Author: Sarah Foust

  • New Weill Cornell postdoc union begins collective bargaining

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    On November 15th, 2023, postdoctoral fellows at Weill Cornell Medicine voted to unionize by a 99% majority of 328 to 4. Forming the union gives postdocs the legal right to engage in collective bargaining with the institution. Postdocs aim to use this right to improve workplace conditions through increased salary minimums, improved housing and childcare…

  • Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Bench and Computer Scientists?

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    One popular topic buzzing around laboratory corridors is the debate on whether artificial intelligence (AI) could replace hands-on bench work. While AI has proven its worth in various domains like economics, customer service, and climate science, it makes you think – what are the real limits to these technologies? To what extent will human work…

  • New Director May Bring Positive Changes to the NIH

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    In 2023, the Tri-I received 1,056 grants—nearly $600 million in total—from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).  While many members of the Tri-I community rely on such NIH funding, we represent just 1.5% of NIH-funded research. The NIH had a total budget of almost $48 billion last year, of which $40 billion was allocated…

  • Navigating Health Equity Amidst the Gene Editing Revolution

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      From the characterization of the double-helix structure of DNA, to the development of the first chimeric recombinant DNA in 1972, to the mapping of the human genome in 2001, technological improvements have historically led to advances in conceptual understanding of molecular and cellular biology. These conceptual advances in turn inform the next generation of…

  • Henrietta Lacks’ Immortal Story: When Science Forgets Humanity

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    Research and reporting by Kenny Bradley, Jeannie Carreiro, Colin Burdette, and Sarthak Tiwari Imagine you notice a persistent, painful lump on your cervix. You consult your doctor, who asks your permission to conduct a diagnostic tissue biopsy. You have access to information about this procedure from your doctor, other medical professionals, and online forums. You…

  • Briefing on EZH2 Research in the Tri-I

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    Across a wide variety of cancer types, the overexpression of EZH2 is a well-documented phenomenon. A type of histone methyltransferase, the EZH2 enzyme adds methyl groups onto  specific residues on histones, the core proteins of chromatin coils. By methylating a specific type of histone, EZH2 inhibits the transcription of tumor suppressor genes, ultimately causing cancer…