Category: Natural World

2025-26, Natural World

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

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2025-26, Natural World

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

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2025-26, Natural World

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

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2025-26, Natural World

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

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2025-26, Natural World

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

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2025-26, Natural World

Climate Changes the Color of Flowers, but not for Pollinators

By Anthony Barone, Class of 2029 Figure 1.  Purple Mistress (Mordicandia arvensis) during the spring flowering season. In nature, the pigment of flower petals changes as a response to heat, increasing the concentration of molecules that absorb more harmful radiation. This change could result in a difference in visibility from a human’s perspective, but what about pollinators? Eduardo Narbona and his team at the University … Continue reading Climate Changes the Color of Flowers, but not for Pollinators

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2025-26, Natural World

New Climate Model for Rainfall in East Asia

By Anthony Barone, Class of 2029 Figure 1.  Topographical map of the Tibetan Plateau Orographic drag is the phenomenon in which momentum is exchanged between the uneven topography and the atmosphere, causing momentum fluxes and large-scale circulation alterations. This drag directly affects the amount of precipitation that a region receives. Current climate models use a 2D scheme that does not accurately represent anisotropy, directional dependence. … Continue reading New Climate Model for Rainfall in East Asia

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2025-26, Natural World

Glimpse into the Hue-nique Life of A Phototroph

By Sajia Athai Class of 2026 Figure 1  Phototrophs have tremendous potential to play a leading role in sustainable pigment production for industrial applications. Colors are essential to food ingredients, cosmetic products, and material composition. Phototrophic microorganisms utilize CO2 in distinct ways to cultivate new purification, culturing, and extraction methods to promote heightened pigment productivity in color production. Synthetic dye was more commonly used in … Continue reading Glimpse into the Hue-nique Life of A Phototroph

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Environment, YIWC 2025

Environment Science – Hannah Sack

Society faces an important challenge, namely managing climate change while accommodating the world’s growing population and demand for renewable energy. To address this challenge, and move toward a low-footprint, low-emission future, nuclear power has become a viable solution. Currently, nuclear power provides about ten percent of global electricity, rising to nearly twenty percent for the industrialized economies (Limin et al., 2023), and supplies almost a … Continue reading Environment Science – Hannah Sack

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Biology, Ecology, Environment, Molecular Biology

Tiny Plastics, Big Impact: How Microplastics Affect Earthworms and Soil Health

Author: Diego Javier, Class of 2026 A concern that is emerging worldwide is plastic contamination in agricultural soils. Farmers frequently use plastic mulching films in order to improve crop yields and control weeds. However, these films can break down into tiny fragments, called microplastics, which are then ingested by soil organisms like earthworms and can affect soil health. In order to better understand these effects, … Continue reading Tiny Plastics, Big Impact: How Microplastics Affect Earthworms and Soil Health

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Disease, Ecology, Environment, Natural World

Climate Change and Zoonotic Diseases

Author:  Antonia Truta, Class of 2028 The World Health Organization’s definition of zoonosis is any disease or infection naturally transmissible from animals to humans, or vice versa. Animals are important to understanding disease transmission, with over 60% of emerging infectious diseases having zoonotic origins. Yet, to fully understand the context of zoonotic disease outbreaks, we must look at our interactions with nature in a larger … Continue reading Climate Change and Zoonotic Diseases

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Ecology, Environment, Natural World

The Effect of Wildfires on Air Pollution and Mortality in the United States

Author: Amal Bilal, Class of 2028 Wildfires are becoming increasingly prominent and intense in the United States as a result of evolving climate change and human settlements in fire-prone areas. Although the major health impacts of air pollution caused by wildfires are known, there is less research on the direct impact of this pollution on mortality. Michigan State University researchers Zeying Huang and Mark Skidmore … Continue reading The Effect of Wildfires on Air Pollution and Mortality in the United States

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