Archive for category Science
BitLearn: Robert C. Gallo, M.D.
Prominently know for his co-discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Robert C. Gallo, M.D. was also unfortunately left off of the recipient list for the nobel prize relating to the discovery.
Controversy over the discovery of the HIV virus was somewhat settled in the 1990s by scientists at the Institut Pasteur taking the credit for being the first ones to isolate HIV and Dr. Gallo and his peers taking the credit for linking it to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Dr. Gallo later published his discovery that chemo-kines may block the HIV virus and slow the progression of AIDS. In 1993, he wrote a bestseller entitled “Virus Hunting: Aids, Cancer, And The Human Retrovirus: A Story Of Scientific Discovery.”
Dr. Gallo is well known for his biomedical research related to viruses, particularly retroviruses. He is the director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
Take some time to learn a bit more about Dr. Robert Gallo and his work with these resources -
- Institute of Human Virology - Robert Gallo – Article
- Wikipedia – Robert Gallo- Article
- About.com – The History of HIV - Article
- Aids.org – Interview with Dr. Robert Gallo – Article
Get a copy of Dr. Gallo’s Bestselling Book Here ->Virus Hunting: Aids, Cancer, And The Human Retrovirus: A Story Of Scientific Discovery
BitQoute: Bertrand Russell
Posted by Ari in Ideas, People, Quotations, Science on September 13th, 2009
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
Bertrand Russell British mathematician, author and philosopher (1872 – 1970)
BitLearn: Neuron
Central to the functioning of the human brain and nervous system, a neuron is a nerve cell which transmits information in the human nervous system through electrochemical signalling.
Or in plain English, neurons send signals throughout the human body and over long distances, telling the human body different pieces of information. Neurons act as the internal messaging system of the human body. Neurons are the main elements of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.
Neurons contain several major structures, the dendrite, soma and axon. The dendrite(s) usually pull information into the neuron where it then is communicated out through the axon. The soma is the nucleus of the cell.
Neurons, unlike many other cells in the human body, cannot necessarily be replaced after being damaged or destroyed.
There are three types of neurons – motor neurons, sensory neurons and interneurons. Motor neurons communicate signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscle tissue in the human body. Sensory neurons communicate information from sensory organs back to the brain and spinal cord. Interneurons communicate between other neurons.
Take some time to learn a bit more about neurons with these resources -
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