Beyond the Abstract

Cancer is notoriously challenging to detect early, which is a significant problem as early cancer detection saves lives. While there are many approaches to detect cancer early, too many cancers are detected too late. In today's episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan discuss an important new approach to cancer detection called a blood biopsy, which analyses molecules in a blood draw to...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of global mortality. Among the many risk factors for cardiovascular disease, it's long been known that high cholesterol increases the risk for heart attacks and stroke. In today's episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan discuss two new papers that challenge commonly held beliefs about the way in which cholesterol increases the risk for cardiov...

Humans have long sought the fountain of youth, and recently scientists have explored the biological basis of aging and potential strategies to reverse the process. Along with groundbreaking discoveries that have enabled extending the lifespan of model organisms, the anti-aging movement has spurred an entire industry focused on stopping the biological clock. In today's episode of Beyond the Ab...

Disorders of the brain are among the most challenging to treat in all of medicine. Among the challenges is access: the brain is locked away in the skull, preventing medicines from reaching their destination. To deal with this difficulty, researchers are turning to an unexpected access point to the brain: the eye. In today's episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan discuss new papers that demo...

Food allergies are a major problem – common, potentially deadly, and without effective medicines to prevent them from occurring. But earlier this year, researchers and doctors published a clinical trial reporting an effective new treatment for preventing allergic food reactions. In today’s episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan dive into the science behind the new treatment and what it migh...

Thousands of patients in the US die every year waiting for an organ transplant, often because there are not enough human organ donors. Xenotransplantation — transplantation from another species to humans — could solve this problem, but has remained the realm of science fiction given many technical obstacles. Now, with advances in gene editing, this pipe dream is becoming reality. In today's e...

While almost all women experience nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, few are debilitated by severe symptoms: a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). HG has been stigmatized and neglected by the biomedical community, with limited research funding for developing effective treatments. In this episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan tell the remarkable story of one scientist who exp...

A new class of medicines has transformed the treatment of obesity -- Wegovy and Ozempic have become household names. While we discussed these GLP-1 medicines on an episode of Beyond the Abstract less than a year ago, the field has progressed so quickly we thought it was already time to review many of these recent developments. In today's episode, Derek and Dan first discuss improved versions of th...

Debates around artificial intelligence are everywhere: will ChatGPT usher in a new era of productivity and creativity? Or will advanced AI replace millions of workers? Doctors have similar questions about how AI may influence medicine. In today's episode of Beyond the Abstract, Dan and Derek take a deep dive into all things AI and health. They discuss the current role of AI in medic...

It's well known that emotions can affect the heart - we've all had an anxiety-producing thought that leads to the feeling of our heart pounding out of our chest. But what about the opposite: can the heart control our emotions? In today's episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan discuss a fascinating new study looking at whether making the heart beat fast can cause anxiety-related behaviors.&n...

The effect of inappropriate blood clotting can be devastating, including heart attack and stroke. While there are many medications to reduce the risk of clotting, our understanding of why blood clots and when remains incomplete. In today’s episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan share the remarkable story of how a team of researchers discovered new clotting biology, in a story that begins wi...

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating neurodegenerative condition affecting millions of people around the world. Current therapies are only partially effective, despite decades of research aimed at understanding the causes of the disease. Alzheimer’s is largely genetic, and the best-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s comes from mutations in a gene called APOE. Until recently, however, exactl...

Approximately four in 10 Americans are obese, putting millions at increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, liver cancer, and other chronic illnesses. For many years it’s seemed that we’re losing the battle against this modern epidemic. However, the tide may be turning with the recent approval of a revelatory new class of medications. In today’s episode, Dan and Derek dive deep into th...

Our episode today takes us Behind The Scenes (BTS) on Beyond The Abstract (BTA). Derek and Dan answer your questions on graduate school on everything from how we chose our research topics, how we deal with imposter syndrome and stress, how it feels to have finished our PhDs, and more! We hope you enjoy this change from our usual format. If you have questions you'd like us to answer, DM us @btapod...

This episode is sponsored by Proteintech. Exercise is good for us - it keeps off the pounds and decreases our risk for heart attack and diabetes. What may be less known about exercise is that it's actually also good for the brain. Exercise improves memory and learning, and may even improve brain function in people with Alzheimer's disease. However, it's not know how exercise might exert these bene...

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy disorder characterized by high blood pressure and contributes to significant fetal and maternal deaths. However, what exactly causes preeclampsia is unclear. It's thought that preeclampsia is caused by placental dysfunction - specifically, the ability of specialized fetal cells called trophoblasts to replace and remodel maternal blood vessels. In this episode of Beyond...

CAR T cells have been engineered to treat everything from cancer to scarring in the heart. However, one major barrier to wide-spread therapy is the fact that T cells have to be removed from the patient, engineered, and then putting them back in the patient. But what if we could create a drug that makes CAR T cells inside a patient's own body? This type of one-size-fits-all approach could be much m...

COVID brain fog is a well-documented, residual symptom following COVID infection. However, how COVID infects the brain and potential causes of COVID brain fog are unclear. In this episode, Dan and Derek discuss two recent studies that show that even mild cases of COVID may have important impacts on brain structure and function. Douaud et al. SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure...

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is best known for causing mononucleiosis, or the 'kissing disease,' in teenagers. Almost all adults get EBV at some point in their lives, even if they don't get mono. New research shows that EBV infection may have longer-lasting impacts. Using data from the American military, researchers now show that EBV infection drastically increases an individual's risk for multiple sc...

Hair greying is thought to be an irreversible event related to life stress, but the process has never been extensively studied. For the first time, researchers at Columbia University use novel techniques with hair imaging and a daily diary to demonstrate that hair greying is not only associated with stressful life events, but that the process is reversible and correlated with metabolic changes in...

The placenta is a transient organ of pregnancy that supports fetal growth and organ development. Placental dysfunction underlies many developmental defects, but this connection is poorly understood. Furthermore, many neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder, are linked to altered brain development and are more common in men than women for unknown reasons. In this episode, Derek...

Bone marrow stem cell transplants are some of the most important tools in treating diseases like leukemia and multiple myeloma. However, harvesting enough stem cells for transplantation is often a big issue for doctors. Finding new ways to elicit stem cell mobilization from the bone marrow to improve harvesting could go a long way in improving treatment. Today's episode of Beyond the Abstract feat...

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a devastating autoimmune disease that result from the immune system attacking parts of the nervous system. For a long time, MS has been treated with broad immunosuppression using corticosteroids that puts the patient at risk for infections, but this might soon change. In today's Beyond the Abstract episode, Derek and Dan talk about a new paper that uses a novel mRNA vacc...

High cholesterol and clogged arteries are the main cause of heart attacks. While modern medicine has developed ways to keep cholesterol down, these medications must be taken daily in order to be effective and come with their own list of side effects. This is where CRISPR comes in. Scientists have now developed a way to safely and durably reduce cholesterol in monkeys with a single injection of CRI...

When patients have low oxygen levels, doctors use various types of breathing machines to deliver oxygen to the lungs - but it's not always effective. Now, scientists have taken inspiration from a small fish called the loach and developed a method to deliver oxygen through... the butt. This is particularly pertinent in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, where physicians have struggled to find adequ...