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.
Biology, Health and Medicine, Molecular Biology

Improved initial assessments of severe skin burns allow for more accurate assertion of whether or not surgical intervention is required for healing

Maria Sazonova ’26  Burn injuries can result in significant skin necrosis and deep tissue damage. Severe skin burn injuries are dynamic and hard to predict; therefore, initial assessment is paramount because it forms the basis for a subsequent treatment plan. A group of Stony Brook University scientists led by M. Hassan Arbab, funded by The National Institute of General Medical Sciences, created a neural network … Continue reading Improved initial assessments of severe skin burns allow for more accurate assertion of whether or not surgical intervention is required for healing

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Uncategorized

Gold nanoparticles act as catalysts for CO oxidation

Maria Sazonova ’26 Figure 1: Electron micrograph scan of hexagonal gold nanowire array Gold nanoparticles can effectively convert carbon monoxide from harmful waste products into usable fuels. Alexander Orlov and his research team, in collaboration with Brookhaven National Lab scientists and U.S. Air Force Laboratory, conducted a study to explore how gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), widely studied for their high catalytic activity, can accelerate the … Continue reading Gold nanoparticles act as catalysts for CO oxidation

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Ecology, Evolution, Natural World

Investigating the Taxonomy of KNM-ER 1500’s Fossil Remains

Julia Chivu ’23 In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered a 15-piece fossil named KNM-ER 1500 in East Turkana, Kenya. Despite previous examinations, the classification of this fossil has not been determined,  due to severe weathering and fragmentation of the bones. Given the discovery location and morphological features, it has been suggested that KNM-ER 1500 could potentially belong to Paranthropus boisei, Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, or Homo … Continue reading Investigating the Taxonomy of KNM-ER 1500’s Fossil Remains

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Cognition, General Neuroscience, Genetics

The Influence of Epigenetic Age on Cognitive Decline

 Julia Chivu ’23 As people age, their cognitive abilities tend to decline. While chronological age is commonly cited as a reason for this decline, it often fails to explain why some individuals have higher cognitive performance than others of the same age. To address this, epigenetic clocks, which analyze DNA methylation at specific genomic sites correlated with aging, are emerging as useful tools for predicting … Continue reading The Influence of Epigenetic Age on Cognitive Decline

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General Psychology, Neurology, Psychology

Quantifying Affectionate Touch in Romantic Relationships

Julia Chivu ’23 Across cultures and continents, affection serves as a universal bond that unites romantic partners. Researchers from various institutions worldwide collaborated on two studies to better understand and quantify the dynamic between love and touch. The first study sought to investigate the global association between love and touch-related behaviors. The second study examined the correlation between frequencies of affectionate touch and love amongst … Continue reading Quantifying Affectionate Touch in Romantic Relationships

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Brain, Drug Discovery, General Neuroscience, Health and Medicine, Neuroscience

AD-Linked Proteins Linked to Cognitive Impairment Following 9/11 WTC Exposure

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Figure 1: The South Pool of the 9/11 Memorial in New York, New York Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive loss of memory and cognitive thinking skills that typically worsens with age, and is the leading cause of dementia. Key hallmarks of the disease include buildups of two particular proteins – beta-amyloid peptide and phosphorylated tau – … Continue reading AD-Linked Proteins Linked to Cognitive Impairment Following 9/11 WTC Exposure

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Biology, Brain, General Neuroscience

Chronic Pain Signaling Predicted by Orbitofrontal Cortex Signatures

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Figure 1: A sagittal MRI view of the human orbitofrontal cortex. Chronic pain syndromes typically entail persistent pain lasting at least three months, marked by the long-term rewiring of neural circuitry that triggers unprompted pain signals. Measuring chronic pain has long proven challenging due to its entanglement with a wide array of overlapping neural circuits and the subjectivity with which it is … Continue reading Chronic Pain Signaling Predicted by Orbitofrontal Cortex Signatures

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Psychology

Playing traditional cultural games results in greater love for your country?!

Maria Sazonova ‘ 26 Figure 1: Small children joyfully playing Petak Umpet  Petak Umpet is an Indonesian variation on the widespread game of hide and seek, one that provides cultural insight and preservation. Education of the young is extremely important for the wellbeing and future advancement of the State, and traditional games are important cultural based learning resources. A research team from The University of … Continue reading Playing traditional cultural games results in greater love for your country?!

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Ecology, Natural World

Sea spray contributes to ice formation in clouds.

 Maria Sazonova ‘ 26 Figure 1: Ocean sea spray containing SSA particles at sunset Evaluating ice nucleation kinetics in cloud formation is essential for enhancing our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions, as well as speculating on the larger effects of SSAs, sea spray aerosol particles, on climate change. SSA ambient particles are a constant natural source of atmospheric aerosol and a recognized source of ice-nucleating particles … Continue reading Sea spray contributes to ice formation in clouds.

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Cell Cycle, Physics

Careful, It’s Hot! How Particle Collisions Help us Understand Quark-Gluon Soup

Sidney Padmanaban ‘ 26 Figure 1 Quarks are building blocks of matter, and by studying them, we can understand larger concepts of physics. Large aspects of life cannot be studied without understanding the small building blocks that contribute to every part of the universe. Entire fields of physics and chemistry are dedicated towards the study of particles. Recently, two professors at Stony Brook University, Roy … Continue reading Careful, It’s Hot! How Particle Collisions Help us Understand Quark-Gluon Soup

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General Psychology, Psychology

A Mother’s Love: How Maternal Instinct Might be Triggered by Texture

Sidney Padmanaban ’26 Figure 1 Ducklings will often follow the first animal to imprint on them, even if it isn’t a duck. Imprinting, when a young animal comes to recognize another being as an object of habitual trust, is instinctual and a very important part of relationships. As soon as babies are born, they begin to become imprinted by the people in their lives. Previously, … Continue reading A Mother’s Love: How Maternal Instinct Might be Triggered by Texture

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Cellular and Molecular Science, Genetics

Investigating the Unexpected Results of Ape1 Inhibitors

Julia Chivu ’23 Figure 1  DNA strand unwinding causing the formation of the replication fork followed by DNA replication. Genomic DNA is constantly at risk of molecular decay. To address this issue, base excision DNA repair (BER) plays a critical role in fixing the minor DNA damage. In particular, Ape1 (or apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease) is a multifunctional protein that is a key component in BER. Ape1 … Continue reading Investigating the Unexpected Results of Ape1 Inhibitors

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