Loss of Reefs Traced Back to Carbon Dioxide Levels
By Julia Newman ’19 As the growth of limestone in coral reefs slows, their ecosystems are drastically reduced in terms of size and diversity. This is a natural cycle that occurs in autumn and winter each year due to the decrease in water temperature and light during those months; the corals that represent much of these reefs are usually able to produce enough limestone to make up for … Continue reading Loss of Reefs Traced Back to Carbon Dioxide Levels
DNA Packing Mechanisms in Viruses Revealed
by Julia Newman ’19 New studies on the packing of DNA in viruses show that it sometimes behaves like a fluid and other times like a solid, similar to a tube of toothpaste or a cup of sand. For this reason, it was difficult in the past for scientists to determine how DNA is packed within a viral shell. However, it turns out that viruses actually have a … Continue reading DNA Packing Mechanisms in Viruses Revealed
Asteroids May Have Fostered Life on Mars
By Julia Newman Fig 1: Analysis of Mars’ surface shows a history of bombardment. Ever since the official announcement of water on Mars just last September, the search for habitable conditions on the planet has been more intense than ever. Studies from earlier this week suggest that while Earth’s surface is affected mostly by erosion and plate tectonics, Mars has been subjected to billions of … Continue reading Asteroids May Have Fostered Life on Mars
Baboon Case Study Furthers Transplant Research
By Julia Newman ’19 Eight thousand people in the United States die each year while waiting for a viable heart transplant, but recent baboon studies suggest that scientists may one day be able to drastically decrease this statistic. Finding enough human organ donors can be extremely difficult, which has led researchers to investigate cross-species transplants within the last few decades. However, given that many donated … Continue reading Baboon Case Study Furthers Transplant Research
Algae May Be The Key To Curing Cancer
By Julia Newman ’19 Newly discovered properties of blue-green algae may make it a better treatment for brain tumors than any method or drug used in the past. Although this type of algae, also known as cyanobacteria, can be traced back over two billion years, the effect of the coibamide A found within cyanobacteria has only been discovered now. Most cancer cells undergo a process … Continue reading Algae May Be The Key To Curing Cancer
Antibiotics Do Not Affect Gene Swapping In Bacteria
By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ’19 Antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective as bacteria rapidly develop resistance to them. Scientists once believed that antibiotics promote conjugation, a process in which the DNA of bacteria can be swapped for more helpful genes in order to develop a resistance. In a study led by Dr. Lingchong You of Duke University, researchers were able to determine that antibiotics actually do not increase … Continue reading Antibiotics Do Not Affect Gene Swapping In Bacteria
Filtering Power Plant Exhaust with a CO2 Fastlane
By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ’19 With the increasing amount of carbon dioxide gas contributing to global climate change, scientists are struggling to find strategies to reduce it. The usage of hybrid polymer-MOF membranes is being explored as a possible strategy because of their energy and cost efficiency in comparison to previous methods of gas separation. However, these membranes need to be improved in their carbon dioxide … Continue reading Filtering Power Plant Exhaust with a CO2 Fastlane
Hormone Producing Microbes Protects from Plant Pathogens
By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ’19 Using microbes is one of the more unique ways of protecting plants from abiotic and biotic stresses of the environment. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen discovered a novel method for bacteria to produce a plant hormone called cytokinin that can biocontrol plants. Cytokinin is responsible for a wide range of functions including cell division, nutrient mobilization, and seed germination. There are … Continue reading Hormone Producing Microbes Protects from Plant Pathogens
Factors affecting disaster preparedness in tsunami-prone areas
By Shannon Bohman ’19 Following the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes, Dr. Witvorapong and his colleagues surveyed 557 households in tsunami-prone areas of Phang Nga, Thailand. They focused on the relationship between social participation and disaster risk reduction actions, such as stockpiling supplies, making family emergency plans, and promoting risk reduction actions via community involvement. To analyze the data, the scientists employed a multivariate probit model. … Continue reading Factors affecting disaster preparedness in tsunami-prone areas
Parental phenotype may affect offspring phenotype
By Shannon Bohman ’19 An individual’s genotype, composed of the maternal and paternal’s genomes, is expressed physically as a phenotype. A team of Netherland geneticists found that the phenotype of an offspring depends partly on the environmental factors experienced by his or her parents. One species in which such transgenerational effects are evident is Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant species whose small genome and short generation … Continue reading Parental phenotype may affect offspring phenotype
The Math of Conspiracy Theories
By Shannon Bohman ’19 Fig. 1 Almost everyone has heard of or even bought into a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy, or the idea that certain groups secretly manipulate important events and power structures, can be political, scientific, or even supernatural. Some conspiracies involving the innate belief that vaccines are dangerous have serious allegations and have sparked great public interest for the truth. Dr. David Robert … Continue reading The Math of Conspiracy Theories
Breaking Barriers for DNA Insertion
By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ’19 Fig. 1: To insert foreign DNA, electroporation is used to form pores on the cell membrane. Genetic engineering involves inserting foreign DNA into cells to perform new functions. In order for DNA to pass the cell membrane, cells are put in a specifically calibrated electric field that opens pores in the membrane in a process called electroporation. Each organism has a … Continue reading Breaking Barriers for DNA Insertion
Young Investigators Review 