When did the Americas encounter the first human?
It is widely believed that humans first arrived in the Americas around 13,000 to 15,000 years ago. Discoveries at archeological sites such as Mesa Verde in Chile and Meadowcroft, PA have long supported this view. At a dig in Southern California, possible traces of human activity from over 130,000 years ago have been discovered. Researchers at the site recovered the partial skeleton of a mastodon, an … Continue reading When did the Americas encounter the first human?
A Millennia-Old Disease is in the Dock: Tuberculosis on trial for resisting arrest
by Karen J. Kieser figures by Karen J. Kieser Tuberculosis (TB) has been a disease of humankind for millennia, and rising rates of drug resistance threaten humanity’s ability to arrest its spread. Compared to common bacterial infections, such as strep throat, which can often be treated with one pill a day for ten days, TB treatment is an immense burden (Figure 1). Drug-sensitive TB demands 6-9 months … Continue reading A Millennia-Old Disease is in the Dock: Tuberculosis on trial for resisting arrest
The Ghost of Climate Past: Lessons from a previous global warming
by Emma Bertran figures by Rebecca Clements Over the past few decades, our Earth has undergone global changes, a gradual reshaping that can be witnessed in real time. Since the Industrial Revolution, the global annual mean concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), a powerful greenhouse gas, has increased by more than 40%, rising from an average of 280 ppm (parts per million; 280 ppm can … Continue reading The Ghost of Climate Past: Lessons from a previous global warming
Want to become a better runner? Get some running buddies
The Internet abounds with running guides for beginners. Buy these shoes! Download this app! Do these dynamic warm up stretches! And while all of this advice works for getting you off the couch, the most effective trick for sticking to a running routine may be to surround yourself with other runners. Sinan Aral and Christos Nicolaides at MIT’s Sloan School of Management wanted to explore … Continue reading Want to become a better runner? Get some running buddies
To Eat or Not to Eat? Miniature Livers Used in Safety Studies
Since food tasters have fallen out of fashion, scientists have had to devise new ways to check the safety of food and drugs that humans put in their mouths. In the pharmaceutical industry for example, animals like mice and dogs are often used to predict if a drug candidate will be harmful to people. If this seems strange to you, an unassuming Hershey bar should … Continue reading To Eat or Not to Eat? Miniature Livers Used in Safety Studies
Shining A Light in the Brain: Optogenetics as a “guiding light” for deep brain stimulation
by Trevor Haynes In the late 18th century a particularly resourceful experimenter, Giovanni Aldini, saw scientific opportunity in the increasingly prevalent public executions being performed across Europe at the time. Using the corpse of a recently deceased prisoner, Aldini electrically stimulated the prisoner’s exposed brain causing his eyes to open and his face to contort and twitch, thus putting his uncle’s theory of bioelectricity to … Continue reading Shining A Light in the Brain: Optogenetics as a “guiding light” for deep brain stimulation
Oak Wood Cross Section
Cross section of oak wood, showing every reason that made an oak tall and strong. The large pores are vessels that are responsible for transporting (more accurately, pumping/pushing) water from the root system to the tip of the tree. The densely packed purple dots are stained lignin in the cells walls. During early wood development, once lignin is deposited in the cell wall, these cells … Continue reading Oak Wood Cross Section
Holly Wood Tangential Section
Tangential section of wood of Chinese holly. This is how it looks like when you do a cut that’s perpendicular to the radius of the stem. The vertical lines are vessels transporting water from roots to leaves, while the circles are clustered ray cells that function to transport fluids and nutrients radially and laterally (perpendicular to the long axis) within a woody stem. Contributed by … Continue reading Holly Wood Tangential Section
Why Scientists Need to be Better Communicators
by Marina Watanabe I once attended a lecture by a famed physicist, and left convinced that physics was the biggest sham in the universe (or multiverse, if you believe him). At one point, the professor answered an audience member’s question by “clarifying” that if you were on the inside (of what?!) looking out (to where?!), time was time. However, if you were on the outside … Continue reading Why Scientists Need to be Better Communicators
The Cancer Treatment Playbook: Why we still don’t have a cure
Will we be the first generation that cures cancer? The answer is complicated. Curing cancer remains a steep task despite the hopeful rhetoric and heavy investment put forward by new initiatives like the Cancer Moonshot. Treating cancer is not possible with a ‘one size fits all’ approach as each tumor requires a precise strategy to be defeated. These game plans must combat key offensive plays … Continue reading The Cancer Treatment Playbook: Why we still don’t have a cure