To me, it seems that the media hypes all new disease outbreaks as the advent of the apocalypse. More often, the facts about these epidemics are simply overstated or misrepresented.…
Continue ReadingKristen Stewart. Her Majesty the Queen. The cartoon character Daria. Yours truly. What do we all have in common?
Continue ReadingAs noted climate scientist Michael Mann observes, to do climate science is to enter the “climate wars.” War is an apt descriptor for this sociopolitical milieu, in which veracious research…
Continue ReadingAs a huge Minnesota Twins fan, I was sad to hear that former catcher and current first baseman Joe Mauer is still reporting concussion-related vision problems. These symptoms stem from…
Continue ReadingFrom graduate students to faculty members, scientific researchers generally receive training in writing technical documents. Usually these documents are intended to communicate findings to other scientists.
Continue ReadingHumans do not find plastic bottles tasty. Try as we might, ingestion and digestion of an Auquafina bottle makes for a bad dinner. On the other hand, some bacteria see…
Continue ReadingDrug use is a fairly common, oftentimes problematic issue among humans. However, Homo sapiens isn’t the only species that likes to experiment with mind-altering substances. In the animal world, many…
Continue ReadingBiologists often encounter mind-bending expansion in complexity the closer they look into the details. Notable examples include the length of DNA strands in each human cell (2-3 meters per cell,…
Continue ReadingWith the season finale of Downton Abbey earlier this month, I know everyone is thinking, “Now, how will I get my fix of period costuming”? If you’re like me, you…
Continue ReadingAs a huge Minnesota Twins fan, I was sad to hear that former catcher and current first baseman Joe Mauer is still reporting concussion-related vision problems. These symptoms stem from…
Continue ReadingAs many young academics very well know, science can bum you out. Experiments fail, equipment breaks, and funding opportunities are few and far between. Even when experiments run smoothly, the…
Continue ReadingImagine a pathogen that makes its host more sexually active. It may not kill its host right away. It may not kill its host at all. It is easy to…
Continue ReadingIf you opt for a Guinness this St. Patrick’s Day, keep an eye on your pint as it settles (which, according to official Guinness standards should happen for exactly 119.5 seconds…
Continue ReadingI first heard of the band OK Go when they released their music video for ‘Here It Goes Again,’ which features the band members cruising back and forth over treadmills.…
Continue ReadingAuthor’s forward There are days in which a scientist finds herself needing to express her “mean genes.” When an experimental control fails, when Reviewer 3 sinks a paper, when someone…
Continue ReadingThe giant whiteboard outside our lab has a simple to do list: Plan the experiments to answer all the questions Be better This list is a joke, of course, but…
Continue ReadingFollowing the Super Bowl, millions of football fans suddenly exhibit mood swings and odd behaviors. Symptoms include flipping aimlessly through TV channels on Sunday afternoons or a sudden obsession with…
Continue Reading“Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante or Shakespeare” –…
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