Mangroves and oysters: Using nature’s ecosystem engineers to save coastal communities

Environment / /

Globally, Indonesia hosts the largest concentration of mangrove forests, accounting for over 20% of the world’s total mangrove population. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, mangrove forests are among the most threatened ecosystems on our planet, with Indonesia reporting the greatest decline in population of any concentrated area of mangrove forest. Without […]

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Darling 58: Using genetic engineering to save the American chestnut

Environment / /

From Georgia and Alabama in the South to Michigan and Maine in the North, the American chestnut was once a keystone species of the Eastern Deciduous Forest. In 1904, one out of every four trees east of the Mississippi was an American chestnut. It could reach heights over 100 feet, earning it the nickname “the

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The domestication of a king: How farmed salmon are usurping wild salmon

Environment / /

Visit the seafood section at any supermarket and you’ll see numerous salmon filets laid out on ice, recognizable by the bright, orange color of their flesh. Tasty and easy to cook at home, salmon has always been in high demand and seemingly in high supply too — although the seafood section hardly reveals the entire

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The power of the mind: Using neural signals to restore movement in paralyzed limbs

Biology, Health / /

Monkeys can play video games with their minds. Rats can control each others’ brains. Previously injured humans can restore sensation and function in limbs. These impossible-sounding events are all achievable with brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which are systems that use electrical devices to collect neural signals from the central nervous system and, using algorithms, translate them

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How to disappear: Glass frogs and a lesson on hemoglobin flow

Biology / /

Invisibility — a superpower that once only seemed possible in the Harry Potter universe — is actually more realistic than we think. A special organism found in South American rainforests, aptly named the glass frog, is a virtually transparent amphibian with translucent green skin, muscle, and tissues. Only the frog’s major organs are visible when

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Opinion: Physician perception of ‘female hysteria’ is alive and well

Health, Opinion / /

Many have heard of the term “female hysteria,” a pejorative, outdated, catch-all term that refers to any complaints a female has about their health. The implication in this so-called diagnosis is that the health concerns are invented in the patient’s head. Symptoms attributed to female hysteria have varied throughout history, from anxiety and tremors to

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