Can A Virtual Reality Stimulation With a Criminal’s Future Self Decrease Self-Destructive Behavior?

Joyce Chen ’23 Many of us have done things that we regret over the course of our lifetime. Some of us develop from our setbacks, while others are imprisoned and ostracized by society. These criminals’ actions were likely impulsive, completely disregarding the consequences that the future may bring. However, poor decisions can be resolved by introspection. Dr. Jean-Louis van Gelder of the Max Planck Institute … Continue reading Can A Virtual Reality Stimulation With a Criminal’s Future Self Decrease Self-Destructive Behavior?

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?

Music-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Improve Test Anxiety

Yukta Kulkarni ’22 From the ages of five to eighteen, school is a major part of a child’s life. A great deal of growing, making memories, and nurturing relationships are experienced during the hours a child is in school. However, education, with a focus on test performance, is considered the most important aspect of attending school. Unfortunately, many children suffer from test anxiety, something that … Continue reading Music-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Improve Test Anxiety

Art and Medicine: The Effects of Technical Drawing Exercises on Spatial Visualization of Humans

Thumyat Noe ’23 Spatial visualization, the ability to visualize shapes and the orientations of objects in space, can help medical students learn human anatomy, which many consider a challenging area of study. Past studies suggest that high spatial visualization positively correlates with increased success in scientific disciplines, leading researchers from Kansas City University to believe that enhancing spatial visualization through technical drawing exercises may help … Continue reading Art and Medicine: The Effects of Technical Drawing Exercises on Spatial Visualization of Humans

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

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

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

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

Novel Early Childhood Predictors for Eating Disorders Give Hope for Improved Treatment

Peter Gillespie ’25 Eating disorders are dangerous and severely impairing mental illnesses that have become extremely prevalent in our youth, affecting up to 13% of young women in particular. Previous studies have identified risk factors, such as sleeping habits and parental eating tendencies, but these findings are inconsistent and focus solely on adolescents, limiting their scope. Dr. Garbrielle Carlson at Stony Brook University researches risks … Continue reading Novel Early Childhood Predictors for Eating Disorders Give Hope for Improved Treatment

Automated Feeding and Restricted Diet Can Lead to Longer Lifespans in Male African Killifish

Yukta Kulkarni ’22 When performing biological research regarding health and disease, it is often not possible to have humans as primary test subjects. Thus, other animals are used for research purposes as they model human developments, have a smaller lifespan, and allow for more efficient research. For example, the African turquoise killifish is a type of fish used for research since it has a lifespan … Continue reading Automated Feeding and Restricted Diet Can Lead to Longer Lifespans in Male African Killifish

Music Shows Positive Effects on Patients with Persistent Somatic Symptoms

Joyce Chen ’23 Somatic symptoms are commonly experienced in everyday life as headaches, fatigue, and bloating. Typically, these symptoms are short-lived. However, individuals with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) or a depressive disorder (DEP) have lingering somatic symptoms for months and even years. In addition to these physical symptoms, individuals may suffer from anxiety and intrusive thoughts. There have been attempts to mitigate such disorders in … Continue reading Music Shows Positive Effects on Patients with Persistent Somatic Symptoms

Repairing Damaged Vocal Cords

Aditi Kaveti ’23 Human vocal cords are structures in the larynx, just above the trachea, that vibrate to create a buzzing tone that becomes what we know as the human voice. This vibration works through resonance, which is the shaping and amplification of sound waves. In patients with laryngeal cancer, vocal cords are at risk due to the mass forming on the glottis. Signs of … Continue reading Repairing Damaged Vocal Cords