20 Years Ago Today - The Anniversary Episode

If you’re a Beatles fan, you’ll know this line from Sgt Pepper: (play tune? “It was 20 years ago today….” ) 

And nearly 20 years ago, we started Medical Discovery News. Today’s show is our thousandth episode!  

In that time, we’ve made huge strides in medicine – much of it, we’ve shared with you. Let’s look at a few. A major triumph is not just the complete DNA sequencing of the human genome but that it’s available to researchers through the NIH “All of Us” project. This treasure trove when used with electronic medical records has sped up studies to make gene therapy for genetic diseases a reality. That’s also thanks to advances in gene editing, so that couples using in vitro fertilization can now select traits that produce healthy children. 

A big area of research and progress has been on the microbes that live on and in us, our microbiome. We now know they protect us from invading pathogens, provide essential nutrients, interact with our nervous system, affect our weight, control our pain and even our moods.   

We’re learning how animals hibernate so that we can do long duration space travel or preserve organs for transplant. We’re growing small pieces of brains to understand our complex brain and treat brain disorders.  

So, we see that the future of science is bright, but as we mark our thousandth episode, we also see the threats. Research funds have been cut, and conspiracists are leading some of America’s top health agencies.  

True – yet Norbert and I will be here, sharing sound science one show at a time.