Nature

The Ripple Effect: Leading By Example

The Ripple Effect: Leading By Example

Plastic pollution is one of the most urgent crisis we are facing today. ​ Scientists consume a massive amounts of plastic in the lab, at home, and with their food and drink choices. Research is clear about the negative effects of plastic. As a community that demands policies based on scientific […]

Parts Per Millions: Taking A Closer Look at the Relationships of Life on Earth

Parts Per Millions: Taking A Closer Look at the Relationships of Life on Earth

“Symbioses are the ultimate examples of success through collaboration and the powerful benefits of intimate relationships.” – David Relman When studying science and the world around us, there is a tendency to walk a reductionist path, breaking every system down to individual components in order […]

Podcast: Can you hear the shape of a drum?

Podcast: Can you hear the shape of a drum?

Can you tell the shape of a drum just by hearing it?  Phil Kidd walks us through this historical physics problem, how it relates to modern quantum physics, and how it can help us get smaller phones and faster electronics.  

Tiny, parasitic wasps are really cool. (5 reasons why I spent two years watching wasp sex)

Tiny, parasitic wasps are really cool. (5 reasons why I spent two years watching wasp sex)

In college, I spent two years of my life asking: when two species of wasps mate, why do their hybrid offspring die? To try and figure this out, I watched wasps have sex, counted the eggs they laid after mating, counted any adults that survived […]

Naked Mole Rats Are Not Pretty.

Naked Mole Rats Are Not Pretty.

By Emily Dennis, @emilyjanedennis Naked mole rats are neither moles, nor rats. They are mammals, but they live in bee-like colonies. They have eyes, but can barely see. They live for a long time (up to 30 years!) but rarely get cancer. Naked mole rats […]

Mutant Mosquito Solves Mysteries of Attraction and Repulsion

Mutant Mosquito Solves Mysteries of Attraction and Repulsion

By Matthew DeGennaro, @mattdegennaro  Not all mosquitoes have a taste for human blood. But when they do bite us, they can potentially introduce a blood-borne infectious agent, like the virus that causes dengue fever or the microorganism that causes malaria. The goal of my research in […]