The month of February is a big month for hearts. Between Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month, you cannot escape heart-shaped decorations and reminders to exercise daily. And while many of…
Continue ReadingCloned primates are here! Over three decades have passed since the birth of Dolly, the sheep, scientists have now tackled cloning mammals that are even closer to us on the evolutionary…
Continue ReadingWith each flu season comes a bombardment of new advertisements reminding people to get a flu vaccine. The vaccine is free to most and widely available, yet almost half of…
Continue ReadingThree years ago, I moved from California to North Carolina for graduate school, an experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone in more ways than I expected. The most…
Continue ReadingVegetarian sharks. If you love a cheesy sci-fi movie as much as I do, the word shark probably brings a few images to mind; swimmers rushing to shore, a huge,…
Continue ReadingThey can be eaten raw, made into countless stews and sauces, and add a tasty addition to nearly any dish. Tomatoes are practically indispensable in any modern kitchen and are…
Continue ReadingNo bread. No sugar. No rice, potatoes, corn, soy, milk, onions, garlic, chocolate, processed meats, or alcohol. Is this a starvation diet or a method of torture? Actually, this is…
Continue ReadingLet’s start at the very beginning. When a mammalian egg is successfully fertilized by a single sperm, the result is a single cell called a zygote. A zygote has the…
Continue ReadingWell the holiday season is upon us. Our calendars and days are now filled with shopping, travel, and social gatherings with friends, family, and loved ones. As the temperature outside…
Continue ReadingOur bodies are marvels of precise control, synchronization and design. Every one of our cells has the same genetic sequence, but we have many different types of cells – heart,…
Continue ReadingEarlier this year, the U.S. government released the Climate Science Special Report. This document describes the state of the Earth’s climate, specifically focusing on the U.S. If you are someone…
Continue ReadingPlastics are nearly unavoidable. From the plastic bottle of water you grab walking into a meeting to the money in your wallet, plastics are ubiquitous. However, evidence is accumulating that…
Continue ReadingSome of my favorite TV shows as a kid didn’t involve cartoons or slapstick comedy. They were educational shows – science and math shows to be more precise. I watched…
Continue ReadingYou probably don’t usually think of particle physics and the Great Pyramid of Giza as having much in common. In some ways, the two seem diametrically opposed: the Giza Pyramid…
Continue ReadingIf you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve probably read about the boom in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some of the advances have elicited responses ranging from amazement to fear. So…
Continue ReadingTardigrades, also known as waterbears or moss piglets, are microscopic invertebrates that “resemble a cross between a caterpillar and a naked mole rat,” according to science writer, Jason Bittel. First…
Continue ReadingLast Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a version of the tax reform bill that, if made into law, could lead to a massive tax increase for many US graduate…
Continue ReadingI love my pets. Growing up, I always had animals: fish, hamsters, hermit crabs, and even rats (my mom was particularly happy when those were out of the house). The current…
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