Hannah Merritt

From lizards to lifelines

Gila monsters can eat up to a third of their body weight in one sitting. Humans cannot. So what makes us different? Beyond our obvious lack of scales and a tail, humans do not have the hormone exendin-4 in our saliva. Exendin-4 allows Gila monsters to eat enormous quantities of food while maintaining a functional metabolism and stable glucose levels. This molecule is, however, analogous to GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptides, in humans. The development of exendin-4 into the diabetes drug exenatide started the GLP-1RA, or GLP-1 receptor agonist, race.

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Science

GUARDIAN: The newborn screening study redefining early detection for rare diseases

By Hannah Merritt | March 5

The survival rate in infants with severe combined immunodeficiency, a rare hereditary disease that prevents the body from producing immune cells, is 96% when they receive a bone marrow transplant in their first 3½ months of life. If transplantation is delayed, that number drops to 70%. Without treatment, most children die before their first birthday. This condition is rarely visible at birth and only becomes apparent after a major infection, often outside of the window of opportunity for treatment.

From lizards to lifelines

GUARDIAN: The newborn screening study redefining early detection for rare diseases

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