Dan Smith

You know that humans have used yeast for thousands of years for baking and brewing, but did you know that it’s also prized for its applications in medical research?

The metabolic processes of yeast cells are similar to mammal cells, and since yeast reproduces quickly, experimental results can be obtained much faster than they would using animals. Yeast’s rapid reaction time has allowed scientists to put all sorts of research in fast-forward, with the aim of efficiently developing new disease treatments.

What if the key to curing blindness was found in unicellular algae?

In a recent study published in the journal Nature, a group of scientists were able to restore light sensitivity to formerly blind mice using a protein extracted from algaes of the genus Chlamydomonas. The Chlamydomonas are of particular interest because they exhibit phototaxis—an ability to orient themselves toward light sources to aid in photosynthesis. Eager to understand what caused this phenomenon on a genetic level, scientists at the Max Planck institute in 2003 isolated a sequence of genes that stored the blueprints for generating light-sensitive proteins. And now, a joint team of researchers from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland and the Harvard Medical School have recently developed a therapy that introduces these genes into the eyes of blind mice. What they observed was a dramatic behavioral change that proved the mice had regained their sensitivity to light.

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We've got pork on the brain here this week at PopSci. Earlier today we told you about how cells from a pig's bladder helped a man regenerate part of his severed finger, and if you're a PPX player, you know we just rolled out an IPO regarding PETA's recent offering of a million dollar prize for anyone who can grow meat sans-animal in a lab, hoping to negate the necessity for livestock. However, it will probably be a while before anything created in the lab will rival the one food that we can't ever manage to stop thinking about, even for dessert—bacon.

As it turns out, pigs have been the inspiration for several other recent medical and technological innovations in the last few months.

Germophobes and OCDers may want to stop reading now, or at least seriously consider only continuing with a bottle of Purell on hand—for today, were talking about bacteria, those squirmy no-see-‘ems that densely cover just about every surface imaginable here on Earth, including your own skin. However much hypochondriacal hatred the mention of them can bring about, as with other quasi-oxymorons like good cholesterol, wed be in a lot of trouble if it werent for bacteria.

Most people's knowledge of geckos doesn't extend much beyond the Cockney-tongued lizard hawking car insurance on TV. I wont go into the implausibility of these ads, the least of which being that a gecko wouldnt have a chance to survive Britains cold climate long enough to pick up an accent. They do, however, thrive abundantly in warm, tropical climates, and in total compose nearly 15% of all reptile species on Earth. If you're fortunate enough to live in gecko country, you've probably seen them climbing and crawling over just about every surface imaginable, including the ceiling.

Though its one of the most perfectly named living things on this planet, the sea cucumber, on first glance, isn't among the most exciting aquatic species. Distantly related to starfish and sea urchins, the sea cucumber in appearance lacks the brio and allure of its cousins, and except for a few variations among subspecies, the general body plan of the cucumber basically resembles a large, leathery sausage crawling along the ocean floor. Yum.