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by Sophia Swartzfigures by Nicholas Lue Welcome HOM(e)! Your mouth isn’t too different from a city. Like a city, your mouth contains hundreds of different inhabitants and communities. However, these inhabitants are not humans or animals. Instead,…

by Jessica Schifffigures by Rebecca Senft Under the waves and in the ocean, climate change is like a persistent third wheel. Akin to that friend who always insists on tagging along on your dates, his/her/their presence makes it difficult for you and…

by Sam Berry In 1918, a new influenza (flu) strain infected nearly a third of the world’s population, leaving tens of millions dead. At the time, relatively little was known about this strain, later called the Spanish Flu—why it was so dangerous, how…

by Noel Jacksonfigures by Daniel Utter Have you ever wondered how scientists study human tissue in the lab? They do so with the help of authentic human cells. Normal cells in the human body have a finite number of replications, which limits their…

by Sydney Shermanfigures by Daniel Utter If you’ve ever received a vaccine or been prescribed a medication, then you have benefited from the contribution of animals to research. Humans have looked to animals to help combat diseases since at…

by Harini Chakravarthy “But need alone is not enough to set power free: there must be knowledge.”-Ursula K.Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea A heart-wrenching agony. A practical choice. A relief. A regret. The decision to terminate a pregnancy can…

by Rebecca Silbermanfigures by Aparna Nathan It only took a few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic to send the American farm industry reeling. The supply chains that connect soy fields and chicken coops and greenhouses with American tables were not…

by Isabella Grabskifigures by Jovana Andrejevic In 1935, a scientist named Clive McCay published a startling discovery: rats with severely restricted diets lived up to 33% longer than previously known possible. Over the last few decades, similar…

by Kate Lachancefigures by Rebecca Senft Close your eyes.  Picture a scientist. What does this scientist look like? Beginning in the late 1950s, the stereotypical image of a scientist was of great interest to many anthropologists,…

by Kerry McGowen Have you ever wondered how scientists hunt for alien life on other planets? What are they looking for? Before jumping straight into the search for aliens, scientists look for planets that could support alien life in the first…