Tag: featured

Blog

An Introduction to Ribosomes: Nature’s busiest molecular machines

by Francesca Tomasifigures by Jovana Andrejevic  Right now, the world is eagerly awaiting clinical trial data for two candidate COVID-19 vaccines known as mRNA vaccines. mRNA stands for “messenger RNA,” referring to the molecule that the vaccine delivers to our bodies. Once the vaccine enters our cells, the mRNA tells them exactly how to build a piece of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine itself cannot … Continue reading An Introduction to Ribosomes: Nature’s busiest molecular machines

3 Comments
Blog

I Can’t Sleep… Can you turn off the lights?

by Samantha Tracyfigures by Wei Wu Walking down your neighborhood street you might notice the cars driving past, people waving hello, and the buildings lit up by the daytime sun. At night this view changes: we see fewer cars, and people have mostly returned to the comforts of their homes. But even as we shift from day to night, there is still a bright glow … Continue reading I Can’t Sleep… Can you turn off the lights?

4 Comments
Blog

Searching for the Holy Grail of Quantum Computing

by Insa Mohrfigures by Hannah Zucker The past year has been momentous for quantum computing, a technology that applies the almost-mystical phenomena of quantum mechanics to build novel supercomputers, high performance computers used to solve large scale computational tasks. Google demonstrated that their quantum computers can solve a problem that no classical computer could ever solve. For the third year in a row, IBM managed … Continue reading Searching for the Holy Grail of Quantum Computing

3 Comments
Blog

For Microbes, There’s No Place Like HOM(e)

by Sophia Swartzfigures by Nicholas Lue Welcome HOM(e)! Your mouth isn’t too different from a city. Like a city, your mouth contains hundreds of different inhabitants and communities. However, these inhabitants are not humans or animals. Instead, your mouth contains hundreds of thousands of microbes.  Microbes are small organisms—like bacteria or fungi—that cannot be seen by the human eye. For example, 100 bacterial cells could … Continue reading For Microbes, There’s No Place Like HOM(e)

Leave a comment
Blog

Climate Change: The Ocean’s “Mood Killer”

by Jessica Schifffigures by Rebecca Senft Under the waves and in the ocean, climate change is like a persistent third wheel. Akin to that friend who always insists on tagging along on your dates, his/her/their presence makes it difficult for you and your significant other to have alone time. In the ocean, climate change continually prevents the seduction and reproductive success of all kinds of … Continue reading Climate Change: The Ocean’s “Mood Killer”

1 Comment
Blog

What Can Evolution Teach us About the Viruses of the Future?

by Sam Berry In 1918, a new influenza (flu) strain infected nearly a third of the world’s population, leaving tens of millions dead. At the time, relatively little was known about this strain, later called the Spanish Flu—why it was so dangerous, how it spread, even what it was made up of. In the past 100 years, we’ve unveiled the structure of the double-helical DNA … Continue reading What Can Evolution Teach us About the Viruses of the Future?

2 Comments
Blog

Vessels for Collective Progress: the use of HeLa cells in COVID-19 research

by Noel Jacksonfigures by Daniel Utter Have you ever wondered how scientists study human tissue in the lab? They do so with the help of authentic human cells. Normal cells in the human body have a finite number of replications, which limits their lifespan. Immortal cancer cells escape this limit and replicate indefinitely, making them ideal for research that requires a constant supply of quickly … Continue reading Vessels for Collective Progress: the use of HeLa cells in COVID-19 research

64 Comments
Blog

Animals in the Fight Against COVID-19

by Sydney Shermanfigures by Daniel Utter If you’ve ever received a vaccine or been prescribed a medication, then you have benefited from the contribution of animals to research. Humans have looked to animals to help combat diseases since at least 380 BC and continue to do so today. The race for COVID-19 treatments and preventatives is no exception. We usually think of animal research in … Continue reading Animals in the Fight Against COVID-19

3 Comments
Blog, Opinion

Pregnancy, Abortion, and a Crisis of Misinformation

by Harini Chakravarthy “But need alone is not enough to set power free: there must be knowledge.”-Ursula K.Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea A heart-wrenching agony. A practical choice. A relief. A regret. The decision to terminate a pregnancy can be many things. I have had to face this decision in my life and, during that tumultuous period, the one thing I relied on was … Continue reading Pregnancy, Abortion, and a Crisis of Misinformation

9 Comments
Blog

Solace and Warnings From Our Planet’s Most Successful Non-Human Farmers

by Rebecca Silbermanfigures by Aparna Nathan It only took a few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic to send the American farm industry reeling. The supply chains that connect soy fields and chicken coops and greenhouses with American tables were not built for a world that lacks steady restaurant traffic or school lunches, where instead consumers are emptying supermarket shelves. There is at once a surplus … Continue reading Solace and Warnings From Our Planet’s Most Successful Non-Human Farmers

Leave a comment