By Carolina A. Herrera Vaccines train your immune system to fight against harmful invading pathogens, which are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) that can cause disease. Vaccines contain dead or weakened pathogens, or distinctive pieces of a pathogen such as proteins or polysaccharides (sugars) that activate the immune system. The immune system is a […]
By Devina Thiono With Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still going strong, we’re hearing the phrase “wash your hands” more frequently. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also listed proper hand-washing with soap and water as one of the main steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19. So, how could this simple regimen protect […]
By Devina Thiono Earlier this year, there was a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China. It was later found that the outbreak was caused by a new type of virus that is now named 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The symptoms began with fever, coughing, and shortness of breath, which may arise 2-14 days after initial exposure […]
By Rachel Cherney “Where did we come from?” “Why are we here?” These questions have been asked since the dawn of modern humans. While these questions often have a more rhetorical, philosophical meaning, there is also a scientific answer as to how modern humans arose and from where they came. We (Homo Sapiens), are the […]
By Rachel Cherney A fungus among us can now produce electricity with the help of cyanobacteria – a certain species of microbe. You read that right, scientists in New Jersey have harnessed nature’s diversity to generate bionic, electricity producing, mushrooms. Microbes, microscopic single-celled organisms, can produce a variety of materials and functions that are […]
With summer fast approaching and many people heading to the beach, we thought it would be a good time to revisit some recent shark discoveries. This post was originally published on February 9, 2017. By Michelle Engle In the past few months, scientists have made some amazing discoveries about sharks. Let’s dive into the new […]
By Yitong Li The recent E. coli outbreak is all over the news these days. These malignant bacteria can be found in romaine lettuce, leafy vegetables, and possibly all salad mixes. Many people have been hospitalized because of it and one person has died. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is […]
By Jennifer Schiller Did you ever want to go to space? Explore a distant planet and discover its secrets? Yeah, me too. So do the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and NASA, who are simulating life on Mars with the missions of the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS). Their goal? Find out how […]
By Christina Marvin Anyone who has lived through a hurricane can tell you these storms are no joke. Before accurate tracking, hurricanes had the potential to wipe out entire cities, such as the Labor Day hurricane in Key West in 1935. With better equipment, lives and property can be saved, although widespread destruction and lasting […]
By Allyson Roberts Regenerative medicine is one of the hottest topics in biomedical science right now. Multiple labs are using inventive approaches to try and find ways to create body parts in the lab. In the United States alone, there are over 120,000 people currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant, and an […]
By Michelle Engle In the past few months, scientists have made some amazing discoveries about sharks. Let’s dive into the new research and what it means for sharks and scientists. In August 2016, a group of Danish scientists published a report in Science that radiocarbon dating had allowed them to investigate the lifespan of the […]
By Sarah Marks For me, one of the most exciting times of the year is in early October, and it’s not just because I love fall leaves, brisk weather, and pumpkin spice lattes. October is when science gets its time in the sun, with the Nobel Prize announcements. A legacy of Alfred Nobel, Nobel Prizes […]
By Lauriel Earley Using the internet gives you access to a wealth of information, but sometimes it’s too much! How do you recognize the good information from the junk information? How do you know if the article you’re reading is true? How do you know if someone is trying to trick you? Now that Tamara […]
By Christina Marvin Crime dramas such as NCIS and Law and Order engross us with images of law enforcement blasting down city streets in pursuit of suspects, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Bringing criminals to justice often relies on the prompt ability to secure a crime scene and interview suspects. But what happens when criminals get away […]
By Tamara Vital Scientists communicate their findings to one another through the primary literature: papers that describe their work and are reviewed by other scientists in the field before being published in scientific journals. When I first started reading scientific papers as a young college student, I enjoyed the science, but wondered how the papers […]
By Michelle Engle Edited by Tamara Vital and Christina Marvin Remember when everyone was dumping buckets of ice water over their heads “in the name of science”? Did you ever wonder what happened after that? When the ALS Ice Bucket challenge went viral in the summer of 2014, everyone from elementary school students to celebrities […]