New Technologies Visualize the Power of the Brain
by Olivia Ho-Shing figures by Tito Adhikary Imagine yourself as a self-sustaining city. Everything you think and all the tasks you carry out are driven and coordinated by a massively complex power network. This is the brain. It transmits thousands of electrical signals along circuits of intricate power lines within milliseconds to execute your behaviors. How can you begin to understand these network circuits that … Continue reading New Technologies Visualize the Power of the Brain
4 Reasons You Should Be Excited about the BRAIN Initiative: Updates and insight from a conversation with Josh Sanes
by Kelsey Tyssowski figures by Krissy Lyon In the 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama announced a boost in scientific funding aimed at mapping the circuits of the brain in hopes of treating disorders ranging from depression to Alzheimer’s. This promise has developed into the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative, a scientist-led, goal-oriented plan that makes brain mapping seem achievable. … Continue reading 4 Reasons You Should Be Excited about the BRAIN Initiative: Updates and insight from a conversation with Josh Sanes
Just a Phase
The patterns seen here are called interference rings, or Newton’s rings, and are generated when light waves reflect off of two glass surfaces that are in very close proximity to each other, such as a glass microscope slide and a cover slip. Imperfections in the glass cause the waves to be reflected at different points of the wave. Where you see bright rings, two waves … Continue reading Just a Phase
Man < Machine Round 2: Money siphoning no longer restricted to sleazy Wall Street bankers
Not content with stealing our jobs and beating our top Go players, artificial intelligence (AI) has now turned to cleaning out our bank accounts. DELIA (Deep Learning Interface for Accounting), developed by Stanford and Google, was created to allow distracted humans to shrug off some of the busy work of transferring money between bank accounts. Unfortunately for the clients of Sandhill Community Credit Union who … Continue reading Man < Machine Round 2: Money siphoning no longer restricted to sleazy Wall Street bankers
Sit’N Listen Episode 4: Women In Science
Happy Women’s History Month! In this next episode we decided to reflect and feature a few of the many women in science across history and present: Ada Lovelace, Anandibai Joshi, Rosalind Franklin and Meg Urry. Stay tuned for our upcoming, slated for monthly release, podcasts that include a series on Science and Society, Mosquitos, IVF, and Space Exploration. Special thanks to Shireen Hamza for her … Continue reading Sit’N Listen Episode 4: Women In Science
Man < Machine: Computer Beats Top Human Go Player
Computers have been capable of beating the best human chess players for almost two decades, but a week-long stretch earlier this month marked the first instance of an artificial intelligence system toppling a champion Go player. Google’s AlphaGo defeated Go grandmaster Lee Sedol 4-1 in a historic five-game match that drew comparisons to Deep Blue’s famous triumph over chess world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. … Continue reading Man < Machine: Computer Beats Top Human Go Player
Visualizing the generation of antibodies
Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins that are made by the immune system to identify and neutralize pathogens. The generation of good antibodies during an immune response is essential for the body to protect itself against pathogens. Moreover, the vast majority of all vaccines are based on the formation of antibodies. During an immune response the cells that produce antibodies (B cells) undergo selection, during which the … Continue reading Visualizing the generation of antibodies
Skin Deep: Illuminating our body’s immune defenses
Presented by Vinidhra Mani The skin is our first barrier to entry of pathogens. The tightly regulated immune system in our skin provides us with a robust arsenal to combat potential invaders, yet also has checkpoints to ensure that the battlefields don’t harm our own bodies in return. How does immunity in the skin protect us? How can we bolster our barrier defenses through vaccination … Continue reading Skin Deep: Illuminating our body’s immune defenses
A Turncoat Virus: Remnants of ancient viral infections bolster the immune response to current viruses
Scientists have estimated that there are 10 to the power of 31 viruses on Earth, but humans don’t just live in a viral world, we are also part virus ourselves. 8% of the human genome is derived from viruses and these endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) represent ancient viral infections that became integrated into the human genome. Scientists had previously known the importance of a specific ERV … Continue reading A Turncoat Virus: Remnants of ancient viral infections bolster the immune response to current viruses
Sexual Transmission of Zika Possible from Men to Women
The Zika virus has lately been a global focus due to its connection to deformities in newborns. A recent report by the CDC has bolstered the suspicion that Zika is sexually transmittable from men to women, which was previously only supported by a handful of reports, and viral tests of an infected man’s semen. The CDC is advising that “people returning from Zika-infected areas use condoms or abstain from sex for the duration of their partner’s pregnancy.” Continue reading Sexual Transmission of Zika Possible from Men to Women