Sheena Faherty
Washington, D.C.
Many different nerd hats: Lemur nerd. Genomics nerd. Rock climbing nerd. SciComm nerd. Words at @SciAm, @PhillyInquirer, @genome_gov. Tweets are my own.
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Articles by Sheena Faherty
Can Humans Hibernate? Ask the Dwarf Lemur
After a teenage stowaway flew from California to Hawaii hidden in the wheel well of an airplane this week, investigators immediately began to wonder how he had survived the freezing temperatures and low-oxygen conditions of the unpressurized compartment. The latest theory is that he fell into a state of hibernation – an entirely plausible scenario, if you ask me. How do I know this? Well, I study the closest genetic relative of humans known to hibernate.
Want a Stronger Defense System against Diseases? Add Some Worms
Batman is perhaps the most high maintenance of any superhero: An arsenal of high-tech gadgets working together in batty synchrony provides assistance against in his never-ending war on crime. His Bat Mobile would be vulnerable without his Bat Cave. And he would be helpless without his old friend Robin. The human body—known in some circles as a superorganism—is not all that different from a high-maintenance superhero.
Battle of the `Staches Raises Money for Men's Health
People who donate money or fundraise for a cause are often silent heroes. However, unlike many fundraising efforts, it’s readily apparent who’s participating in one that’s currently taking the nation by its facial hair. The fundraiser in question is none other than the Movember movement. Its mascot? The glorious moustache…or ‘stache…or mo. It is, quite literally, the face of men’s health.
Artificial Sweeteners May Have Despicable Impacts on Gut Microbes
I find it ironic that Thanksgiving coincides with American Diabetes Month. In honor of that irony, two recently published studies have suggested a possible link between what you eat, how it impacts the behavior of the microbes living in your gut, and type II diabetes. To further explain, allow me use the most adorable analogy I could dream up: minions.
How Overeating May Contribute to a Metabolic "Traffic Jam"
In what has been dubbed “The Great Crawl of China”, in August 2010 commuters in Beijing accumulated along a 74.5-mile-long stretch of road for a preposterous 11 days straight. No mere rush-hour delay, the absurdity of this pile-up—one of the worst in recorded history—suggests that multiple factors were to blame.
2016 News Feature: One little fish hooks genome researchers with its versatility
In the basement of a three-story brick building on the main campus of the National Institutes of Health live nearly half a million organisms that breathe underwater, develop from an egg so small it is barely visible to the naked eye and are striped like a zebra. Aptly named and tiny in stature, the paper-clip sized zebrafish might fool you into thinking it hasn't much to offer. But this wee creature is making big waves in the sea of genomics research.
Transcriptomics in the wild: Hibernation physiology in free‐ranging dwarf lemurs
Hibernation is an adaptive strategy some mammals use to survive highly seasonal or unpredictable environments. We present the first investigation on the transcriptomics of hibernation in a natural population of primate hibernators: Crossley's dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus crossleyi).
Fight at the Museum: Confronting Visitor Biases
Midway through the school year, parents and teachers are starting to plan (and fundraise) for winter and spring field trips. Among the most popular destinations is the science museum. The Association of Science-Technology Centers estimates that 12.1 million children in the United States visited science museums as part of a school group in 2013, accounting for approximately 22 percent of K–12 schoolchildren.
Scientists replay movie encoded in DNA
For the first time, a primitive movie has been encoded in – and then played back from – DNA in living cells. Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health say it is a major step toward a “molecular recorder” that may someday make it possible to get read-outs, for example, of the changing internal states of neurons as they develop. “We want to turn cells into historians,” explained neuroscientist Seth Shipman, Ph.D. , a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
After Philly Council passes, plastic bags still costly to clean up
Every year, 101 billion plastic bags are pumped into the U.S. economy, each costing about a penny to make. About 12 percent are recycled, said Phil Rozenski, director of marketing and sustainability at Novolex, the largest U.S. plastic bag producer. The rest wind up in landfills, as wadded up balls in closets and under kitchen sinks, or - worst of all - killing wildlife that ingest them, adorning trees, and clogging waterways. And that is not free.
For some women, egg freezing is the new happy-hour topic
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The women drifted around the cloth-draped, candlelit tables, cradling glasses of wine and nibbling on cheese cubes. Some, in suits and heels, had arrived directly from work; others, in stylish workout gear, had already been to the gym. Their chatter muffled sounds of the trendy Rittenhouse Square restaurant downstairs. Then the PowerPoint image flashed up. “This is an egg,” reproductive endocrinologist Maureen Kelly told the dozen women, now listening intently.
Don't wanna hear it: When sounds become unbearable
Bridget Sharkey set down the letter on the couch. The words, written in the near-perfect handwriting of a 14-year-old who is serious about her studies, seemed alien coming from this soft-spoken girl. "I sat there with my insides burning, hearing the sounds that bothered me the most: chewing and swallowing," she wrote. "More and more sounds bothered me, and this time it gave me a new reaction. It made me angry." For Bridget, dinner with her family in their Schwenksville home was becoming a nightmare.
For some women, egg freezing is the new happy-hour topic
The women drifted around the cloth-draped, candlelit tables, cradling glasses of wine and nibbling on cheese cubes. Some, in suits and heels, had arrived directly from work; others, in stylish workout gear, had already been to the gym. Their chatter muffled sounds of the trendy Rittenhouse Square restaurant downstairs. Then the PowerPoint image flashed up. "This is an egg," reproductive endocrinologist Maureen Kelly told the dozen women, now listening intently.
Penn study says placebos could prolong drugs' effectiveness
The long-term treatment of chronic illnesses is challenging on many levels. Among other issues, how can physicians manage dosing over many years, when some drugs can be habit-forming or become less effective over time? Preliminary research published Monday from scientists at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine suggests that placebos, currently used mainly for control groups in clinical trials, may be worth another look for treatment.
The Worm Turns
Of all the things young children put in their mouths, dirt may provoke the most horror among parents fearful that noshing on the brown stuff will give kids worms. Although there are reasons not to eat soil, worms may not be one of them. Researchers have long been investigating the link between being too clean and failing immunity. Fecal material from healthy people has been shown to help fight antibiotic-resistant infections in patients for whom nothing else worked.
Phila. program aims to stem infection of violence
Marla Davis Bellamy sees violence the way a doctor sees the flu: an infection that can be prevented. She leads Philadelphia CeaseFire, part of a growing international movement tackling violence as a public health crisis. So it makes sense that CeaseFire is teaming up with the city's trauma centers. The aim: along with offering medical care for victims of violence at hospitals, try to prevent them from striking back and escalating the cycle of violence.
New Children's building takes a holistic approach
The newest building at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will open its doors Monday, providing a state-of-the-art outpatient facility for the body and a roof garden for the soul. The 12-story Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, the most expensive building project in Children's history, will cost $425 million, with an additional $175 million needed for equipment.
Picky eating, to the extreme
This is a typical week of eating for Corey Fader, 19, an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. An otherwise well-adjusted man with plenty of friends, who also juggles a job at a start-up and loves photography, Fader is a picky eater. We all know picky eaters. Most are children. And then there is the occasional adult who takes drastic, sometimes odd, measures with food.
Sweetness may be in your genes
The next time you cast a disparaging glance at the overweight guy dumping six spoonfuls of sugar into his morning coffee, consider this: He may be less sensitive to sugar than you are - and genes might be the reason why. A specific set of as-yet-unidentified genes also is largely responsible for the similarity in how we perceive natural vs. artificial sweeteners, according to a study by researchers from Australia and Philadelphia.
Dream boot camp for health-tech start-ups
DreamIt Health Philadelphia - a boot camp for health start-ups - celebrated its third year Monday, saying that 21 firms had gone through the program and that 10 more were poised to participate. Powered by a collaboration among DreamIt Ventures, Independence Blue Cross, and Penn Medicine, the 16-week program's goal is to provide the support that takes a health-care idea to market.
Penn diabetes drug study shows promise of personalized medicine
Imagine if you could carry a credit card-size record of all the three billion A's, T's, C's, and G's that make up the alphabet soup of your genome. A simple swipe of the card could inform your physician right away if a drug being considered will help you - or even hurt you. This is the kind of promise behind President Obama's $215 million initiative to develop personalized medicine.
Program gives deaf caregivers new opportunities
Corporate mergers often mean layoffs, as new bosses redefine standards. But when Valley View at Elwyn, an assisted-living home for deaf residents, joined the Mercy Health System, something very different happened. Valley View's 13 direct-care providers are deaf and use American Sign Language with their patients, some of whom have lived there for 30 years. But Mercy LIFE (Living Independently for Elders) requires staff to be registered nurse aides, and Valley View's staff lacked that qualification.
Wistar team finds hot spot for flu mutations
Despite the sweltering heat, some researchers are still preoccupied by cold and flu season. Especially Scott Hensley of the Wistar Institute, who hopes that vaccines now being developed for the 2015-2016 flu season will provide more protection than last year's vaccine. Last year's shots were only 19 percent effective in preventing medical visits from flu-related complications, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Until now, researchers didn't know why.
After Philly Council vote: plastic bags still costly to clean up
Consumers who just can't get behind reusing grocery bags may have sighed with relief last week when an effort to charge Philadelphia shoppers a nickel each for plastic bags couldn't even get a hearing before City Council. So for now, at least, single-use plastic bags remain free at Philadelphia cash registers. But that doesn't mean they are cost-free. Obviously, the bags cost merchants something, which is passed on to consumers.
Report: Pa. Lyme disease numbers are up
Just in time for peak tick season, the Pennsylvania Department of Health this week announced that Lyme disease cases went up by a whopping 25 percent in a single year. Given the state often has more cases of the tick-borne infection than any other, this might worry anyone who spends time in the woods. But experts say a lot goes into reports such as this one, some of it concerning, some perplexing - and some reassuring.
How Overeating May Contribute to a Metabolic “Traffic Jam”
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. In what has been dubbed “The Great Crawl of China”, in August 2010 commuters in Beijing accumulated along a 74.5-mile-long stretch of road for a preposterous 11 days straight. No mere rush-hour delay, the absurdity of this pile-up—one of the worst in recorded history—suggests that multiple factors were to blame.
Artificial Sweeteners May Have Despicable Impacts on Gut Microbes
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. I find it ironic that Thanksgiving coincides with American Diabetes Month. In honor of that irony, two recently published studies have suggested a possible link between what you eat, how it impacts the behavior of the microbes living in your gut, and type II diabetes. To further explain, allow me use the most adorable analogy I could dream up: minions.
Battle of the ‘Staches Raises Money for Men’s Health
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. People who donate money or fundraise for a cause are often silent heroes. However, unlike many fundraising efforts, it’s readily apparent who’s participating in one that’s currently taking the nation by its facial hair. The fundraiser in question is none other than the Movember movement. Its mascot? The glorious moustache…or ‘stache…or mo. It is, quite literally, the face of men’s health.
Mustaches for Movember
Stories and news about treatment advances that improve your health and quality of life From the DukeHealth.org archives. Content may be out of date. By Sheena Faherty November 20, 2014 During the month of November, Duke doctors grow their facial hair in support of the Movember Foundation. The movement raises awareness and funds for prostate cancer and other men’s health issues. People are used to seeing Andrew Armstrong, MD, clean-shaven in his crisp white doctor’s coat.
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