Spinal cord injury repair update

Reggie Edgerton, and collaborators at U Kentucky, have successfully helped a paralyzed man regain some function in his lower extremities -- both with motor control and autonomic function -- thanks in part to the years of work Dr. Edgerton has done at UCLA in the study of spinal cord "learning," repair, and re-learning. Expect more to come from this work in the future. UCLA is an exciting place to be.

Losing one's voice

Christopher Hitchens is dying of esophageal cancer. Despite his diagnosis, grim prognosis, and aggressive treatment course, he continues to write, principally, for Vanity Fair. His most recent piece waxes about losing his voice, the inevitable result of the cancer interfering with the function of his recurrent laryngeal nerve. But never mind the anatomy, this is a beautiful piece, and more reason that I love the work of, and the man who is, Chris Hitchens.