Category: Health and Medicine

2021-22, Cancer, Health and Medicine

Onions and Garlic May Help Reduce Stomach Cancer Risk

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Stomach cancer, or gastric cancer, is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and dietary habits play an important role in the development of this cancer. For example, heavy alcohol consumption or high consumption of salt-preserved foods increases the risk of stomach cancer, while diets rich in fruits or vegetables decrease the risk. However, the specific types of vegetables that are … Continue reading Onions and Garlic May Help Reduce Stomach Cancer Risk

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2021-22, Chemistry, Health and Medicine

From Sugars to Medicine: Advancements in Selective Carbohydrate Modification

Peter Gillespie ’25 What if simple sugars could be turned into vital medicines? Dr. Ming-Yu Ngai and his team at Stony Brook University are making this dream a reality.  Due to their relevance in cell-cell recognition, protein folding, inflammation, and infection, carbohydrate modification poses an intriguing avenue through which scientists can treat issues from viral infection to malfunctions in protein folding. Changing the character of … Continue reading From Sugars to Medicine: Advancements in Selective Carbohydrate Modification

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2021-22, COVID-19, Disease

Usage of Music Therapy on Anxiety-Presenting COVID-19 Patients

Sooraj Shah ’24 A rise in chronic respiratory and cardiac ailments has been attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. However, one overlooked consequence of COVID-19 is isolation, which increases the risk of developing stress-related disorders, such as anxiety and depression, as patients ponder whether separation is permanent. Previous research supports music as an important tool in addressing this psychological distress, as it has been shown to … Continue reading Usage of Music Therapy on Anxiety-Presenting COVID-19 Patients

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2021-22, COVID-19, music

Using Computation Fluid Dynamics to Mitigate Airborne Disease Transmission in Orchestras

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many performing arts groups such as choirs, orchestras, opera, and dance companies have suffered a heavy loss. This is mainly because COVID-19 can be spread through infectious aerosols produced by singing or playing wind instruments, which led to show cancellations throughout the industry. To assess mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of infection to performers, … Continue reading Using Computation Fluid Dynamics to Mitigate Airborne Disease Transmission in Orchestras

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2021-22, Cancer, Cellular and Molecular Science

An Enzyme-Activating Protein may be a Switch for Invasive Cancer

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Many breast cancer (BC) patients suffer from complications of metastatic disease. In order to form metastasis, cancer cells must switch from a proliferative to an invasive state and overcome several physical barriers to reach another site. Interestingly, increased invasiveness of the tumor is accompanied by a decrease in its cell proliferation capacity. For breast cancer, some proteins may help this proliferative-to-invasive switch … Continue reading An Enzyme-Activating Protein may be a Switch for Invasive Cancer

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2021-22, education, Health and Medicine

Making Magic in Medical Settings: How Magic May Improve the Patient-Student Connection

Thumyat Noe ’23 Many medical students often find themselves feeling emotionally detached from the illness experiences of patients. To combat this sentiment, medical education curricula recommend that students gain clinical immersion experience early to enhance students’ awareness of the patient experience. Past clinical findings suggest that performing magic acts as part of clinical immersion experience can further improve relations between medical staff and child patients. … Continue reading Making Magic in Medical Settings: How Magic May Improve the Patient-Student Connection

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2021-22, COVID-19, mental health

The COVID-19 Pandemic is Associated with Increased Rates of OCD in Pregnant Women

Yukta Kulkarni ’22 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder indicated by intrusive thoughts, such as fears of uncleanliness, which lead to repetitive behaviors. While it is common in the US, OCD rates have increased in the overall population due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is thought that higher OCD occurrences are due to fear of how contagious the virus is and how little … Continue reading The COVID-19 Pandemic is Associated with Increased Rates of OCD in Pregnant Women

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2021-22, Health, well-being

COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Stress Factors Can Influence Perinatal Outcomes in Pregnant Women

Joyce Chen ’23 The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe physical and psychological burdens on individuals around the world. Aside from the disease itself, extended quarantine periods and the inability to socialize with others have had a tremendous impact on mental wellbeing. Among the many who were negatively affected by COVID-19, pregnant women tend to feel higher levels of anxiety and stress, thereby leading to decreased … Continue reading COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Stress Factors Can Influence Perinatal Outcomes in Pregnant Women

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2021-22, Health and Medicine

Investigating Interleukin-17 Activity: One Step Closer to Treating Crohn’s Disease?

Sooraj Shah ’24 About 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with foreboding statistics indicating a rise in the disease’s prevalence. Crohn’s disease debilitates a patient through inflammation of the digestive tract, leading to severe pain and cramping in the abdominal area. The inflammation associated with the IBD is a response to invading pathogens by a … Continue reading Investigating Interleukin-17 Activity: One Step Closer to Treating Crohn’s Disease?

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2021-22, Health, Health and Medicine

Dancing: The Secret to Reducing Childbirth Pain

Peter Gillespie ’25 Birth is a psychologically traumatic experience for more than 40% of women. In fact, pain during labor has been linked to depression in the weeks after birth. Current methods to reduce pain predominantly focus on pharmacological and physical support, neglecting the psychologically taxing aspect of childbirth. To maximize comfort, it is vital to incorporate emotional support into pain relief for mothers as … Continue reading Dancing: The Secret to Reducing Childbirth Pain

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2021-22, General Psychology, Health, Health and Medicine

The Role of OCD in Oral Health of Affected Individuals

Thumyat Noe ’23 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder characterized by disturbing thoughts and repetitive behaviors. Presentations of OCD include excessive cleaning and extreme fixation with symmetry or order. Psychiatrists treat OCD through prescribing antidepressants and selective serotonin uptake inhibitors. According to previous studies, mental health disorders can reduce oral health by increasing inflammatory biomarkers. However, OCD patients exhibit unique obsessions with cleaning … Continue reading The Role of OCD in Oral Health of Affected Individuals

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2021-22, COVID-19, education, Psychology, well-being

Discrimination During COVID-19 Exacerbates Academic Disconnect of Asian Students

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Since January 2020, the world has been suffering from a pandemic brought about by COVID-19. In addition to the direct health threat posed by the virus, a survey showed that the rate of racist and xenophobic attacks against Asians increased all over the globe, especially in the United States. In fact, the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center has reported 3,800 hate crimes … Continue reading Discrimination During COVID-19 Exacerbates Academic Disconnect of Asian Students

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