Fact Sheets About Science and Health

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences offers a variety of fact sheets that capture information about the Institute and the research it supports. These fact sheets highlight advances in areas of basic biomedical research and describe the impact of this research on understanding and improving our health.

  • Anesthesia
    Anesthesia is a medical treatment that prevents patients from feeling pain during procedures like surgery, certain screening and diagnostic tests, tissue sample removal (e.g., skin biopsies), and dental work. Learn more about anesthesia, what scientists know—and are still learning—about these medications, and the field of anesthesiology. | En español
  • Burns
    Heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or nuclear radiation can cause tissue-damaging burns. Get answers to questions about burns, related treatments, and research advances in the field. | En español
  • Circadian Rhythms
    Our bodies keep time with the help of 24-hour "circadian" rhythms, which are directed by genes. Get answers to common questions about how these rhythms work and affect our lives. | En español
  • Curiosity Creates Cures: The Value and Impact of Basic Research
    Basic science, sometimes called “pure” or “fundamental” science, helps researchers understand living systems and life processes. Learn more about how basic biomedical research ultimately leads to new medicines, technologies, and scientific tools.
  • Genetics
    Genetics is the scientific study of genes and heredity—of how certain qualities or traits are passed from parents to offspring as a result of changes in DNA sequence. Learn more about how genes affect our health and how similar our genomes are to those | En español
  • Pharmacogenomics
    Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect individual responses to medications. Learn more about this field and how its findings could help doctors pick the right treatment for each patient.
  • Physical Trauma
    Physical trauma, like being struck or cut, can have a serious effects on the human body. Get more information about basic research findings and their applications in patient care related to physical trauma.
  • Regeneration
    Regeneration is the natural process of replacing or restoring damaged or missing cells, tissues, organs, and even entire body parts to full function in plants and animals. Learn more about regeneration and its potential uses in medicine. | En español
  • Research Organisms
    A research organism is any creature that scientists use to study life. Learn how studying creatures like fruit flies, zebrafish, and mice sheds light on human health and disease.
  • Sepsis
    Sepsis is a person’s overwhelming or impaired whole-body immune response to an insult—an infection or an injury to the body, or something else that provokes such a response. Get more information about the causes, impacts, and treatment of sepsis. | En español
  • Structural Biology
    Structural biology focuses on understanding the shapes of biological molecules. Read about how and why scientists study these structures.
  • Studying Cells
    Cells are the fundamental building blocks of our bodies. Learn how researchers are continuing to make important discoveries about them.
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