On October 4, 2021, David Julius and Ardem Pataoutian won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering how we can distinguish pain from spicy food and warmth from a hug. Their discovery marks a major leap in our understanding of how the human body converts sensations from the environment to electrical signals that the brain […]
Hot and touching research wins 2021 Nobel Prize Read More »
It’s a great wonder how organisms remain at a constant temperature, despite many outside influences like freezing winds or heat waves. Maintaining proper body temperature is key for most organisms. The temperature-controlling systems in mammals are extremely complex and well-designed, ensuring that they maintain homeostasis. For these animals, the environmental temperature can be sensed by
The Mediterranean diet has long been touted for its ability to decrease one’s risk of suffering from health problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Although various studies support these claims, it isn’t always clear how the Mediterranean diet confers these benefits. While olive oil isn’t the only component
Olive oil compounds as a potential therapy for Neurodegeneration Read More »
If current climate trends persist, the Arctic Ocean is predicted to become seasonally ice-free by the 2030s. Sea ice follows a cyclic pattern, partially melting in the summer and re-forming with the cooler temperatures of autumn and winter. However, rising global temperatures have increased the melting rate and decreased the formation rate. During future summers,
Ice, ice maybe: Impacts of declining sea ice on Arctic predator-prey dynamics Read More »
When getting out of bed means preparing for an icy plunge into a winter morning, it is tempting to retreat to a blanket of warmth and return to peaceful slumber. To a shivering early riser, the ability to hibernate is one to envy. A multitude of animal species undergo torpor, any hibernation-like state in which
Hibernation: When the past becomes the future Read More »
Drugs are highly stigmatized in society. Furthermore, there exists a particular stigma regarding drug use for those in the scientific community. Many companies, hospitals, and research facilities include drug testing in their hiring process. In fact, according to the American Addiction Centers, healthcare and hospital-related jobs were the second most common positions to require drug
Scientists on substances: Can researchers be open about drug use? Read More »
Light tends to come with life, and with darkness, death. This theme extends throughout the animal kingdom, but what if there was a way to see light in the darkness? Just ask the mantis shrimp, a 340-million-year-old carnivorous marine crustacean with an amazing gift. This little critter has perhaps the best vision in the history
The littlest eyes make the biggest impact Read More »
A solitary dung beetle rolls its round cargo across the South African grassland, looking for a suitable place to bury its prize. It quickly distances itself from other beetles at the dung pile and avoids circling back to its original location, all while moving a ball of dung much larger than itself. However, in a
Seeing in the dark: Polarized light helps these animals find their way at night Read More »
Across the barren landscape of Antarctica, a team of scientists spent the months of December 2013 through February 2014 collecting bird poop from seabird nesting regions. After carefully preserving these samples and sections of muscle tissue from seabird carcasses, these researchers transported their data collection to Griffith University in Australia for analysis. Why pick up
Pollutant poop: How the south polar skua brings toxic chemicals to Antarctica Read More »