Exposing graduate students and post-docs to science writing
Cancer is an immensely complex disease to treat. The number of mutations and combinations of mutations that can lead to its development make each “cure” more of a patch to a few specific cases. Couple that with the increasing rate of mutation within cancer cells,…
Think for a minute about your grandkid’s grandkids. Where are they living? Perhaps you momentarily considered the possibility of your intrepid descendants dwelling in outer space. You’re not alone: since 1991, when the Space Life Sciences 1 mission was launched (SLS-1), there has been intensive…
Class Cephalopoda is home to some of the most intelligent and mysterious critters in the sea. Including species of octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus, cephalopods are a type of mollusk that have have lost their hard outer shells. Cephalopods get their name from the Greek…
You may have seen the anglerfish sex video floating around the Internet recently, with titles like “The worst sex in the world is anglerfish sex, and now there’s finally video.” While the video is worth a watch, I think most behavioral ecologist would beg to…
While the shock of an electric eel sounds like more of a medical nightmare than a fortunate asset, researchers at the University of Michigan were inspired to simulate the power of these slick creatures in hope of creating power sources for a variety of medical…
Conjuring up two milliliters of spit after not eating/drinking 30 minutes prior doesn’t sound taxing, but give it a try, and you’ll quickly change your mind. Four years ago, I sat in my kitchen wafting the scent of freshly baked brownies into my face in…
The science that plants rely on goes far beyond photosynthesis, the familiar process where plants use sunlight to help make food. In honor of spring’s pending arrival, it’s time to delve into three, unique cases where science influences the plants that color our lives. The…
When you think of scientific research that is worthy of international recognition, 10 trillion dollars, and a prize handed out by Nobel laureates, you are probably envisioning high-impact research that helped revolutionize its field. Unfortunately, the international recognition is not for the right reasons, the…
Technology moguls dream of human colonies on other planets. For this dream to become reality, science needs to develop new spacecraft capable of transporting people and cargo to the outer reaches of our galaxy. Another challenge is how to find a route to these other…
Cloned 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 tree: macaque monkeys. What does this mean for a society that witnesses dramatic changes day…