Author: Andy Wang
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Why Timing Matters
One thing that really stood out to me while learning more about Kawasaki disease is how much timing matters. It is not just about knowing what the disease is but about recognizing it early enough to make a difference. Kawasaki disease usually starts with a high fever that lasts for several days. The problem is…
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Kawasaki Disease
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I usually jump around between random biology discoveries. But recently, I found myself drawn to something much more personal and fascinating: Kawasaki disease. Part of the reason this topic grabbed me is that I actually had Kawasaki disease as a kid. Furthermore, earlier this month, I had…
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Cancer Fighting Molecules
While I was clicking around the internet, I found a interesting article describing a recent discovery about cancer fighting molecules. Scientists at the University of British Columbia Okanagan decoded how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare molecule with anti cancer properties. Mitraphylline is a spirooxindole alkaloid, a family of compounds that are known for their twisted…
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Mass extinction’s affect on size of organisms
A study from Stanford University reveals that mass extinction can do much more than wipe out organisms around the world. After a mass extinction, during recovery periods, the newly evolved organisms tend to be smaller than the survivors of the event. This is the opposite of the usual trend of evolving from larger organisms, and…
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Cats, Brains, and Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most well-known and devastating neurodegenerative conditions, affecting millions of people worldwide as they age. Its impact on memory, thinking, and daily life is enormous, not just for those diagnosed, but for their families and caregivers. Now, through a groundbreaking study conducted by the University of Edinburgh, researchers uncovered that…
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The Human Genome Project
Recently at a summer camp I went to, the topic of the human genome project was brought up, so I decided to do some research about it. The human genome project was one of the largest biology projects in scientific history. It started in 1990 and lasted all the way until 2003. The main goals…
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AI Codes Life
Imagine prompting an AI like ChatGPT, not with words, but with DNA, where the AI replies back with actual coded base pairs for proteins. This is what Evo 2 does. Evo 2 is a generative model for biology. It is similar to ChatGPT, but trained on DNA rather than language. It can create new proteins…
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First patient treated with first-ever gene fix for deadly rare disease
I recently watched a Youtube video about a new kind of personalized gene editing. I looked up articles about this advance and discovered that doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia applied customized CRISPR gene-editing treatment to rescue a baby who had a rare and lethal genetic disorder. This success not only offers hope for…
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Conductive Bacteria
I have always been interested in how electric eels could produce their own electricity. If we could use animals to help our research in developing new fuel sources, it would help pollution. Now we are one step closer. Scientists have identified a new species of cable bacteria, Ca. Electrothrix yaqonensis, which acts like electrical wiring,…
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Tattooing Tardigrades
So recently, I came across this article titled “Scientist have found a way to ‘tattoo‘ tardigrades.” I was immediately intrigued and started reading. Scientists used ice lithography, a micro fabrication technique, to tattoo tardigrades. Since tardigrades are nearly indestructible, they were the perfect test subject. To do this, researchers applied a protective anisole layer and…
Biotechnology notebook 