Blog

Written by Alex Ford
Edited by Hector Mendoza and Zoe Yeoh
Illustrated by Zoe Yeoh

I. The Tower of Babel

In the beginning, there was a stone. A stone by itself is simple. Monolithic in concept and function. But introduce a second stone. Place it upon the first. Add another. A stack forms and they become more than the sum of their parts. Before there was life, there were simply stones longing for more. Patient stones that awaited the first tumble to start an avalanche. 

Somewhere in the infant Earth, at the grinding edge of a sunken continental plate, magma oozes into deep water. Volcanic fires churn in the darkness and spew black clouds into the crushing depths. In this energy-rich crucible, a lone carbon finds hydrogen, finds nitrogen, and the first organic molecules begin to assemble in the deep.

Written and Sculpted by Emily L. Eberhardt
Edited by Kate Giffin

Amidst the global pandemic in 2020, I began to explore science through art. In my research, I studied mitochondrial proteins (mitochondria are small structures in cells that produce necessary energy), but with lab closures, my hands were idle. With a box of beads, a freshly-passed candidacy exam, and limitless time, I sat and considered the power of mitochondria. Fascinated by their complexity, I began to craft sculptures. 

Written by Kate Giffin and Kristen Schuh

Dear Readers,

In this edition of EquilibriUM, we delve into the intricate ways that science and art connect and enhance each other.

In a world that often compartmentalizes disciplines, it is necessary to bridge these gaps to discover fresh perspectives, foster innovation, and enrich our collective knowledge. Both of us work in interdisciplinary fields studying how the brain and body interact in sometimes strange and nonsensical ways – connections are one of our favorite parts about research. 

Cover Concept and Art: Naomi Raicu

In this piece, I explored  the neural network concept by connecting it to artistic and emotional aspects of the human experience: music, group dance, and a sense of community and interconnectedness. In the real world, a cognitive “dance” of changing neural connections not only determines who we are, but also inspires innovation in science and technology.