Biology

It has long been a goal of the scientific community to understand the mysteries of how the human brain develops from just a few cells into an organ capable of coordinating conscious thought. Slowly but surely, scientists are illuminating this black box…

Researchers studying neural development are plagued with an ever-present difficulty: how does one study the developing human brain without using invasive methods or being restricted to post-mortem tissue? Due to the complexity of human brain development,…

Presented by Amy Rohlfing, Marina Santiago, and John Santa Maria Many of us have heard of “superbugs” from the media – deadly bacteria gone wild, that are no longer responsive to antibiotic treatments. Our lecture will begin with Amy’s…

The basis for the origin of new species is thought to be well-known: new species emerge when two or more subpopulations of (what was formerly) the same species become sufficiently dissimilar in their genetic makeup that they can no longer breed with each…

In 1996, the British government announced that ten suspected cases of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (CJD), a degenerative brain disorder, were caused by the consumption of beef products that harbor mad cow disease [1]. This news not only prompted the EU and…

Whether we realize it or not, humans, like all organisms, are genetically programmed to reproduce, but today we have many more reproductive choices than our ancestors. Birth control, for example, prevents procreation by those who might otherwise have…

Harvard University Professor Dr. Andrew Knoll speaks on the scientific intrigue of Mars, his involvement with the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, and the future of Mars investigation Mars. The Red Planet, the fourth from our sun. Named after the…

Since the first two-hour excursion into space by Yuri Gagarin in 1961, the lure of manned space travel has proved irresistible to scientists, entrepreneurs, and entertainers alike. Today, as technology becomes more capable of enabling manned travel to…

Although the heart is commonly thought of as something that causes us emotional joy and pain, while also providing us with the urge to make reckless decisions, we have to give it more credit. In actuality, this incredible organ will beat more than 2.5…

Two decades ago, on the recommendation of acclaimed astrophysicist Carl Sagan, NASA adopted a definition of life simply stating, “Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution.” [1] While this definition is certainly…