Medical Discovery NewsBridging the World of Medical Discovery and You

Recent Episodes

  • person pushing a walker from behind

    Another Cause of Alzheimers

    Episode 934 Release 215

    In 1906, a psychiatrist, Alois Alzheimer described to a group of German physicians a peculiar patient he had been treating. The woman developed paranoia that progressed quickly, and that was the first description of what we now call Alzheimer's disease or AD, aptly named after him. After she died, Alzheimer did an autopsy and found abnormal patterns we now know as plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that may contribute to AD.

  • transparent image of human body

    Interorgan Communication Keeps Us Young

    Episode 932 Release 215

    We give our brains much of the credit for controlling the organs in our body and rightfully so. But new studies reveal the communication is far from one-way. Nerve networks or molecules in our organs are constantly sending back signals to “alert” the brain of what's happening which optimizes their performance. The brain rules but other organs talk back.

  • illustration of brain neural networks

    The Place for Ultimate Connections

    Episode 932 Release 214

    The brain is by far our most complex organ. It's fair to say there's so much to learn that we don't know what we don't know. One new study involves a tiny piece of brain tissue sample taken from the cortex of an epilepsy patient. The cortex is where learning, sensory processing, and problem-solving happens.

  • jackhammers breaking up brick

    Molecular Jackhammers the Coolest New Cancer Killers

    Episode 931 Release 214

    Scientists may have come up with a new cancer-fighting tool and well, it functions sort of like a jackhammer that can break open and kill cancer cells. In the lab, it's 99 percent effective.

  • raw coffee beans

    Where Your Morning Joe Comes From

    Episode 930 Release 214

    If you're a coffee fan, this will wake you up: Without diversifying the arabica coffee plant, its market dominance might be at risk. Annual coffee production is about 10 million metric tons and is one of the world's top traded commodities.

 Medicine...

Medicine is constantly advancing – that is a great thing about life in the 21st century. But it doesn’t just happen. Dedicated biomedical scientists are making discoveries that translate into those new medical advances.

Biomedical science is broad, encompassing everything from social science to microbiology, biochemistry, epidemiology, to structural biology and bioinformatics to name just a few areas. And, it can involve basic fundamental biology, the use of AI and chemistry to clinical studies that evaluate new medicines in patients.

No matter the research focus, the goal is always the same, to advance human health. It may take a few months, a few years or for fundamental science, a few decades. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today on the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly 500-word newspaper columns and 2-minute radio shows and podcasts provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics.

Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine.

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