Bacteria are a big part of who we are as humans. They live all over us, forming distinct communities, or microbiomes, on our skin, in our hair, in our mouths,…
Continue Reading“Mom, I think I have a fever,” was the sure fire way to stay home from school as a young child. One such instance, my mom put her hand to…
Continue ReadingThere is this notion that people who study science had a lifelong fascination with it, implying that those who lack this history should pursue another career. Let me tell you:…
Continue ReadingOne of the goals of the Pipettepen blog is to train science communicators to share science with nonscientists. However, as both scientists and nonscientists know, this communication is not always…
Continue Reading2019, “new year, new me,” as they say. Many people have new goals; maybe they’ll read more, go to the gym more, or try to improve relationships. Whatever your New…
Continue ReadingRecently, I couldn’t find my keys. They weren’t where I usually keep them. Turns out, I was so distracted when I came home that I left them dangling in the…
Continue ReadingThe new year is a new horizon full of possibilities and potential. While the clean slate can seem daunting to some, to others it represents an opportunity to commit themselves…
Continue Reading“Detoxing” is all the rage right now—whether it’s foregoing solid foods in favor of juices during a liquid cleanse, suffering through a colon cleanse in the form of a colonic…
Continue Reading(Caution: do not read just before lunch!) We all know the feeling… queasiness, belly in knots, guts on fire and no end in sight. Now I want you to imagine…
Continue ReadingYou have probably never met anyone suffering from sleeping sickness, a potentially fatal condition. This is because the disease, also called African Trypanosomiasis, is only present in certain regions of…
Continue ReadingAny scientist knows the importance of a good negative control. A negative control in an experiment is a group of samples or subjects in which no response is expected to…
Continue ReadingAs of Friday November 16, 2018, California was home to the three most polluted cities in the world. These three cities – San Francisco, Stockton, and Sacramento – topped the…
Continue ReadingImagine you are working on a project with a large group of people, all with different personalities and responsibilities. Your group was just informed that something important to the progress…
Continue ReadingHurricanes are well-known for how unpredictable their paths can be. As wild as they can get, we can usually count on two things for storms that live primarily in the…
Continue ReadingScience literacy is the ability to read English words in a new language – the language of science. You might measure science literacy by being conversant in various fields.…
Continue ReadingWhen the days suddenly seem shorter and the nights are colder, you know fall has arrived. You especially know it’s here when the leaves gain a reddish hue and soon…
Continue ReadingOne of the most controversial aspects of biomedical research is the use of animals to benefit humans. Scientists use animals to test new treatments for human diseases and to understand…
Continue ReadingDid you find the past few years’ climate peculiar, with extremely high temperature or intense rainfall days occurring more often? Have you ever heard of shrinking ice sheets or seen…
Continue Reading