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What’s Killing the Tasmanian Devils? And What’s Saving Them?
By Emily Matcham Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) is as horrific as it sounds. Classified as a transmissible cancer, the disease, when present in Tasmanian devil populations, can reduce the populations by approximately 80 percent. Tasmanian devils, which are small, carnivorous marsupials native only to Tasmania, are scavengers and are instrumental to the maintenance of…
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The mysterious culprit of cancer
By Joshua Wu Cancer, often described as the emperor of all maladies, is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and proliferation. Cancer is expected to cause the death of 606,520 Americans this year, according to the American Cancer Society’s 2020 Facts & Figures. Due to the variety of cell types from which cancers…
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Genome editing just got a lot easier
This post is cross-posted with the PLOS Student Blog If you’ve recently taken a glimpse at the front page of any major science news outlet, it is likely you are no stranger to an emerging genome editing technology known as CRISPR/Cas9. With the help of RNA, Cas9 (a bacterial enzyme) can be programmed to target specific…
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RNA-Based Therapies Meet the 21st Century
This post is cross-posted with The PLoS Student Blog We have all taken aspirin for minor aches, known someone who takes simvastatin to control elevated cholesterol, or are related to someone with hypertension who is prescribed ACE inhibitors for treatment. Most medications and over-the-counter drugs like these target enzymes (specialized proteins) that are directly involved in…