Author: Young Investigators Review

The Young Investigators Review is Stony Brook University's undergraduate-oriented, all-inclusive science journal. Founded in 2008, our mission is to provide the student community with a way to learn more about the research currently being done on-campus by their faculty and fellow peers. We feature articles that span all fields, from Physics to Neuroscience, as well as original student research reports straight from the campus laboratories. Our journal offers aspiring talented future researchers and physicians a way to hone their science writing skills and spread word of their experiences to inspire incoming students to think about devoting their futures to the various fields of science.
Technology

Self-Healing Gel Makes the Future of Technology More Flexible

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie Image acquired from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/creative_stock/5227842611 Figure 2: weak points like junctions and bends in circuits could use the self-healing, conductive gel to keep circuits from wearing.   As technology advances, people in today’s society strive for slimmer, curved, and more flexible gadgets. Typical conductive materials for circuits are not exactly suitable for the latest tech to meet these futuristic features. To address this problem, … Continue reading Self-Healing Gel Makes the Future of Technology More Flexible

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology

Root Microbiomes Influence Plant Growth and DevelopmentRoot Microbiomes Influence Plant Growth and Development

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie Image acquired from: http://www.the-scientist.com/images/January2013/microbe_infograph_full.jpg Figure 1: The community of microorganisms that live around and in the tissues of plants can affect the plant’s growth and development.   When thinking of ways to improve plant growth, one may think of relations between genetics, climate and available nutrition. However, Dr. Ulrich Mueller of the University of Texas and Dr. Joel Sachs of University of California … Continue reading Root Microbiomes Influence Plant Growth and DevelopmentRoot Microbiomes Influence Plant Growth and Development

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Technology

Your Robot Coworker Won’t Be Stealing Your Job After All

By Cerise Carey Is artificial intelligence as big of a threat to your job as it may seem? Researchers with the McKinsey Global Institute suggest not. Their research indicates that less than five percent of jobs and forty-five percent of general work activities could be automated. Jobs that could benefit from some activities becoming automated include physicians, financial managers, and senior executives. However, there are … Continue reading Your Robot Coworker Won’t Be Stealing Your Job After All

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology, Medicine and Physiology

Are There Racial Differences in Cancer?

By Cerise Carey Americans of African descent are at a higher risk for developing gastrointestinal (GI) cancers than other individuals, but are there racially determined differences in the cancer itself? Dr. Ellen Li and her colleagues from Stony Brook University are teaming up with SUNY Downstate and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to try to find an answer to this question by looking into the biological … Continue reading Are There Racial Differences in Cancer?

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology

Images of a Replisome Offer a New Look at DNA Replication

By Cerise Carey Scientists have never been able to capture an image of the molecules behind DNA replication until now. A team of researchers from Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Rockefeller University, including Dr. Huilin Li of Stony Brook University’s Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, were able to produce the first real structural image of a replisome using electron microscopy techniques. A … Continue reading Images of a Replisome Offer a New Look at DNA Replication

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Psychology

Scientists Use Computer Modeling to Determine if Information is Contagious

By Lee Ann Santore Stony Brook University’s own researchers, Christian Luhmann and Suparna Rajaram, have conducted a study that will make students think twice about studying with a group. The study aimed to determine whether or not information is contagious in the same way that behaviors like smoking are. Their experiment involved the use of advanced computer modeling to simulate individuals and groups of humans. … Continue reading Scientists Use Computer Modeling to Determine if Information is Contagious

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology, Medicine and Physiology

Scientists Penetrate the Blood-Brain Barrier Using Microscopic Bubbles

By Lee Ann Santore The blood-brain barrier acts as a shield to the brain and prevents toxins from reaching the central nervous system. Unfortunately, it also prevents the passage of medicines into the brain. A team of Canadian researchers from the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, led by Todd Mainprize, has developed a technique to penetrate the blood-brain barrier by injecting microscopic bubbles into the bloodstreams … Continue reading Scientists Penetrate the Blood-Brain Barrier Using Microscopic Bubbles

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology

Microflowers Offer an Innovative New Microform Structure

By Lee Ann Santore Microforms that take on the structure of flowers could be the future of cutting-edge technology. A team of researchers, from the RMIT-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Research Centre, led by Dr. Sheshanath Boshanale, succeeded in developing microforms, microscopic images used for storage of larger images, with flower-like structures. The microflowers have exciting potential in many fields, such as optoelectronics, nanotechnology, and … Continue reading Microflowers Offer an Innovative New Microform Structure

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology, Medicine and Physiology

Amblyomma americanum and a New Disease

By Karis Tutuska As bloodsuckers and disease-carriers, ticks are many people’s worst nightmares. However, a recent study conducted by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene has shown that the rapid spreading of an aggressively-biting, disease-carrying tick species may be a blessing in disguise. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an often-deadly disease carried by American dog ticks. Since 2012, the number of reported cases has … Continue reading Amblyomma americanum and a New Disease

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Psychology

Study Suggests Children with Religious Upbringing are Less Altruistic

By Karis Tutuska Image Acquired from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Children_marbles.jpg Figure Caption: Study tests altruism in children with religious and non-religious upbringings Many assume that religion plays a crucial role in a child’s moral development. However, a recent study at the University of Chicago suggests that children raised with a religious background are less altruistic than those who are were raised secularly. The experiment was conducted on children aged … Continue reading Study Suggests Children with Religious Upbringing are Less Altruistic

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology

A Snapshot of the Memory Mechanism

By  Karis Tutuska Image Acquired from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internexin#/media/File:Microglia_and_neurons.jpg  Figure Caption: Neurons predisposed to joining networks that take place in learning may provide a visual of the memory mechanism Have you ever wondered what memories look like? A group of neuroscientists at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have captured a visual of the memory mechanism by studying the swim motor program of Tritonia, a genus … Continue reading A Snapshot of the Memory Mechanism

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology

GMO-less GMOs

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie Image Acquired from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cas9 Figure 3: The Cas9 complex can be used for modifying the genome of edible plants without introducing foreign DNA   Although genetically modified organisms with DNA from another species (GMOs) have effectively maintained food supply, recently, there have been concerns about the safety of consuming them. To avoid the shunned upon and highly regulated label of GMO, researchers from … Continue reading GMO-less GMOs

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment