Archive: 2015

by Jeff Bessen cartoon by Shannon McArdel Before forming an opinion on genetically modified foods, one should understand what genes are in the first place. Knowledge of the history and biological function of genes helps explain why scientists are almost…

by Mary E. Gearing figures by Kristen Seim Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States [1]. Today, patients with a family history of heart disease or risk factors such as elevated “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL…

  High-resolution microscope image of S. epidermidis, a member of the human microbiome [Image: Staphylococcus epidermidis Bacteria/NIAID under CC-BY licence]Forensic investigators often rely upon the uniqueness of human DNA and fingerprints, but a…

Ice cream cravings while you are anxiously preparing for a presentation or exam may be triggered by your brain’s desire for relief from stress. (Credits: Austin Kirk, flickr.com) In America, uncontrolled sugar consumption is a concern because of its…

by Alexis Hubaud figures by Anna Maurer Vaccination is key to preventing disease and has been a major advance in public health to eradicate epidemics like smallpox or polio. Vaccines work by mimicking an infectious agent, and by doing so, train our…

Chopping tool made by early ancestors of humans, credit: Wikimedia Commons. Human evolution is a tricky subject, with very little information on who our ancestors were and what they were like. By convention, researchers have defined the evolutionary…

by Erin Dahlstrom Almost two years after its May 2013 purchase of alternative wind energy company Makani, Google X, Google’s semi-secret “moonshots” lab announced at SXSW that they will be starting to test full-scale models of Makani’s kite-like wind…

Presented by Jacky Austermann Why does sea level change? Everyone knows that sea level rise is a threat to coastal cities, but the mechanisms of why the change happens are less often talked about. In my talk I will explain why sea level is changing, why…

Genome editing, or using biological tools to edit the hereditary information of a cell, has been a controversial subject since the age of gene therapy. It’s proponents tout the potential to rid an organism of genes that could lead to incurable, nasty…

Presented by Shay Neufeld Opiates, the class of molecules that includes morphine, heroin, and codeine, are arguably the most addicting drugs known to exist. This class of drugs has single-handedly started wars, forced international laws, and to this day…