The lack of female representation in preclinical biomedical research has resulted in gaps in our medical knowledge, with important consequences for women’s health. In the past decade, efforts to remedy this historic exclusion have increased, but opportunities remain to make basic biomedical research more equitable, reproducible, and applicable to all people.

Read my latest article for IEEE Pulse: Considering Sex in Biomedical Research.

Striated caracaras, members of the falcon family native to the south Atlantic, are known for their curiosity and playfulness. How do these “feathered monkeys” stack up against tool-using parrots on tests of problem-solving?

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Meet the Falcons That Act Like Parrots.

Over the last 30 years, it has become clear that genetics drives a substantial proportion of risk for Parkinson’s disease. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) continues to shape our mechanistic understanding of Parkinson’s and contribute to emerging therapeutics that might slow or stop the progression of this disease.

Read the fact sheet from the American Society of Human Genetics: Understanding the Genetics of Parkinson's Disease.

What does it take to survive an ice age? Woolly mammoths may be extinct today, but they thrived and spread around the world during the late Pleistocene era. To see what genetic adaptations separated woolly mammoths from their modern-day elephant relatives, researchers analyzed the genomes of 23 woolly mammoths, including one of the oldest specimens ever discovered.

Read the article at the Science Journal for Kids: What made woolly mammoths ice age icons?

The development of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator drugs, most recently elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI), has transformed the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis. A new study from researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital shows that ETI therapy has the potential to change even the lives of patients with advanced lung disease.

Read the whole story here: Modulator Therapy Improves Lives of Patients with Cystic Fibrosis with Severe Lung Disease.