misciwriterseditors Biochemistry, blog, genetics

 Who owns cells and DNA?  Property rights get messy in biology

Author: Sarah Kearns
Editors: Genesis Rodriguez, Zena Lapp, and Whit Froehlich

Scattered around your house or apartment, lightly coating the surface of your coffee table and lurking in the nooks and crannies of each room, discarded layers of yourself can be found in the form of skin and hair cells. Regardless of how much of clean-freak you are, it’s unlikely you miss the over one million cells you shed per day. One might go so far as to say that they aren’t even yours in the first place as you sweep them up during a spring cleaning before irreverently dumping them in the waste bin. But what if someone came into your house and took them? Continue reading ” Who owns cells and DNA?  Property rights get messy in biology” →

misciwriterseditors blog, Education, Outreach

Girls Who Code take on Computer Science Education Week

Author: Brooke Wolford. Editors: Zena Lapp and Whit Froehlich

It is not directly apparent, but a lot of computer code is working behind the scenes to allow you to read this article! In fact, computer code runs a lot of the modern world. Computer and mathematical occupations are the sixth-fastest-growing of 22 major occupational groups in the U.S., and are projected to account for 4.3 million American jobs in 2020.

This week (December 3-9 in 2018) is Computer Science Education Week, an effort to encourage K-12 students to take interest in computer science, frequently observed with Hour of Code events. Unfortunately, only 35% of high schools teach computer science. Furthermore, fewer than one-fifth of Computer Science graduates are women, and the gender gap is getting worse. To try to bridge this gender gap, a University of Michigan graduate-student led organization, Girls Who Code at University of Michigan Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics (UM DCMB), pursues computer science education year-long through K-12 educational outreach efforts primarily serving young women. GWC at UM DCMB is a recognized Voluntary Student Organization (VSO) founded by doctoral students in the Bioinformatics graduate program in 2017. The organization, led by an eight-woman Executive Committee, coordinates a weekly Girls Who Code (GWC) Club as well as extensive K-12 educational outreach efforts. Continue reading “Girls Who Code take on Computer Science Education Week” →

misciwriterseditors Science communication, Spanish

Las Historias de Ciencia que Nunca Consideramos

Autora: Kristina Lenn

Editores: Christina Vallianatos y Whit Froehlich

Traducido al español por Irene Vargas-Salazar, editado por Paloma Contreras

La primera vez que leí “La Cuchara Desaparecida” fue en el 2012, mientras estaba de regreso a casa durante las vacaciones de mis estudios de doctorado. Como estudiante de ingeniería química, nada me atraía más que un libro sobre la tabla periódica. Y no me refiero a un típico libro de química que discute las diferentes características de los elementos de la tabla, recorriendo sus líneas horizontales y verticales. Éste es un libro que conecta la ciencia, la historia y el impacto que los elementos de Mendeleev tienen no solamente en el mundo, sino también en sus descubridores.

Continue reading “Las Historias de Ciencia que Nunca Consideramos” →