Biology

by Heather Landry Summary: The vast diversity in gene sequences are what create the large variety of plants and animals we see today. Genetic diversity is crucial for adapting to new environments, as more variation in genes leads to more individuals of…

by Pierre Baduel figures by Kaitlyn Choi Summary: The legality of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remains a controversial issue around the world, especially in Europe. Recent discoveries in the field of epigenetics, or heritable information not…

by Adam Riesselman Summary: The advent of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has rippled through the fields and homesteads of the United States, changing the way farmers conduct their operation. Fueling both the industrialization of agriculture as…

An image of the human eye, showing the location of the lens, where clumps of proteins can form to cause cataracts. (Credits: Johannes Ahlmann, Creative Commons) An article titled “Eye Drops Could Dissolve Cataracts” described new research findings that…

Image from 2009 Hoppenrath et al, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License Take a moment to consider the complexity of the human eye. Now, envision a single-celled organism that also contains this extremely complex and…

This is not the face of a health hazard (sorry Daily Mail)Credit: By Dion75e (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Skinny jeans have been blamed for many things, from the downfall of American men to #Bendgate, but hardly ever for medical…

by Mary E. Gearing  figures by Shannon McArdel 35% of the adult population is obese, a condition which puts one at a high risk for many diseases, namely heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Unfortunately, the treatments available for obesity…

by Katherine Wu figures by Kristen Seim We live in an increasingly wired world: with apps for every purpose imaginable, it has become easier and easier to share information and build global communities. In the wake of the recent Ebola pandemic, we have…

by Vivian Chou figures by Anna Maurer What do sushi and pain therapy have in common? The answer lies in a tiny protein in our bodies called TRPA1, nicknamed the “wasabi receptor.” For over a decade, scientists have been fascinated by the…

Visualizing DNA on a DNA gel. While the techniques to visualize and analyze DNA are commonplace, our ability to interpret what our DNA says about our likelihood to develop a particular disease is still lacking. Many human diseases are influenced by…