have used music to soothe to our souls and comfort pain. Parents worldwide sing lullabies to the young and mark special occasions such as birthdays, graduations, and weddings with song. We rely on music to help us power…

Cory Woodall flew as a Navy flight instructor before his symptoms from Wilson disease became too debilitating.

In 2017, Cory Woodall, was living his dream. A U.S. Navy flight instructor, he flew a P-3 Orion— a surveillance aircraft— with ease, and hoped to someday become…

While many people have heard of the blood disorder hemophilia, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a lesser-known bleeding disorder that also severely impacts patients’ quality of life.

When you have a cut or injury, thrombocytes, or platelets, are tiny, colorless cell fragments that form a “plug” in blood vessels to help begin the clotting process. ITP is an autoimmune condition that causes a person’s immune…

Is a strong immune system the solution to sickness? Can we keep ourselves well by strengthening our immune response?

Sort of. And not really.

Think of your immune system as a home security system for your body. Intact skin and mucus membranes keep out some bacteria and viruses, just as a fence around your house keeps most unwanted intruders off your property. When germs get inside the body, the…

We’ve all heard a lot about viruses lately, but what exactly are they? Viruses are bundles of nucleic acid—DNA or RNA—that are enclosed by a protein shell known as a capsid.¹ By some measures the most abundant life form on earth,¹ viruses lurk everywhere; experts estimate that they are 10 times more numerous than bacteria.² And while individual viral particles, called virions,^3…