November 20, 2009
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic autoimmune disorder – encompassing both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – that affects more than a million people in the United States. Normally, our immune system works to fight off harmful pathogens that might pass through our digestive tract. In [...]
November 13, 2009
Some people want to know everything their genetics can tell them, while others are interested in only part of the story. That's why starting next week, on Thursday November 19th , we will begin offering our service as two distinct products to better meet the needs of our customers: The 23andMe Ancestry [...]
November 11, 2009
The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis, occurs due to accumulated wear and tear – welcome to old age! – or from repetitive movements or injury. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is caused by an autoimmune attack on the lining of the joints, resulting in stiffness, muscle aches, and [...]
October 19, 2009
Lupus, which means "wolf" in Latin, gets its name from the skin manifestations sometimes seen in the disease. A physician in the 13th century thought they looked like wolf bites. In autoimmune disorders, the immune system — which normally protects us from harmful, foreign substances — goes into [...]
October 16, 2009
Previously in The Spittoon, we discussed two papers that identified genetic variants associated with hemoglobin levels in circulating blood. But blood consists of much more than hemoglobin, and it is responsible for much more than just transporting oxygen. This week Nature Genetics published the results of [...]
October 5, 2009
Our bones are amazing structures, capable of supporting tremendous force through complex motions. They do this day in and day out, year after year as we sit, stand, walk, run, lift, work, and play. But as the elderly among us know all too well, bones are not invincible and become more fragile as we age. As [...]
September 24, 2009
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and is estimated to affect over 66 million people worldwide. This group of diseases is typically caused by increased pressure in the eye, which slowly damages the optic nerve and leads to gradual vision loss and eventual, incurable blindness if left untreated. [...]
