Xenotransplantation: The Future of Medicine

Jessica Penna, 11th Grade Solid organ transplantation, the only remedy to end-stage organ failure, is a relied upon practice for thousands of patients every year. Whether it be for kidneys, lungs, livers, or hearts, a patient can only get new organs through donation from a healthy patient or, from the most frequent source, a brain dead (BD) patient (1)(2). However, reliance on BD patients for … Continue reading Xenotransplantation: The Future of Medicine

An Overview of AI-Created Art – Philosophical, Legal, and Ethical Implications

Matthew Vo, 12th Grade The past decade has experienced dramatic growth of interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs, with particular attention focused on “creative AI”, capable of producing visual artwork, writing, or music at a level of quality rivaling that of works created by human artists and authors. However, such developments have also raised pressing legal and ethical concerns, as well as philosophical questions on … Continue reading An Overview of AI-Created Art – Philosophical, Legal, and Ethical Implications

Xenotransplantation: A Potential Solution to the Organ Shortage

Jennifer Zhong, 12th Grade In the United States, over 100,000 patients are on the national organ transplant waiting list in hopes to receive the necessary transplant to save their lives [10]. However, with the growing demand for organ transplants, only one-third of those on the waitlist will receive a transplant, and it is estimated that 40% will die before an organ donor is available [2, … Continue reading Xenotransplantation: A Potential Solution to the Organ Shortage

Space Tourism: An Out of This World Experience

Charlene Chen, 11th Grade Space tourism, though often perceived as a distant and elusive dream, has already become a reality in recent years. Starting in 2001, California businessperson Dennis Tito spent 20 million USD to board a Russian Soyuz rocket heading to the International Space Station, officially earning the title of the first “space tourist” (1). More recently in 2021, several non-astronaut civilians flew into … Continue reading Space Tourism: An Out of This World Experience

The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Biofuels

Sanjiv Singh, 11th Grade While gas prices rise to historic levels, Americans have been considering other sources of fuel such as biofuel (1). From ethanol to other forms of biofuel, the economic and environmental impacts could be enormous. As gas prices skyrocket due to many factors and one being the war between Russia and Ukraine, many citizens have been unable to gain gasoline, leaving them … Continue reading The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Biofuels

What We Owe to Ourselves and the Future Generation

Sophia Augier, Grade 11 There is an entire universe of endless possibilities just waiting for humankind to uncover. However, as a nation we struggle to recognize the benefits space research has on human life. Neither the broadening of earthbound scientific research, or the advancement of space research and exploration are mutually exclusive investments. Each is achievable and vital to sustaining human life, and should be … Continue reading What We Owe to Ourselves and the Future Generation

Synthetic Biology in the Medical Field: Should It Be Used in the Development of Vaccines and Future Medical Research?

Sara Maltempi, Grade 10 Synthetic biology is a scientific field in which the genomes of organisms are redesigned to give them new useful abilities by combining the principles of engineering and biology (1). Synthetic biology has only been around for a couple of decades but it has already created a new industry making “chemicals, drugs, proteins, probiotics, sensors, fertilisers, textiles, food and many other things … Continue reading Synthetic Biology in the Medical Field: Should It Be Used in the Development of Vaccines and Future Medical Research?

The Future of Education: A Blended Approach to Virtual Learning

Julia Froese, Grade 12 IntroductionIn the past decade, technology has experienced a pattern of exponential growth within industry, business, and now, education. With the advent of the digital age, communication has become much more fluid and accessible, leading to a rise in investments regarding social media and computer science. However, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions had only touched the surface of … Continue reading The Future of Education: A Blended Approach to Virtual Learning

The Safety Behind Synthetic Biology Vaccines

Jennifer Zhong, Grade 11 As COVID-19 deaths and cases rise, rapid vaccine safety, development, and distribution become extremely important to potentially solve this world crisis. A myriad of people, over 105 million, have been infected with COVID-19 and well over 2 million have passed away as of February 2021 [7]. The numbers continue to climb. During a global pandemic such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, … Continue reading The Safety Behind Synthetic Biology Vaccines

Plastic Pandemic of 2020: How Our Growing Expectations for Nature Conservation Through Recycling Tumbled by Global Crisis

Isabella Oliveros, Grade 10 In 2020, a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 left a destructive aftermath on the wellbeing of the United States of America and the world alike. The virulent strain was classified as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and has devastated millions of people, businesses, families, and workers since (1). 14% of Americans have been hospitalized by this global pandemic, and the quality of … Continue reading Plastic Pandemic of 2020: How Our Growing Expectations for Nature Conservation Through Recycling Tumbled by Global Crisis

The Environmental Cost of COVID-19: A Plastic Pandemic

Angela Zhu, Grade 12 While the COVID-19 virus has halted economies and separated families around the world, it has unintended yet devastating consequences on the environment in the form of plastic. From masks to gloves, the personal protective equipment (PPE) that is necessary in the fight against the pandemic is piling up in landfills and polluting oceans. While many other industries have been on the … Continue reading The Environmental Cost of COVID-19: A Plastic Pandemic

2020 Young Investigators Writing Competition Winners

<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">The Stony Brook Young Investigators Review (SBYIR) is pleased to announce the results of the <strong>2020 Young Investigators Writing Competition</strong>! Our competition invited high school students from Long Island to write brief articles in newspaper or literature review format to describe and engage the public in scientific societal controversies. Specifically, students entering grades 10-12 explored dilemmas regarding experimental therapy, neutral … Continue reading 2020 Young Investigators Writing Competition Winners