August 21, 2016

Did you know that some individuals have to battle dry, flakey skin all the time? Many people have experienced dandruff and skin rashes during the cold winter, but individuals affected by psoriasis have to deal with much more. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes the skins cells to multiply rapidly, causing red plaques to form and layers of dead skin cells to build up. It is as if the skin is covered with silver scales. Unfortunately there is no cure, only treatments. Topical ointments can help promote the shedding of the scales and alleviate itching. Other treatments include phototherapy and systemic treatments (pills and injections).

August 10, 2016

Did you know that zebrafish can glow in the dark? The zebrafish is a great model organism for research. It produces offsprings every week (spawning occurs during the morning), has transparent embryo (so we can observe them), and shares 70% of our genes. It's also a popular aquarium fish because of its robust nature. To make zebrafish even more popular, Yorktown Technologies genetically modified them to be different colors and glow in the dark. Thus they are called GloFish. They are the only genetically modified animal available to the public in the US.