Category: Evolution

2021-22, Biology, Brain, Ecology, Evolution

Brawn Before Brains in Early Mammalian Development

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Of all vertebrates, mammals have the largest brains in terms of absolute size and relative to body size. Significant encephalization (an increase in brain size relative to body size) has been observed in the placenta of extant mammals. However, until recently it has not yet been determined when mammalian brains began to increase in size and how they evolved to their current … Continue reading Brawn Before Brains in Early Mammalian Development

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2021-22, Cellular and Molecular Science, Evolution, Genetics, Natural World

Fish Out of Water: Uncovering the Mechanisms for Survival in Extreme Environments

Peter Gillespie ’25 Most fish, when left without water, will simply not survive. However, research from Dr. Chi-Kuo Hu from Stony Brook University reveals how the embryos of the African turquoise killifish can survive eight-month long droughts in a dormant state known as diapause. Diapause is a state of suspended animation during which a fully developed killifish may temporarily halt its development. Dr. Hu and … Continue reading Fish Out of Water: Uncovering the Mechanisms for Survival in Extreme Environments

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2021-22, Environment, Evolution, Natural World

Color Adaptation in the Brown Shrimp Crangon crangon

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Many animals have the ability to rapidly change color as a means to adjust to different environments, thermoregulate, and even communicate with other members of their species. This color adaptation is a complex subject, often related to environmental factors, animal behavior, visual perception, and cellular physiology. Specifically, for crustaceans living in intertidal systems where biological and environmental factors vary on multiple spatial … Continue reading Color Adaptation in the Brown Shrimp Crangon crangon

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Environment, Evolution

Freshwater Pond on Southampton Island Contains Traces of the Extinct Sadlermiut People

Joyce Chen ’23 The Sadlermiut were a past civilization that lived on Southampton Island in Nunavut, Canada. Accustomed to the harsh weather of Arctic Canada, the Sadlermiut were natural hunter-gatherers and fishermen. Recovery of past artifacts and skeletal remains suggested that the civilization occupied regions of Southampton Island ranging back to 1250 CE up until 1903, when they were wiped out by a pandemic introduced … Continue reading Freshwater Pond on Southampton Island Contains Traces of the Extinct Sadlermiut People

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Evolution

Evolution of avian brain sizes: The uncovered connection with body size

Sooraj Shah ’24 It is a common belief that the cumulative size of an individual’s fists taken together results in an approximate size of that individual’s brain. By this interpretation, individuals with larger hand sizes should thus have bigger brains. On the contrary, towards the end of the Cretaceous era, the relative brain size of both small avians (birds) and massive non-avians (dinosaurs) were the … Continue reading Evolution of avian brain sizes: The uncovered connection with body size

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Evolution

The Origins of Ancient Pterosaurs

Sabah Bari ’24 Pterosaurs were the first flying reptiles with over 150 million years of evolution. The specific anatomy of pterosaurs is what distinguishes them from other Mesozoic reptiles. They are known as Pan Aves, which means dinosaurs. With new fossil discoveries, researchers are now having a better understanding of a dinosaur’s body structure. The origin of pterosaurs is unknown. However, the structure allows archaeologists … Continue reading The Origins of Ancient Pterosaurs

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Evolution

The preservation of proteins and lipids in mammoth rib bones

Joyce Chen ’23 Despite significant technological advances in the past decade, a great deal of mystery still surrounds the ancient animals that once roamed the earth. In order to learn about these organisms, biologists study the biomolecules that are found within fossils. Biomolecules include proteins and lipids, and their preservation allows scientists to understand and trace evolution. Due to a lack of research on the … Continue reading The preservation of proteins and lipids in mammoth rib bones

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Evolution

Return to the Past

Wendy Wu ’22 Each organism has genes adapted for survival to their environment. But over many generations, the environment may change. In the absence of selective pressures, the expression of certain genes can become too costly to maintain. Through evolution, these genes lose function no matter how beneficial they can be. The ability to regain that function when pressure is once again applied is not … Continue reading Return to the Past

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Astronomy, Ecology, Environment, Evolution, Natural World

Implications of Solar Geoengineering

Ashley Goland ’23 Solar geoengineering is a technology that aims to reflect incoming sunlight away from the Earth to reduce the rise of global temperatures, and one proposed approach is to send aerosols into the atmosphere. Although this method may seem like a quick, relatively cheap way to delay further climate change, the effects it could have upon marine and terrestrial organisms are not yet … Continue reading Implications of Solar Geoengineering

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Environment, Evolution, Natural World

CRISPR Editing in Fruit Flies to Mimic Monarch Butterflies

Ellie Teng ‘21 Monarch butterflies can consume toxic milkweed plants due to mutations in their genome. Both the caterpillar and the butterfly store the consumed toxins to defend against predators. Eating a monarch would cause a predator to regurgitate. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have utilized the CRISPR-Cas9 tool to genetically modified harmless fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to have the ability to eat … Continue reading CRISPR Editing in Fruit Flies to Mimic Monarch Butterflies

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Environment, Evolution, Natural World

Big-Hearted: Arrhythmia in the World’s Largest Living Animal

Mariam Malik ‘22 Bradycardia is a slower-than-normal heart rate, and can vary depending on age and physical condition. According to the American Heart Association, a heart rate lower than sixty beats per minute (BPM) qualifies as bradycardia. Tachycardia, on the other hand, is a heartbeat that is too fast, specifically one that beats over a hundred times per minute. Both conditions vary by age and … Continue reading Big-Hearted: Arrhythmia in the World’s Largest Living Animal

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Biology, Evolution, Health, Health and Medicine

21st Century Mind: The Effects of Blue-Light on the Brain, Retinas, and Rate of Aging

Mariam Malik ‘22 Blue light from electronic devices, such as smartphones and laptops, is of shorter wavelength on the light spectrum, thereby giving off higher amounts of energy. The harmful effects of absorbing too many light rays, such as UV and micro, have been researched and known. However, a recent study at Oregon State University on Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, shows the damaging … Continue reading 21st Century Mind: The Effects of Blue-Light on the Brain, Retinas, and Rate of Aging

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