Author: Haley Amemiya
Editors: Kevin Boehnke, Zuleirys Rodriguez, Patricia Garay, and Scott Barolo
There are twelve black spots in scientist Jacques Ninio’s Extinction Illusion. Can you see them all at once? Continue reading “More than Meets the Eye: How Optical Illusions Stump Our Brains”
Author: Ellyn Schinke
Editors: Whit Froehlich, Nayiri Kaissarian, and Irene Park
In my last post, I wrote about the social differences between introverts and extroverts and the misconceptions surrounding the two personalities. This post will focus on the underlying brain biology that contributes to whether a person is an extrovert or an introvert.
The more I read about these personalities, the more I wondered—are there ways in which the biology can explain the social differences? It turns out that there are several known, key differences in the brain biology between introverts and extroverts.
Continue reading “Introverts & Extroverts: It’s Not as Simple as Shy or Outgoing (Part 2)”
Author: Ellyn Schinke
Editors: Whit Froehlich, Nayiri Kaissarian, and Irene Park
Seemingly every Friday night, I’m curled up on my couch with a glass of wine and a good movie. Yet, it amazes me how many people scoff or flat-out laugh when I tell them that I’m an introvert. I am! In social situations, my mood can change very suddenly. It’s as if my social batteries have run out, flipping my social switch from on to off. Such changes are confusing for my friends, which might be based on the big misconception surrounding introversion and extroversion in society.
Continue reading “Introverts & Extroverts: It’s Not as Simple as Shy or Outgoing (Part 1)”
Author: Irene Park
Editors: Brittany Dixon, Theresa Mau, Alisha John, and Scott Barolo
It seems like “Non-GMO Project Verified” labels have been popping up on more and more food packages. GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are on the public’s mind, and food manufacturers, restaurants, and the government are reacting.
For example, the restaurant chain Chipotle recently promised to ban genetically modified ingredients, naming three main reasons: the long-term health effects of consuming GMOs are unknown; GMOs harm the environment; and GMOs do not meet the restaurant’s standard of “high-quality” food.
Continue reading “GMOs: Unjustified Fear or Actual Danger? (Part 1)”
Author: Brooke Wolford
Editors: Jimmy Brancho, Shweta Ramdas, Belle Moyers
Think back to the last time you visited your primary care physician. Was the health care provider using a laptop or tablet to take notes and update your health information? In many doctors’ offices across the country your health records have gone digital. In addition to their exciting potential to help doctors’ offices reduce human error and better serve patients, electronic health records (EHRs) also make available a new source of “big data” for researchers.
EHRs are patient-specific digital records your health care provider maintains. The information in your EHR helps your doctor efficiently track your health over time and helps researchers learn more about diseases, which ultimately improves the clinical care your doctor provides to you and other patients. Believe it or not, EHRs from patients like you and me have already helped researchers make discoveries that improve health care for everyone!
Continue reading “How Your Electronic Health Records Could Help Biomedical Research”
Author: Shannon Wright
Editors: Ellyn Schinke, Jessica Cote, Alisha John
What is the most deadly virus in the world? The answer may surprise you. If we consider case fatality rate (the number of people infected who die from the virus if left untreated), it’s not Smallpox (20-60%), or even the Ebola virus (~50%), but rather, a common mammal-targeting virus you almost certainly have heard of: rabies. With no known cure, this infamous virus has a 100% fatality rate – certainly worthy of a gold-medal if we were giving out medals for how deadly viruses are.
Author: Irene Park
Editors: Ada Hagan, Alisha John, Shweta Ramdas, Scott Barolo
On July 4th 2016, NASA announced that the spacecraft Juno arrived at Jupiter after traveling two billion miles over five years. Juno was designed to investigate the origin of Jupiter, our solar system’s largest planet.
Continue reading “NASA’s Juno mission: Unlocking secrets about Jupiter and ourselves”
Author: Ada Hagan
Editors: Alisha John, Scott Barolo
As we discussed last time, bacteria that infect the human body face a major challenge: iron, which is essential for bacterial growth, is hard to obtain from human tissues. Many pathogenic bacteria solve this problem by deploying “stealth siderophores,” which steal iron from human iron-binding proteins while evading our defenses. In the battle between humans and pathogenic bacteria, our best weapons, antibiotics, are being weakened by widespread resistance. Is there a way to use bacteria’s need for iron against them?
Continue reading “Spinach and siderophores, part 2: Getting the upper hand”
Author: Ada Hagan
Editors: Alisha John, Irene Park
Many remember the boisterous, muscle-bound, tattooed sailor Popeye and the thin-as-a-rail Olive Oyl from Saturday morning cartoons. In times of need, such as when his rival Bluto stole Olive Oyl for the 50th time, Popeye would squeeze open a tin can of spinach. Eating the spinach, sometimes miraculously through his corn-cob pipe, gave Popeye that extra boost of energy needed to escape his bonds and rescue his lady-friend. What was so special about spinach that gave Popeye his superpower?
Continue reading “Spinach and siderophores: The bacterial battle for iron”
Author: Kaitlin Weskamp
Editors: Brittany Dixon, Zuleirys Santana Rodriguez, Scott Barolo
Zebrafish may not look impressive, but they can do something that no human can: regenerate large portions of organs that are damaged or lost. These fish, each about as long as your pinky finger, are able to regrow amputated fins, repair lesioned brains, and mend damaged eyes, spinal cords, and hearts. This remarkable ability to heal has fascinated scientists for some time, and in recent years, large strides have been made towards translating this regenerative ability to humans. Continue reading “Regenerative medicine – Panacea or hype?”
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