For many pet owners, the bond between their pets and themselves is incredibly unique and often cannot be described through just a few sentences. Therefore, when their furry friends pass away, the experience can be heart-wrenching and life-altering. The grief, although it may be painful for a long time, can be eased by adopting a…
An organ transplant entails the surgical transfer of a donor organ to a recipient whose own organ has become impaired and is typically performed to address conditions that do not readily respond to other therapies. In 2020, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reported more than 39,000 total organ transplants performed in the United States,…
There are more than six million people in America living with Alzheimer’s disease. In less than thirty years, this number is expected to reach thirteen million (Alzheimer’s Association). If more and more people are being affected by Alzheimer’s, what strides are being made toward a cure? Current Alzheimer’s treatments include Galantamine, Rivastigmine, and Donepezil, which…
The discovery and production of antibiotics transformed medicine forever and have saved millions of lives worldwide. However, many new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are rapidly emerging that are incredibly difficult to treat due to their resistance to conventional treatments. This “antibiotic resistance crisis” has been attributed to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics along with…
Psychedelics have a long history of use in human societies for their mind-altering effects. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in psychedelics as a therapeutic tool. Psychedelic-assisted therapies exhibit promising results in treating mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychedelics are known to interact with neurotransmitters and receptors…
In the opening scene of the HBO TV show Last of Us, an epidemiologist speculates about the fate of the world. It’s 1960 and he has been invited to speak on a talk show. The interview starts out normally enough, but as he continues, his words become more and more haunting. “There are some fungi…
Epigenetics is the term used to describe a vast array of external processes which regulate gene expression in a cell. The field focuses primarily on variables, such as enzyme access and affinity to a gene, as well as demand for the encoded protein, which alter the rate at which transcription occurs. Epigenetic factors are vital…
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water” – American educator and natural science writer, Loren Eiseley Walking out of the theater after watching Frozen 2, all my questions stemmed from the major plot device revealed by Olaf himself: water has memory. Initially having passed it off as fiction, a quick…
In 1846, scientist Ascano Sobrero synthesized the compound nitroglycerin (C3H5N3O9). The importance of this discovery lay in nitroglycerin’s ability to maintain a combustion reaction (SciShow, 2017). The typical structure of a combustion reaction is a hydrocarbon reacting with oxygen gas, which produces carbon dioxide and water: CxHy(s) + O2(g) → CO2(g) + H2O(l) In combustion,…
A recent discovery about a fish skull fossil has led scientists to question how much information fossils may hold. A fossil of the Coccocephalus Wildi species, discovered over 100 years ago in Lancashire, has recently shed information on the neurology and evolution of fish. The ray-finned fish fossil itself dates back 319 million years and…
