2025 YIWC has concluded!
✨ Congratulations to the Winners of YIR’s Annual High School Science Writing Competition! ✨ We at the Young Investigators Review are thrilled to share the results of this year’s High School Writing Competition—designed to celebrate curiosity, creativity, and the next generation of scientific thinkers. In our largest application pool yet, talented students and aspiring scientists from across the country submitted pieces answering prompts in 1 … Continue reading 2025 YIWC has concluded!
SBYIR Spring 2025 Staff Applications Are Open!
Our staff application for the Spring 2025 season is open! This time, the journal theme is food science. Positions include the following: To apply, follow this link here. Applications are due by February 9th at 11:59PM. Any questions? Reach out to us at younginvestigators@gmail.com or send us a DM on our Instagram @SBYIR! Continue reading SBYIR Spring 2025 Staff Applications Are Open!
Spring 2025 Journal Theme
The theme for our Spring 2025 Young Investigators Review Journal has been decided! The winner was FOOD SCIENCE! Looking forward to the scrumptious work that our writers come up with! Continue reading Spring 2025 Journal Theme
Mechanical Stress on Acral Melanomas Induces DNA Damage
By Julian Namerow, Class of 2026 Melanomas are deadly skin cancers, with certain subtypes carrying an 80% mortality rate because they respond poorly to immune-, radio-, and chemotherapy treatments. Sun-exposed melanomas are a highly prevalent melanoma variant that cause DNA damage and mutation. However, acral melanomas are genetically diverse and occur in areas with low sun exposure and high mechanical loads due to physical pressure. … Continue reading Mechanical Stress on Acral Melanomas Induces DNA Damage
Turning Human Tissue Clear
By Julian Namerow, Class of 2026 The human body is composed of organ systems that span far, intricately, and seamlessly to perform essential biological functions, such as the neurons that span to the tips of one’s toes and trace all the way back through the spinal cord to the brain. Current methods for understanding large-scale tissue architecture at microstructural resolutions are challenging. They involve tissue … Continue reading Turning Human Tissue Clear
Creation of Instant Collagen
By Julian Namerow, Class of 2026 Collagen I is a vital protein found in the extracellular matrix—the structural scaffold between cells—where it provides physical support to tissues. Collagen provides structure at micro and macro scales, and plays a key role in governing biophysical cues that regulate cell behavior. Recently, self-assembled collagen hydrogels have been widely used as tissue models; they have very limited versatility in … Continue reading Creation of Instant Collagen
The use of Probiotics can Mitigate the Damage Done by Microplastics in the Gut
By Julian Namerow, Class of 2026 Figure 1:The most commonly found microplastics in food are from the clear plastic wrapping surrounding this red tomato and all other vegetables. Micro- and nanoplastics are now present in human gastrointestinal tracts, derived primarily from food packaging materials, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is essentially what all meat, fruits, and vegetables are wrapped in at grocery stores: the … Continue reading The use of Probiotics can Mitigate the Damage Done by Microplastics in the Gut
Light, Darkness, and the Evolution of Deep-Sea Sight
By Ilian Medarov, Class of 2028 Figure 1: Oplophoridae, Deep-Sea Shrimp In the deep sea, sunlight fails to penetrate water at depths past a kilometer, and bioluminescence becomes a primary source of illumination. This leaves the organisms living down here to rely on highly specialized visual systems to navigate the dark environments. Researchers decided to investigate how differences in light exposure due to environmental factors … Continue reading Light, Darkness, and the Evolution of Deep-Sea Sight
Spatial Segregation and Bycatch Risk in Wandering Albatross Populations
By Ilian Medarov, Class of 2028 Figure 1:Wandering Albatross Seabirds are important members of our ocean’s ecosystem, and when foraging, they exhibit spatial segregation that can expose them to environmental threats. Understanding these segregation patterns is vital for conservation, especially in endangered populations or those that are on the decline. V. Warwick-Evans and colleagues aimed to figure out if the differences in the population decline … Continue reading Spatial Segregation and Bycatch Risk in Wandering Albatross Populations
Seeing the Invisible: How Viewing Conditions Shape the Colors Birds Display
By Ilian Medarov, Class of 2028 Birds are some of the most colorful members of the animal kingdom, flaunting their colors to attract mates, communicate, and avoid predators. However, scientists are still figuring out how the different environments they evolved in brought about these colors over time. Researchers Jamie Dunning, Catherine Sheard, and John A. Endler decided to investigate this in a 2025 study that … Continue reading Seeing the Invisible: How Viewing Conditions Shape the Colors Birds Display
Fishing Pressure and the Shrinking Fish of Lake Turkana
By Ilian Medarov, Class of 2028 Figure 1: Lates niloticus, AKA the Nile perch In Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake, fish have been shrinking for a century. Madison F. Muehl and colleagues from Stony Brook University have set out to determine if growing commercial fishing pressure has impacted the biology of the fish species residing in the lake. Commercial fishing can drastically change the … Continue reading Fishing Pressure and the Shrinking Fish of Lake Turkana
Photocatalytic Removal of Methyl Red Dye from Water
By Samantha Libbey, Class of 2027 Figure 1: Polluted body of water. A major source of water pollution is industrial waste. One of the major contributors to this waste is the textile industry, where synthetic dyes are widely used and are not easily broken down in the environment. In response, researchers from the Kermanshah University of Technology set out to find a new method of … Continue reading Photocatalytic Removal of Methyl Red Dye from Water
What the Frontal Sinus Reveals About Human Evolution in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Samantha Libbey, Class of 2027 Figure 1: Map of Africa highlighting in blue the region inhabited by the Khoe-San population. Human fossils have long been used to study evolution and human diversity by comparing anatomical features across populations. One feature of interest among anthropologists is the frontal sinus, an air-filled space found in the forehead. While its exact function is still debated, it is … Continue reading What the Frontal Sinus Reveals About Human Evolution in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Sound of Color: How Timbre Influences Our Color Association
By Samantha Libbey, Class of 2027 Figure 1: Woman listening to music. Have you ever described a song as “bright”, or the sound of a violin as “warm”? These are words typically associated with color; however, in some cases they are used to describe sound. But what do these words and their usage reveal about the connection between color and sound? Researchers from the Herberger … Continue reading The Sound of Color: How Timbre Influences Our Color Association
Bridging Communication: How SpellRing Improves ASL Fingerspelling Recognition
By Samantha Libbey, Class of 2027 Figure 1: Conversation in sign language. In American Sign Language (ASL), certain words, including proper nouns and names, have to be manually spelled out in a technique known as fingerspelling. In conversation, fingerspelling can comprise up to 35% of signed language, driving research on technology that could improve accessibility for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals. Prior technological … Continue reading Bridging Communication: How SpellRing Improves ASL Fingerspelling Recognition
