3MF

Basic science seminar calendar

Every week i get a list of the upcoming UM Med School science seminars. Here are a few scheduled for this week:

• Swi/Snf is required for Embryonic Stem Cell Lineage Commitment and Specification
• Stories at the Ends: Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Microtubule Dynamic Instability and its Roles at the Kinetochore
• The Role of Kisspeptins in the Neuroendocrine Regulation of Reproduction: Physiological and Developmental Implications
• Exploring the DNA Damage Response by Phospho-Proteomic Analysis of ATM/ATR Substrates
• Molecular Functions of the De-ubiquitinating Enzyme TRE17/USP6 in Human Neoplasia
• Thyroid Hormone Stimulates Neuronal Development, Synapse Formation, and Ion Channel Gene Expression in the Cochlea
• The Role of the Tyrosine Kinase JAK2 in Actions of Growth Hormone
• Elephants in the Room: Porcine Torque Teno Virus and Implications for the Global Swine Industry
• Nuclear Receptor PPAR-gamma in Osteoclastogenesis and Lactation
• Role of Eicosanoids in Islet Function

I'm looking forward to the seminar about how to understand what the other seminars are about. Or maybe i need to find where the math seminars are.

Number five medical breakthough of 2007

Time magazine put together a list of the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2007. Included as number 5 on the list is The discovery of new diabetes genes. Though the article is somewhat vague about the source of this accomplishment, part of research was conducted at the University of Michigan. The Fusion (Finland-United States Investigation of NIDDM Genetics) project is run by Dr. Michael Boehnke (who just happens to be my adviser). They identified new genes that were associated with Type 2 Diabetes though a genome-wide association study. I wish that all stories about scientific breakthroughs were more specific about who actually arrived at the result rather than just saying "scientists discovered that... ."