John Travis

All Stories by John Travis

  1. Humans

    Genes on Display

    DNA becomes part of the artist's palette.

  2. Mutated gene doubles fruit fly’s life span

    The product of the Indy gene resembles transport proteins in mammals that enable intestinal and kidney cells to take in metabolites to produce energy.

  3. Crippled fungus acts as vaccine

    A genetically crippled strain of yeast can vaccinate mice against deadly normal strains.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Does vitamin A aid learning?

    A lack of Vitamin A may cause learning and memory problems, albeit potentially reversible ones.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Old antibiotic takes on Alzheimer’s

    An antibiotic that binds copper and zinc may prevent brain deposits that cause Alzheimer's disease.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Pesticide tied to Parkinson’s disease

    Rodents exposed to massive amounts of the pesticide rotenone develop a condition similar to Parkinson's disease.

  7. Health & Medicine

    New sources and uses for stem cells

    Human skin and scalp tissue may provide a source of neural stem cells.

  8. Blame the brain for lack of rhythm

    Some people are born with dysmusia, a condition marked by difficulty learning to play music or recognizing melodies.

  9. Perfect pitch common among the blind

    Blind musicians are more likely to have perfect pitch than are sighted people.

  10. Health & Medicine

    A vaccine to help ex-smokers

    By generating antibodies that neutralize nicotine, a vaccine could keep ex-smokers from getting the nicotine high that drives many of them back to their bad habit.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Caffeine may ward off Parkinson’s

    Scientists may have found an explanation for why coffee drinking prevents Parkinson's disease.

  12. Low-cal diet may reduce cancer in monkeys

    Researchers monitoring monkeys have seen signs that slashing normal calorie consumption can benefit long-lived primates by extending natural life spans and reducing the odds of suffering diseases such as cancer.