December 15

Cell Cycle Rules Aren’t for Fools

Our great gamble as individuals composed of trillions of cells is that every cell is going to get along together and play by the rules. Our gut cells wake up and slay the nutrient uptake game every day, our retina cells are on top of processing incoming light, and even the humble cells in our […]

December 08

The bright side of the Moon: and its effects on life on Earth

Lunar influence Picture a night like last night. You gaze up to see the brilliant full moon overhead and look around at your surroundings, illuminated, almost as if it’s daytime. The Moon, Earth’s celestial sister, has profound effects on our planet, such as driving the oceanic tides. Without the Moon, life as we know it […]

December 01

Baker Miller Pink

Asking around, one would be hard pressed to find an individual who’s never fielded the question, “what’s your favorite color?” Some people prefer shades of yellow reminiscent of sunshine, hues of red that evoke a feeling of power, or calming tones of blue. Though one’s favorite color is not a reliable metric for determining facts […]

November 24

I wish I wish upon a bone- an infographic

November 17

A Series of Exciting Events

Have you ever wondered what it is like to have a seizure? Well, I have epilepsy, and let me tell you: so do I. That is because there are many different types of seizures and of epilepsy, and some—like mine—involve a loss of consciousness, as well as memory deficits. What all seizures have in common, […]

November 10

Say Cheese: The neuroscience of our devotion to dairy

You might be the kind of person that can’t wait for the “cheese pull” when grabbing a hot slice of pizza, or perhaps you’re the first at the table to suggest a cheese-filled charcuterie board for your appetizer (both of these examples are stemming from personal experience, of course). If you are a fellow cheese […]

October 27

The Language and Psychology of Modern “Cults”

We use the term “cult” loosely in today’s colloquial language. Ask around, and you might hear the opinion that people who religiously attend expensive spin classes or CrossFit are in a cult. MLM’s (multi-level marketing schemes) are a cult. Academia is a cult! As a member of the cult of academia, I promise I am […]

October 13

The Wandering Nerve

What do epilepsy, depression, and anxiety all have in common? No, this is not some one-liner joke, there is an actual answer to this question. Could it be that they all could be targeted by a single treatment? To understand how this could be, let’s look into what these disorders are, first. Epilepsy is a […]

October 06

Fighting COVID might leave you with a bad taste in your mouth

It’s never a good feeling to find yourself gazing at two strong, dark purple lines on your at-home COVID test. Not only are you staring down at least five days of isolation, but you likely don’t feel physically great either. During a recent bout of COVID, I had the usual symptoms – severe sore throat, […]

September 29

How model organisms are chosen

Intro Mice, fruit flies, worms, and monkeys. These are just some of the many animal species that are commonly used by scientists to learn about the nervous system, often with the goal of uncovering something about the human nervous system. If that’s the case, then the species being used is said to be a model […]