misciwriterseditors EquilibriUM

Cytotropolis: Life at the Cellular Level

Cover Concept and Art: Zoe Yeoh and Jessica Li

We believe that in the future, we will have an intimate understanding of what the inside of  a cell looks like on a molecular – perhaps even atomic – level. This has been enabled by recent advancements in structural biology through artificial intelligence and machine learning. In combination with virtual reality technology, we envision that one day we’ll be able to “step inside” a cell to observe these molecular details, reimagined as a thriving city neighborhood. The Golgi Luxury Apartment complex features incredible amenities such as a mitochondria gym, a vacuole pool, and endoplasmic reticulum meeting rooms. Located steps away is The Nucleus, a Michelin Star establishment known for its four course dNTP mystery menu. Actin and tubulin filaments crisscross above, forming sky bridge walkways and a convenient high-speed metro line to get around the cell with ease. Neatly manicured ribosome trees dot the public park below. 

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Protein Folding In The Hands Of AI

Written and illustrated by: Jacquelyn Roberts

Edited by: Jennifer Baker and Christina Del Greco

“Structure implies function” is a phrase often repeated by biochemists to describe how molecular machines work in the body. For a protein, structure is formed as its string of amino acids twists and folds into a globular final form. If amino acids are beads on a string, then the folded protein is the final necklace or finished work. This “final form” lends clues to the protein’s role in the cell. Often, like a lock and key, proteins and their chemical partners ft together perfectly. But for a long time, we had absolutely no idea how or why proteins reproducibly twist and fold in the same way every time to adopt a consistent final form.

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Science and Society: Building the Trust of Our Benefactors

Written by: Austin Shannon

Edited by: Henry Ertl and Kate Giffin

In a democracy, government money is public money and should ideally be accountable to the interests of the public as negotiated through the political process. However, if the stewards of that money (i.e., elected officials or citizens) know little about what they are paying for, then how do they know that public interests are being upheld?

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Could artificial intelligence replace doctors in the future? A case study with ChatGPT

Written by: Peijin Han

Edited by: Frances Gu and Henry Ertl

Imagine you had the misfortune of waking up one day with a crippling headache. You have been experiencing neck pains and headaches for a couple of years, but doctors always told you this was a neck strain and prescribed a muscle relaxer. However, today is your third day of suffering from this headache, which doesn’t seem to be alleviated by anything you have at home. In the past, you would have navigated the outside world to go to a clinic. But today, instead of dragging yourself out of bed and enduring onerous wait times, you opt to receive medical attention from the comfort of your home.

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Sight Beyond Light

Kate Giffin (1), Katie Bonefas (2), Chami Amarasinghe (3), Frances Gu (4), Jennifer Baker (5)

1. Author 2. Illustrator 3. Peer editor 4. Content editor 5. Senior editor

Abstract

There is light beyond light: above and below. The smallest, most ancient parts of us know this. In summer, freckles proclaim communion with this light. DNA twists in its presence. We all know of this light. But we do not, can not, see.

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Engineering a Future for Women: The Role of Medical Device Design in Gender and Health Equity

Written by: Ilka Rodríguez-Calero, Ph.D.

Edited by: Austin Shannon and Peijin Han

In my twenties, I was put on a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) — a safe and effective medical device — as a form of birth control (1). Soon after, I developed pelvic pain, a known side effect of the IUD. The pain, combined with other issues, could be difficult to manage, but my healthcare providers couldn’t find an underlying cause. Consequently, pain management was limited to self-care through exercise, mindfulness, and over-the-counter medications. I assumed that living with pain was the price to pay for reliable birth control.

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Homegrown Guardians: Harnessing the Power of the Immune System to Fight Breast Cancer

Written by: Kassidy Jungles

Edited by: Christina Del Greco and Peijin Han

Cancer is an enemy of your body, starting when your cells turn against you, rapidly divide, and spread. Cancer is clever and conniving. Cancer can rapidly mutate over time, making it difficult for your body to notice and even more difficult to treat. Because of this, it might be hard to imagine your body as the answer to ridding itself of its homegrown enemies. However, this is precisely the future of cancer treatment that scientists are imagining. What if the answer to treating cancer is using homegrown guardians derived from your immune system to beat cancer at its own game?

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A Dark Science

Written by: Chami Amarasinghe

Edited by: Kate Giffin and Austin Shannon

For a hundred years now, evidence for invisible matter has been piling up (1). Eighty-five percent of the mass in our cosmic neighborhood is transparent (2). We are completely awash in this invisible substance, dark matter. It far outweighs the stars, planets, asteroids, gas, dust, and us (3). The evidence lies plainly in the night sky. Stars and galaxies are accelerated by the gravity of dark matter (4, 5). Light emitted from distant objects bends in its presence (6). But, despite its ubiquity, nearly nothing is known about the fundamental particles that make up dark matter (7). How heavy are they? Why are they so prevalent? If they are everywhere and interact with the atoms of our world, could we detect them as Earth travels through space? Dark matter particles have long been searched for in experiments but none have been found (8). The devices built to detect them are the most sensitive ears we have opened to the skies, and they continue to grow in size and complexity as scientists continue their search (9). Discovering the nature of dark matter would upturn our understanding of the universe, but history warns of dead ends. It is not predetermined that dark matter particles will be discovered (10).

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