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Guest Blog–Kids First Second Chance: Engaging the Community in Fostering Pediatric Genomics Research

By Guest blogger Valerie Cotton, Kids First Program Manager, NICHD Childhood cancers and structural birth defects have profound, lifelong effects on children and their families. Birth defects are the leading cause of death in the first year of life, and cancer remains the leading cause of childhood disease-related mortality beyond the first year of life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moreover, a child born with a birth defect is at a higher risk for childhood cancer, suggesting these conditions may be caused by shared genetic pathways. However, limited data and resources are available to investigate potential genetic [...] Read more

Guest Blog–The 4 C’s of the Holiday Season: Chess, Competition, Comaradery, Charity

By Guest blogger C. Davis Buenger Can blitz improve your chess? Maybe yes, maybe no.  Can playing blitz could change the world?  Team Berlin thinks so! Last month, Team Berlin, an adult chess team in Ohio took up a challenge I suggested to play a three-week holiday competition:  whoever improved their chess.com blitz rating the most between December 12 and January 4 would win.  To make things more meaningful, each player picked a charity to play for, with the donation pool staked by the participants going to the winner’s choice of charity. Seven team members--Davis Buenger, Scott Harkema, Zach Kountz, [...] Read more