MicrochimerismTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 272, Segment 3
Apr 12, 2016 • 19m
Guest: J. Lee Nelson, MD, Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington  Any woman who’s borne a child will tell you the experience changed her deeply – physically, emotionally, psychically. The changes go much deeper than you might expect, though. Scientists have discovered a biological phenomenon called microchimerism in which mothers retain some of their children’s cells long after birth – they’re present in her brain and other parts of the body. The question is why? What purpose, if any, does these left-over fetal cells have?

Underserved VeteransApr 12, 201616mGuest: Bart Stichman, Joint Executive Director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program  A new report by two veterans’ advocacy groups and Harvard Law School finds roughly 125,000 men and women who have served in the military since 2001 are being wrongfully excluded from basic veteran benefits. That’s a much higher rate than veterans of previous wars, including Vietnam and World War II.  The trouble stems from something called “bad paper” and the consequence is that veterans who served in combat, and may have suffered traumatic injuries, are being denied housing, health care and disability benefits. Which puts them at greater risk for homelessness and suicide.  The Department of Veterans Affairs has praised the report and says it’s working with the advocacy groups to remedy the problem.
Guest: Bart Stichman, Joint Executive Director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program  A new report by two veterans’ advocacy groups and Harvard Law School finds roughly 125,000 men and women who have served in the military since 2001 are being wrongfully excluded from basic veteran benefits. That’s a much higher rate than veterans of previous wars, including Vietnam and World War II.  The trouble stems from something called “bad paper” and the consequence is that veterans who served in combat, and may have suffered traumatic injuries, are being denied housing, health care and disability benefits. Which puts them at greater risk for homelessness and suicide.  The Department of Veterans Affairs has praised the report and says it’s working with the advocacy groups to remedy the problem.