Category: 2017-18

2017-18

Biological and Cultural Co-Evolution: The Takeover of Specialists

By Maryna Mullerman ‘20 A conventional view that humans acquired language skills solely through biological evolution was challenged by Bart de Boer and Bill Thompson, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands. Their study proposed a mathematical model in which biology and culture played important roles in language acquisition within finite populations. This alternative view argued that biological adaptation changes varied … Continue reading Biological and Cultural Co-Evolution: The Takeover of Specialists

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2017-18

As Plastic Spreads, Diseased Coral Reefs Follow

Gene Yang ‘19 275 million people rely on coral reefs for food, coastal protection, and income from tourism. However, as plastic waste continues to spread throughout the ocean, it transmits disease to these same coral reefs. In the first large-scale study to evaluate this impact of plastic on corals, Dr. Joleah Lamb’s team from Cornell University along with other research teams and institutions surveyed 124,884 … Continue reading As Plastic Spreads, Diseased Coral Reefs Follow

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2017-18

An Evolutionary Arms Race: Speed and Hunting in The African Savannah

By Maryna Mullerman ’20 Prey must run faster than predators to avoid getting killed, while predators must overwhelm prey to avoid starving. There have been numerous studies published on predator-prey relationships, but little research has analyzed high-speed savannah animal locomotion. Alan M. Wilson and researchers from the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London aimed to analyze the locomotor characteristics in two predator-prey pairs: … Continue reading An Evolutionary Arms Race: Speed and Hunting in The African Savannah

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2017-18

How This Tiny Robot Plans to Change the Future of Medicine

By Marcia-Ruth Ndege ‘21 Some of the greatest discoveries in medicine have been driven by the advancement of technology. A group of scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Intelligent Systems, lead by Professor Metin Sitti, is hoping to contribute to such progress with their newly designed mili-robot. The robot is four millimeters in length, as flat as a piece of paper, and made of … Continue reading How This Tiny Robot Plans to Change the Future of Medicine

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2017-18

Fungi’s Role in the Development of Self-Healing Concrete

By Marcia-Ruth Ndege ‘21 While concrete is the world’s most frequently used construction material, it is known to deteriorate quickly under the stress of daily physical and chemical processes. Concrete shrinks in the summer and cracks during the winter, and these cracks allow water to seep into underground steel reinforcement bars, resulting in corrosion. Professor Congrui Jin, an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Binghamton … Continue reading Fungi’s Role in the Development of Self-Healing Concrete

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2017-18

Disease Development Modelled by Induced Pluripotent Cells in 3D Brain Structures

By Marcia-Ruth Ndege ‘21 The rise of three-dimensional brain structures is improving and personalizing medicine by allowing neuroscientists to closely examine the intricacies of the brain. This promising approach is centered around obtaining region-specific 3D brain cultures from individuals and assembling circuits and pathways in the samples. Sergiu Pasca, an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, … Continue reading Disease Development Modelled by Induced Pluripotent Cells in 3D Brain Structures

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2017-18

The Desire for Perfection

By Meenu Johnkutty ‘21 According to the American Psychological Association, the desire to be perfect in multiple areas of life is on the rise among college students. A recent study conducted by lead author Dr. Thomas Curran of the University of Bath is the first to analyze different forms of perfectionism among college students of multiple generations. Dr. Curran and his colleagues defined perfectionism as … Continue reading The Desire for Perfection

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2017-18

Subtleties in Brains of Jazz Pianists and Classical Pianists Explored

By Meenu Johnkutty ‘21 While a number of the beneficial effects of music are well-known, recent research suggest that music not only increases brain plasticity but also plays a robust role in sharpening mental skills and improving speech recognition. Since reading music activates multiple areas of the brain, it is no surprise that the brains of professional musicians are quite different than those of their … Continue reading Subtleties in Brains of Jazz Pianists and Classical Pianists Explored

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2017-18

Graphitic Electro-catalytic Fuel Cells

By Meenu Johnkutty ‘21 For decades, climate scientists have touted wind, solar, and nuclear energy as alternatives to fossil fuels, which, due to their affordability, nonetheless remain an attractive avenue for big oil companies. Recent studies have demonstrated that fuel cells, electrochemical cells that convert hydrogen into electricity, have potential to replace current energy sources. These novel forms of energy are characterized by high efficiency, … Continue reading Graphitic Electro-catalytic Fuel Cells

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2017-18

Mucopolysaccharidoses Treatment with Gene Therapy

By Daniel Walocha ‘19 Muscopolysaccharidoses (MPS) is a lysosomal storage disorder which results from a deficiency of lysosomal enzymes. The lack of enzymes causes an accumulation of glycosaminoglycans that can lead to severe symptoms including heart disease, nervous system damage, and skeletal dysplasia. Enzyme replacement therapies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and substrate reduction therapy are short-lived and temporary resolutions that cannot reach a number of … Continue reading Mucopolysaccharidoses Treatment with Gene Therapy

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2017-18

Nanomaterial’s Potential in Cancer Immunotherapy

By Daniel Walocha ‘19 Immunotherapy is a promising therapy that has potential since it uses the patient’s own immune system to kill cancer cells. This unique quality that is not usually present in radiation or chemotherapy has promise in that it can present a durable treatment that limits metastasis and future recurrences. Since cancer cells rely heavily on immune evasion or suppression to avoid cell … Continue reading Nanomaterial’s Potential in Cancer Immunotherapy

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2017-18

FOXO Proteins Role in Cancer Pathways

By Daniel Walocha ‘19 FOXO proteins have previously been established as transcription factors in genes controlling mitogenic cell growth, metabolism, and proliferation. They contain a common sequence, the forkhead box, which encodes for a string of 80-100 amino acids which form a DNA-binding motif. Though, the specific cancer pathways and crosstalk among the signaling proteins have not been clearly described, Dr. Jian Ma and a … Continue reading FOXO Proteins Role in Cancer Pathways

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