If you’re local to Southern California, you’ve probably heard that there is a brief night or two every now and then when the ocean waves crashing on the sand seem to have a bright blue glow. If you haven’t seen this amazing phenomenon, maybe you’ve happened upon a glowing jellyfish at your local aquarium or […]
Tag Archives: biology
May
15
Making a mom: hormones and maternal behavior
posted by Eleanor Ketterer-Sykes
It was Mother’s Day this weekend… have you called your mom yet? Maternal bonds are essential for the survival of the infant, as well as to encourage the mother to make sacrifices and engage in parental behaviors to care for her young. This is something that your mom probably felt as soon as she met […]
June
08
4 Wild Cases of Scientific Misconduct: When Scientists Go Rogue
posted by Kween Agba
In order to do good science, scientists must follow the principles of scientific ethics in every aspect of their work, from data collection to publications. Scientific misconduct is a very serious issue that affects not just academia, but also the public at large. New medical treatments and cutting-edge technology are built off of basic research […]
April
27
Screaming into the void: What plants are trying to tell us
posted by Haylie Romero
Imagine walking through a field on a hot, dry summer day. There is nobody around and the world is blissfully quiet – at least, you think it is. If only you could hear sounds at ultrasonic frequency, you would in fact hear loud “screaming” coming from all around you. You would hear the surrounding plants […]
July
28
Sharks-Sensing the Body Electric
posted by Haylie Romero
One of the greatest fears people have about going into the ocean is the fear of being attacked by a shark. Although this fear is not truly warranted, as cows kill more people annually than sharks do [4]. But what is it about sharks that makes us so afraid of them? One major factor is […]
June
03
Axolotls: First Ones to the Fountain of Youth
posted by Ricardo Lozoya
Introduction If you look at today’s $50 Mexican peso (left), you won’t see the image of a past president or monument. Instead, you’ll see a lone salamander with outstretched arms and gills in the middle of a lake. For centuries, this small creature, known as the axolotl (ax-oh-lot-al), was well known to the people that […]
July
02
The Intersex Brain
posted by Catie Profaci
It is evident that male and female sex characteristics exist on a spectrum, and treating them as fully binary categories invalidates the bodies and experiences of those who express a range of biological sex characteristics. […] But… what about the brain? Are there differences between the male brain and the female brain?
November
24
The Importance of Being Roger Tsien
posted by egeyalcinbas
Have you ever had a moment when you suddenly pause and realize how thankful you are for something that is incredibly mundane? So mundane that it is taken for granted on a day-to-day basis? We often forget that there was a time when devices like a washing machine weren’t considered mundane, but rather “marvelous,” “extraordinary,” […]
June
02
Your Brain on Thirsty Thursday
posted by Catie Profaci
Alcohol: loss of motor coordination, a sense of invincibility, amplified emotions, loss of inhibition, hazy memory, blackout. What kind of crazy things are happening in the brain?! How does alcohol even get into the brain?!
October
16
Lithium: Wonder Drug? Part II
posted by kkiritah
Note from the author: This post is dedicated to my biology nerds out there. If you follow my Gene-of-the-Week posts (and you should because they’re the weirdest), you know that I often get lost in the cellular and molecular details of life, and it’s totally overwhelming. I wrote this post specifically to discuss the mechanisms […]
NeuWrite San Diego 
You must be logged in to post a comment.