Speedy Plants for Improving Food Production Efficiency
By introducing a tool commonly used to study brain function into the leaves of plants, researchers at the University of Glasgow have developed a technique that shows promise in improving the efficiency of food production by controlling how quickly plants respond to changing conditions. Not only does this method produce a more desirable solution to improving efficiency than previous methods, it also highlights the importance of employing tools in non-conventional scenarios to produce clever solutions to complex problems. Continue reading Speedy Plants for Improving Food Production Efficiency
Burger King serves up the meatless Whopper
Livestock accounts for up to 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and cattle are responsible for about 65% of this sector’s emissions. With the world’s population projected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050, we must change the way we eat and produce food if we are to avoid climate change and food shortages. In addition, reducing meat production would also bring benefits for animal … Continue reading Burger King serves up the meatless Whopper
Pain works differently between the sexes
For a long time, scientists did not often carefully consider sex as a variable in their research, and often worked with only male or only female animals depending on the ease of housing and handling these animals. In 2016, the NIH began requiring grant applications to justify the choice of sex of experimental animals, as part of a growing movement to consider sex as a … Continue reading Pain works differently between the sexes
April 24 – Photopharmacology – How light can help improve medication
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 10th Location: Pfizer Hall at Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge (link to directions) Speakers: Michael Lerch Graphics: Alyson Warr Light is such a normal part of our everyday lives that we often fail to recognize that light can be a powerful tool. Over the last decades, scientists have increasingly used light to exert control. In chemistry, for example, light is used to steer … Continue reading April 24 – Photopharmacology – How light can help improve medication
Old Brain, New Neurons?
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – but maybe you can have an old brain grow new neurons. New research published in Nature Medicine has shed some light onto the debated topic of whether adult brains can create new neurons in the hippocampus, the region of the brain that is important in short- and long-term memory consolidation. As you might expect, … Continue reading Old Brain, New Neurons?
Hyenas Probably Have More Friends Than You: Spotted hyena social hierarchies
by Lorena Lyon figures by Lorena Lyon If you’ve ever backed down from an argument with a popular kid, you might relate to a male spotted hyena. Spotted hyenas are highly social animals, forming large groups called clans, which range from 6 to over 100 members. Hyenas in clans, like eighth graders in middle school, are sorted into complex social hierarchies. At the top of … Continue reading Hyenas Probably Have More Friends Than You: Spotted hyena social hierarchies
No, It’s Not Just You: Why time “speeds up” as we get older
How a clock measures time and how you perceive it are quite different. As we grow older, it can often feel like time goes by faster and faster. This speeding up of subjective time with age is well documented by psychologists, but there is no consensus on the cause. In a paper published this month, Professor Adrian Bejan presents an argument based on the physics … Continue reading No, It’s Not Just You: Why time “speeds up” as we get older
Journey to the Center of the Proton: Using Supercomputers to Probe The Pieces of the Atom
Pressure is felt as the force exerted on bodies when they are submerged in a material; you’ve felt it as you dive to the bottom of the pool and when you uncork a bottle. Recently, scientists have measured the pressure within a proton, a particle that comprises the atom. Protons are made of fundamental particles called ‘quarks’ and ‘gluons‘ which are constantly bumping together creating … Continue reading Journey to the Center of the Proton: Using Supercomputers to Probe The Pieces of the Atom
Flurries of “marine snow” could help keep the planet cool
Far below the ocean’s surface, millions of tiny particles fall through the water like a scene from a snow globe. But this isn’t anything like normal snow; this is “marine snow,” debris from tiny dead organisms like plankton and algae that floats down to the deep sea. Because carbon is one of the main chemical elements in living things, the ocean floor becomes coated in … Continue reading Flurries of “marine snow” could help keep the planet cool
What’s in My Morning Pill?
by Jordan Wilkerson figures by Aparna Nathan Every morning when I wake up, I take a swig of water and swallow a blue pill. I don’t have an illness that the drug is treating. In fact, I’m quite healthy. I take the pill to keep from getting ill. Referred to as PrEP, or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, the pill protects me from potential infection by the infamous … Continue reading What’s in My Morning Pill?