Our environment and experiences over the first 1,000 days of life have an enormous influence on our growing brain and long-term wellbeing, said Dr. Laura Stroud at the annual Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary Therapies. “Things that happen to us when we’re very young have a much larger impact. This is a sensitive period of brain development and lifelong health,” she said.
Deanna Fournier was 6 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. She shared her journey—and neuro-oncologist Dr. Eli Diamond discussed efforts to better understand and address the burdens faced by rare cancer patients—during a recent NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship lecture.
What if we could cure diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by regrowing the damaged parts of the eye? Researchers like Dr. Katia Del Rio-Tsonis of Miami University are working to make it possible. She discussed her research on retinal regeneration at a recent NEI lecture.
Marking 50 years of data collection, the National Cancer Institute's SEER program monitors trends in cancer diagnosis and outcomes across the country. SEER comprises 18 population-based central cancer registries that submit data to NCI and 10 additional registries providing research support.
On the Cover
NHLBI-supported researchers are reporting new insights into how hair-like cellular structures called cilia are able to sense biomechanical forces to shape the heart and other organs during embryo development. The findings, published in the journal Science, could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat congenital heart disease. Shown is a fluorescent microscope image of a zebrafish embryo highlighting cilia (red), fluid flow (green) and the plasma membrane (blue) inside a small cluster of cells called the left-right organizer. February is American Heart Month. Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week is Feb. 7-14.
Photo: Shiaulou Yuan (Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School) and Zhaoxia Sun (Yale University)