Virtual Reality as a Means of Neuroplasticity
Tiffany Ang, Class of 2025 Neuroplasticity is defined as the brain’s ability to create and reorganize neural connections in response to learning and or following injury. This reorganization can be structural or functional, resulting from learning or brain damage respectively. Virtual reality (VR) offers an integrative approach to enhance neuroplasticity by producing controlled yet engaging environments that imitate real-life experiences and promote realistic patterns of … Continue reading Virtual Reality as a Means of Neuroplasticity
Age Affects Lethality of Powassan Virus
Tiffany Ang, Class of 2025 The Powassan virus (POWV) is a member of the Flavivirus genus, an enveloped, positive-strand RNA virus transmitted by arthropod vectors, such as ticks. POWS is present in tick saliva and initially causes an asymptomatic infection. However, it can progress to cause encephalitis, brain inflammation, and neuronal cell depletion, among other central nervous system (CNS) damage. The study aims to examine … Continue reading Age Affects Lethality of Powassan Virus
Battlefront: The Nano DLC
By Farzad Hoque, Class of 2028 On the battlefield, the adjacent role of nanocarriers is logistical. They provide munitions support and focused attention to the battlefield. In the body, the focus is on how these nanocarriers can improve the fight against cancer–specificity, reduce toxicity, and sustain the efficacy of immunological agents–all by modulating the antitumor immune response. In prior wars with cancer, the body’s arsenal … Continue reading Battlefront: The Nano DLC
The Neural Network Memory Update
By Farzad Hoque, Class of 2028 Understanding how the brain balances learning and memory is one of neuroscience’s biggest challenges. New research uncovers how synaptic plasticity and metastable dynamics in cortical circuits work together in neural networks, shedding light on the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt and reorganize. Dr.Yang and Dr.La Camera at Stony Brook University discovered synaptic weights stabilize near a critical threshold, enabling … Continue reading The Neural Network Memory Update
EEG Research in Maternal Health – Implications and Resolutions of Racial Disparities
Author: Luis Caseñas, Class of 2026 Figure 1: EEG cap and electrodes placed on the head of a participant; the blunt nature of these electrodes works better with hair types from a white population rather than black. Maternal health refers to mothers’ physical and mental well-being during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. In the study of maternal health, electroencephalography (EEG), which generates event-related potentials (ERPs), is … Continue reading EEG Research in Maternal Health – Implications and Resolutions of Racial Disparities
Telemedicine Visits: Alternative Approach to Healthcare?
Author: Amal Bilal, Class of 2028 Figure 1: Doctor and patient using telemedicine. Telemedicine has become increasingly popular because of its ability to increase savings for patients and providers, reduce hospital readmissions, and enhance patient quality of care. The COVID-19 pandemic saw an 80% decline in in-person health visits and a 683% increase in telemedicine visits between March 2 and April 14, 2020 (1). Teleophthalmology, … Continue reading Telemedicine Visits: Alternative Approach to Healthcare?
Harnessing the Attention-Grabbing Power of Video Games for Scientific Progress
Author: Sean Krivitsky, Class of 2026 Figure 1. Oil painting visualization of a video game player. Citizen science is a common strategy employed by researchers across many specializations to harness the input of the public to further scientific research. The billions of video game players worldwide posed an opportunity for scientists using citizen science and, from there, emerged Citizen Science Games (CSGs). However, converting scientific … Continue reading Harnessing the Attention-Grabbing Power of Video Games for Scientific Progress
Understanding the Mechanisms of the Leading Cause of Death in Cancer Patients
Author: Sean Krivitsky, Class of 2026 Figure 1. Animated representation of the release of cytokines in the extracellular environment. Cancer is a disease that wreaks devastation on the bodies of the patients it afflicts. Cancerous tumor cells lead to the sickness observed in cancer patients in a variety of ways, but one of the primary causes of cancer-related sickness and death is referred to as … Continue reading Understanding the Mechanisms of the Leading Cause of Death in Cancer Patients
Skill Issue: The Effect of FPS Games on Cortical Activity
Author: Ishmam Khan, Class of 2025 Figure 1: The FPS genre of gaming has widespread connections around the world, demonstrating its popularity The FPS, or first-person shooter, genre of gaming has a controversial history. In the 1990s, there was a scare regarding the impact such games would have on children. Some worries included, but were not limited to: increased levels of aggression, poor emotional and … Continue reading Skill Issue: The Effect of FPS Games on Cortical Activity
What do Machines Know of Depression? Explaining Past Failures of Clinical Algorithms About MDD
Author: Ishmam Khan, Class of 2025 Figure 1: MDD is a devastating, extremely common, and fast-growing disease in terms of suffering, mortality, and cost to society. Since COVID-19, the rates of mental health disorders have increased significantly. One such disorder is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), a serious disorder affecting more than 8% of the US population. As of 2024, the remission rates, or rate of … Continue reading What do Machines Know of Depression? Explaining Past Failures of Clinical Algorithms About MDD
In Depth into AI: How AI Affects Students Creativity and Development
Emerson Castillo Paiz, 10th Grade Every year, we find ourselves involved in new technology, there’s either a new way to use technology or something incredibly new that we learn to use. With all this new technology, one that truly stands is AI technology and its endless possibilities. AI can be used for many things which can be as simple as answering questions or as hard … Continue reading In Depth into AI: How AI Affects Students Creativity and Development
Integration of Alternative Practices with Modern Medicine
Yesica Ortez, 10th Grade How can traditional/alternative forms of medical treatment be integrated into modern medicine? In recent years, there have been many significant and crucial medical developments made around the world. However, there has also been a rapidly growing interest in combining alternative and traditional forms of treatment with the more widely accepted modern medical practices. It has been shown that the definition of … Continue reading Integration of Alternative Practices with Modern Medicine
Young Investigators Review 