Biology

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Curious Case of Fatal Familial Insomnia

Can you imagine never sleeping again? We often underestimate the importance of sleep; by some estimates, college students in America get an average of 6 hours of sleep per night, as opposed to the suggested 8-10 hours. Getting enough sleep is extremely important — it gives the brain time to consolidate memories and new information, […]

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Cleanliness and Convention: A Curious Correlation

Everyday, people propose the best ways to keep a clean environment: keeping your space tidy, getting rid of unnecessary clutter, organizing your life. In general, society values order and cleanliness, as this represents an efficient, productive way of living. However, evolutionarily speaking, there are advantages to both a messy and clean environment. In nature, order

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The sub-two hour marathon: An optimized storm of science and grit

Four minutes and thirty four seconds. That was Eliud Kipchoge’s mile time…for 26.2 miles. On October 12, 2019, the acclaimed Kenyan distance runner broke a barrier that was once thought to spell certain death: a sub-two hour marathon. While rules on pacing and fluid allowance and concerns surrounding equipment engineering prevented his run from being

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Buzzworthy behavior: Bumblebee nibbling promotes pollen production

Kindly thought of as the big, fluffy sibling of the well-respected honeybee, bumblebees spend most of their time minding their own business as they go about seasonal pollination. But recent findings show that these gentle giants may not be as lackadaisical as their reputation implies — they appear to be playing a very interactive role

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Love, actually: The neurochemistry of falling in love

Love holds many definitions. In the Google Dictionary, it’s described as “an intense feeling of deep affection,” and similar, often more complex definitions can be found in philosophy, poetry, art, literature, and film. It means different things to different people and refers to not only romantic attachments but also familial, platonic, or sexual connections. While

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