Tag: Biology
What is environmental DNA?
by Arianna Lord Continue reading What is environmental DNA?
What is….the human microbiome?
by Abby Knecht Continue reading What is….the human microbiome?
Brain Hijackers: How cancer manipulates the brain to help it grow
by Hannah Farnsworthfigures with Xiaomeng Han Most people know someone in their life who has been impacted by cancer, and a staggering 40% of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetimes. Despite the prevalence of cancer in the general population, there are many types of cancer that still lack effective treatments. One such form of cancer is a type of brain tumor called … Continue reading Brain Hijackers: How cancer manipulates the brain to help it grow
How does your brain make you feel sick?
by Courtney Whildenfigures by Arianna Lord Imagine this: it’s the peak of winter, and you wake up not feeling well. You touch your face, it feels warm, and your thermometer tells you that you have a fever. As the day goes on, you don’t have much of an appetite, you’re exhausted, and you crave the warmth of a blanket and a cup of hot tea. … Continue reading How does your brain make you feel sick?
Can assisted colonization save endangered species?
by Isle Bastillefigures by Allie Elchert In an episode of the BBC show Planet Earth there is a harrowing scene depicting thousands of freshly hatched baby sea turtles scuttling away from the sea towards a busy highway. A somber voice-over relays that the hatchlings are misguided by the nearby city lights. Paradoxically, while this was a human-driven habitat disruption, the turtles will not survive without … Continue reading Can assisted colonization save endangered species?
Assisted Reproductive Technologies for Biodiversity Conservation
by Arianna Lord Earlier this year, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium performed artificial insemination on two of their female polar bears in hopes that the procedure would produce cubs. Polar bears greatly rely on Arctic sea ice for hunting, traveling, mating, and resting. However, because of the continued shrinking of sea ice due to climate change, polar bears have been listed as a threatened species … Continue reading Assisted Reproductive Technologies for Biodiversity Conservation
What it Takes to Make a Brain: Cellular diversity in cortical development
by Olubusola Olukoyafigures by Corena Loeb Our ability to take in information from the world around us, make inferences, and execute appropriate reactions is generated by our brains. The brain, which weighs about 1.5 kilograms in the average adult, takes up 20% of our body’s energy expenditure to power a network of roughly 86 billion cells. Ongoing research in the field of neuroscience utilizes various … Continue reading What it Takes to Make a Brain: Cellular diversity in cortical development
Dissecting cancer complexity across space and time
by Jackson Weirfigures by Jasmin Joseph-Chazan Why is cancer so difficult to cure? Why do available treatments only help a subset of patients? Why are some cancers more aggressive than others? These are questions that clinicians, scientists, and the public have pondered for generations. As it turns out, the answers are complicated because cancer biology is complicated. Luckily, new tools and technologies are helping us … Continue reading Dissecting cancer complexity across space and time
Solving Scientific Problems by Asking Diverse Questions
by Piyush Nandafigures by Shreya Mantri Gravity has been apparent for thousands of years: Aristotle, for example, proposed that objects fall to settle into their natural place in 4th century BC. But it was not until around 1900, when Issac Newton explained gravity using mathematical equations, that we really understood the phenomenon. Why didn’t thinkers before Newton think about gravity the way he did? Scientific … Continue reading Solving Scientific Problems by Asking Diverse Questions