Brain tricks to make food taste sweeter: How to transform taste perception and why it matters
by Jessleen K. Kanwal figures by Brad Wierbowski Imagine for a moment that you are unable to taste or smell anything. For many patients undergoing chemotherapy, this is an everyday reality of their daily fight against cancer. Chemotherapy kills fast-growing cells in the body in an effort to eradicate tumors. Taste receptor cells located on our tongue are also fast-growing, regenerating every 2 weeks. Thus, … Continue reading Brain tricks to make food taste sweeter: How to transform taste perception and why it matters
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Searching for a verdict in the vaccination debate
by Vivian Chou figures by Daniel Utter If you have been following the 2016 US presidential elections, you are, in all likelihood, aware of the controversy surrounding mandatory childhood vaccination. Vaccines have risen to the limelight in recent years, but their history is much longer than that. Ever since the first vaccination was scientifically documented in 1798 [1], they have reshaped the landscape of human … Continue reading To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Searching for a verdict in the vaccination debate
Sit’N Listen Episode 3: Allergies
Allergies: the bane of people who can’t snack on peanut butter and banana sandwiches, who can’t cuddle up to our favorite furry companions on a bad day, and who want to love spring or autumn but are assaulted on all sides by annoying, invisible particles. Allergies plague people seemingly indiscriminately, and symptoms can vary from an itchy nose and watery eyes to hives or difficulty … Continue reading Sit’N Listen Episode 3: Allergies
New Directions for Cancer Therapy: Targeted Medicine
by Zachary Hauseman figures by Michael Gerhardt The cure for cancer: something we all hear about but never seems to arrive. It’s easy to get frustrated about decades and decades of research while thousands of people still succumb to the disease daily [1]. However, recent cancer treatments offer exciting potential for the field of cancer therapeutics in the future. Cancer is a complicated illness that … Continue reading New Directions for Cancer Therapy: Targeted Medicine
The Physics of Football
Every year, the NFL makes rule changes that affect team strategy and game outcomes. Some of these rules are designed to maintain the safety of players, while others are designed to increase the competitiveness of the game. However, there is one aspect of the game that the NFL can never change: the laws of physics. In the new series by Forbes Science, “Football Physics,” Chad Orzel … Continue reading The Physics of Football
Bringing Star Trek to Life: Scientists in Spain and the UK develop “tractor beam” to manipulate particles
by Erin Dahlstrom figures by Utsarga Adhikary Popularized by films like Star Trek and Star Wars, the tractor beam is an iconic science fiction technology that allows the user to manipulate objects in space without making physical contact with the objects. While humans today may not be ready to use this technology in outer space, the ability to manipulate objects without touching them could potentially … Continue reading Bringing Star Trek to Life: Scientists in Spain and the UK develop “tractor beam” to manipulate particles
Paris Climate Agreement: An important moral victory with the potential for greatness
After two weeks of discussions the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) ended December 12th with the passing of a climate change deal signed by almost 200 nations and the agreement has rightfully been called a “landmark.” It represents a departure from previous agreements by extending the responsibility of fighting climate change to all countries, not just developed nations. With this, according to Megan Bailey, the … Continue reading Paris Climate Agreement: An important moral victory with the potential for greatness
The Road to Guinea Worm Eradication: Running the Final Mile
by Rebecca Mandt We usually think of extinction of a species as a bad thing. But what if that species is directly causing human suffering or death on a global scale? The ultimate goal of disease eradication efforts is to target an infectious disease by completely removing the pathogen from the human population, thereby reducing the number of cases to zero worldwide, generally leading to … Continue reading The Road to Guinea Worm Eradication: Running the Final Mile
Birdbrains? Pigeons capable of recognizing malignant tumors in breast tissue
Pigeons are many things to many people – navigators, couriers, rats with wings – but the word “doctors” rarely comes to mind. A recent study, however, tested their medical prowess by placing the keen-eyed birds in front of a touchscreen monitor that showed images of breast tissue. If the pigeon correctly identified the sample as malignant or benign, as communicated by a peck on the … Continue reading Birdbrains? Pigeons capable of recognizing malignant tumors in breast tissue
Down, but not out: Developments in depression research
by Emily Ricq Depression affects 15 million Americans and is characterized by debilitating feelings of sadness or emptiness that interfere with the ability to lead and enjoy life [1]. The substantial personal and public health burden imposed by depression has motivated decades of intensive research by scientists, clinicians, therapists, and pharmaceutical companies alike, yet the biology underlying the cause (or causes) of the disease and … Continue reading Down, but not out: Developments in depression research