By Don C. Reed As a long-time supporter of stem cell research, I was worried when social conservative Mike Johnson (R-LA) was chosen as the new Speaker of the House. He has a persuasive voice like the radio performer he once was, and a gentle smile: in short, he is a...
By Don C. Reed Imagine a beloved infant child, and he/she smiles at you — but there is something wrong. You wait for the precious little words, the garbled “baby talk” which will gradually polish into speech — but it doesn’t come. Autism is an array of “developmental...
By Don C. Reed Imagine cartoon warriors; make them very tough. Give each one a spear and a shield — They are called microglia (my-cro-glee-uh) and they live in your brain. Well, okay, I exaggerated just a bit — microglia don’t have spears and shields — but they are...
By Don C. Reed Dr. Helen Blau of Stanford is attempting something seemingly impossible: to treat aging as a disease; to lessen the devastation of old age; to recover strength, muscle mass, and endurance—for people already old. According to Dr. Blau, a typical person...
By Don C. Reed Imagine you are an infant, and your Mom or Dad is trying to bottle-feed you. The nipple is placed between your lips — now what happens? You suck and swallow, right? But sucking (into the mouth) and swallowing (gulping it down) are two separate...
By Don C. Reed First, a seeming digression. Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, is based on a true story. Hemingway was on a fishing trip off Cuba, when he heard about the r/l fisherman’s epic battle against a giant marlin. After he had killed...
