Tag Archives: science

May 15

Making a mom: hormones and maternal behavior

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 […]

March 13

Into the Mind of the Manatee

The Lazy Life of the Sea Cow Manatees are the gentle giants of the ocean. Reaching 13 feet long and weighing more than a ton, these mammals should give off a dominating presence, but in reality, the opposite is true [1]. Manatees tend to get along well with most aquatic species. They have no natural […]

February 20

Meritocracy without DEI is a Myth

JC Gorman The current American presidential administration recently signed an executive order aimed at “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing” [1]. The language of this order, combined with misleading media narratives, has created the false impression that fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace is at odds with selecting individuals […]

February 06

Déjà Vu: Have We Been Here Before?

SEEING THE FUTURE Remember that time you were sitting in the lunch hall with your friend and they were telling you a story that you thought you’d heard before? Not only that, but you also felt like the exact experience you were having had already happened. The scene was so familiar –the room you were […]

January 30

The Magic of a Memory Model

You know that moment when you can’t quite remember a song, but the instant it starts playing, the memory floods back and you can sing along perfectly? This last year the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Hopfield who came up with an elegant model for how this process could work in the […]

November 07

A Biological Time Machine

Time is a paradox; it’s both simple and complex. On the one hand—in its most literal form—time is linear, methodical, unidirectional, and can be measured in well-defined units. On the other hand, or hands, it is warped—circular even—multidimensional, and scalar, among many other properties that constitute a sometimes exciting, sometimes saddening, and sometimes maddening concept, […]

August 29

The Neuroscience of the Breath

The Neuroscience of the Breath Scientists search to uncover the mind-body connection   Mind-body practices, which stem from traditions originating in countries such as India, China, and Tibet, have become increasingly popular in Western society. These practices, which include yoga, meditation and tai chi, revolve around breathing techniques or pranayama- learning to control the breath […]

March 03

Battling A Brain Tumor The Loki Way

Recently a friend of mine took on the duty of bringing me up to speed on the Marvel cinematic universe. When we got around to watching the first installment in the Thor series, I was expecting more levelheadedness on the part of Thor, the soon-to-be crowned king of Asgard. Shortly after the opening sequence however, […]

January 11

A Tribute to Ben Barres

I was thoroughly star-struck. Ben did not exactly look like a celebrity in his usual cargo shorts (in October in Chicago!) and sneakers, but the impact of his science and his tireless fight for gender equality in academia had made him a hero to me and thousands of others.

January 19

Through the Looking-Glass, and What the Brain Sees There

  She complained of recurrent attacks during which she feels that her body is growing larger and larger until it seems to occupy the whole room. “I feel,” she said, “that I have got so big that if I put out my hand I could touch the far wall.’ Less frequently, she feels that she […]