CHARLOTTESVILLE,
Va. -- On the first floor of Jordan Hall at the University of Virginia School
of Medicine is a 12-by-8 room that, at first glance, looks like a rundown
storage space. The floor is a mix of white, teal and purple tiles, in a pattern
reminiscent of the 1970s. Trash cans are without tops and half filled. There
are rust stains on the tiles, and a loose air vent dangles a bit from the
ceiling.
It
is only when you see four incubators attached to six tanks of carbon dioxide
that you get the feeling something more intriguing is taking place here.
Inside
these incubators Dr. Anindya Dutta stores cell cultures that he believes hold
the key to a massive advancement in health care. He has identified the specific
strands of microRNA, the molecule that plays a large role in gene expression,
that are responsible for promoting the formation and fusion of muscular tissue.
The
implications for such a discovery are tantalizing. People who suffer from
diseases like muscular dystrophy would have easier treatments, and the elderly
would fall less often and recover faster when they did. And so, as Dutta has me
look into the microscope next to those carbon dioxide tanks, there is a notable
hint of excitement in his voice.
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