Category: Year

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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Chemistry, 2025-26

Synthesized Organic Fluorescent Dye used to Image Long Term Live-Cell Interactions

By Anthony Barone , Class of 2029 Figure 1.  Image of cells marked with different fluorescent dyes Organic fluorescent dyes have a wide range of uses, including live single-cell imaging and tracking protein movement. Fluorescent dyes allow biologists to observe protein interactions on the cellular level. However, current fluorescent dyes are only visible for tens of seconds before photobleaching, where they are chemically destroyed as … Continue reading Synthesized Organic Fluorescent Dye used to Image Long Term Live-Cell Interactions

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2025-26, Health and Medicine

Hocus POCUS: Let’s Find The Lung

By Sajia Athai Class of 2026 Figure 1  Pneumothorax (PTX), the collapse of a lung, is an integral condition that existing techniques in the past have incorrectly diagnosed.  New advances show more accurate diagnosis methods, highlighting patient sensitivity and responsiveness. In trauma patients, there are established techniques that are utilized to detect pneumothorax (a collapsed lung), typically consisting of a supine chest x-ray. In a … Continue reading Hocus POCUS: Let’s Find The Lung

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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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2025-26, Health and Medicine

U-Found “Finds” The Prostate

By Sajia Athai, Class of 2026 Figure 1    The U-Found software tool was designed to detect cancer in the prostate based on analysis of the entire gland, rather than a few regions of interest. Dr. Joel Saltz, the Founding Chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Stony Brook University, is part of a team of researchers who have developed a new AI software … Continue reading U-Found “Finds” The Prostate

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2025-26, Physics and Technology

From Palette to Plane: A Linear Path to Pigment Mixing

By Sajia Athai, Class of 2026 Figure 1  Pigments are mixed to produce new hues across a range of industries. These mixtures are predicted using distinct color coordination systems.  The illusion of mixing paints seems to be simply rooted in visual perception and appearance to the eye. As painters stroke their brushes across a canvas, it is easy for the observer to see how the … Continue reading From Palette to Plane: A Linear Path to Pigment Mixing

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2025-26, Health and Medicine

Your Skin as a Reflection of Your Behavior and Health

By: Judy Zhao, Class of 2029 Figure 1. A woman’s skin under the sun As one of the most vital organs of the human body, the skin serves as a protective barrier against environmental stressors. Research conducted under Dr. Lajos Kemény at Semmelweis University investigated neural pathways that link skin and hair color with the central nervous system (CNS). This link, referred to as the … Continue reading Your Skin as a Reflection of Your Behavior and Health

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2025-26, Health and Medicine

Shaping Future Physicians Through Service Learning

By: Judy Zhao, Class of 2029 Figure 1. A representation of the COVID-19 virus Just like education everywhere else, the COVID-19 pandemic shook the typical medical student’s experiences in the classroom. For millions of medical students worldwide, they suddenly lost access to the in-person and hands-on learning experiences that they were originally promised. A recent study by Dr. Lu from Stony Brook University and her … Continue reading Shaping Future Physicians Through Service Learning

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2025-26, Physics and Technology

Color-Changing Light Systems in Adaptive Camouflage

By: Judy Zhao, Class of 2029 Figure 1. Image of a chameleon on a branch The very survival of many animals in nature depends on how well they blend into their environment. From chameleons’ shifting hues to cephalopods’ ability to change the pattern of their skin, there are many strategies for camouflaging that material scientists now aim to replicate. This study by Dr. Gong at … Continue reading Color-Changing Light Systems in Adaptive Camouflage

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2025-26, General Neuroscience

Blood Flow Disruptions as an Early Warning Sign of Alzheimer’s Disease

By: Judy Zhao, Class of 2029 Figure 1. Image of a white rat, often used as a model organism in basic scientific experiments One of the most significant pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the buildup of amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque in the brain. A study conducted by Dr. Kim and colleagues at Stony Brook University investigated the association between brain blood flow and the … Continue reading Blood Flow Disruptions as an Early Warning Sign of Alzheimer’s Disease

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2025-26, General Neuroscience

Cholinergic Interneurons and Nicotinic Receptors are drivers of Serotonin Release in the Dorsal Striatum

By Kang Lai 2026 The dorsal striatum is a major input region of the basal ganglia and plays critical roles in goal-directed and habit learning. Neural processes within this region are largely shaped by serotonin, also known as 5-HT. Previous research has shown that monoamines and acetylcholine (ACh) can regulate the release of each other in the striatum. For example, dopamine causes excitation of striatal … Continue reading Cholinergic Interneurons and Nicotinic Receptors are drivers of Serotonin Release in the Dorsal Striatum

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