Risha Banerjee is an undergraduate student at UBC Vancouver, studying biochemistry. She enjoys writing and reading about all things science, and can often be found staring at walls, journal in hand. In her (limited) spare time, she likes watching videos of dogs chasing their tails, or stealing her roommates’ food.
Using AI to Detect Neurological Disorders
Neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder can be detected using artificial intelligence. By Risha Banerjee The diagnosis and treatment of cognitive conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder are difficult and tedious; early detection is key, but this requires analysis of large amounts of data on brain patterns. Now, researchers ...
Using a protein to reverse skeletal muscle aging
Scientists have discovered that the over-expression of a protein, NANOG, can lead to the reversal of aging in skeletal muscle cells. By Risha Banerjee Scientists at the University at Buffalo, New York, have discovered that the over-production of a protein, NANOG, can lead to the reversal of aging in skeletal muscle cells. What are skeletal ...
The Effect of Exercise on Your Genes
Genes can be expressed in different ways, and new research suggests that exercise has a positive impact on gene expression and your health. By Risha Banerjee and Angie Lo It’s a well-known fact that regular exercise improves your health and prevents the onset of complications such as cardiovascular disease and neurological conditions. Now, researchers have ...
Using the Immune System to Treat Cancer
The immune system has protective cells to keep our bodies healthy, but what can we do when the cells protect a tumor, and can we use the immune system to treat cancer? By Risha Banerjee Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered a novel way to attack tumors using the body’s own immune system ...
Music Helps Rebuild Language After Stroke
Stroke survivors with aphasia, the loss of language after stroke, are helped in their recovery by listening to music with lyrics. By Risha Banerjee Researchers at the University of Helsinki have found that listening to music with lyrics could help rehabilitate stroke survivors and restore their language skills. How does a stroke affect language skills? ...
We Can Beat Antibiotic-Resistant Microbes
Untreatable no longer! Scientists at the Wistar Institute have discovered a way to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. By Risha Banerjee Scientists at the Wistar Institute have developed a new way to treat a wide range of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Their findings have important consequences for treating diseases such as antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis and MRSA. What are antibiotics? ...
Killing Cancer From the Inside
Scientists have found a new way to defeat cancer by killing cancer cells without harming the patient. By Risha Banerjee Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have developed a new way to potentially destroy cancerous cells without subjecting the body to radiation and/or chemotherapy. The new method makes use of a network ...
How HPV Tricks Your Immune System
Models suggest HPV tricks the immune system by producing a decoy viral protein to distract from its infectious viral proteins. By Risha Banerjee Not many pathogens are smart enough to overcome our body’s innate and adaptive immune systems. However, in a study published in eLife, researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) ...