Culture

The eclipse effect: How do animals react to strange celestial phenomena?

Biology, Culture / /

The event of a solar eclipse transcends the astronomical meaning, occurring when the Moon completely blocks the Sun from Earth’s view and darkens skies across a region. Solar eclipses have been referenced throughout history as a time of change and intention-setting for spiritualists or as the source of several cultural folk stories. The impacts of […]

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Quantifying common sense: New research suggests it’s not so common

Culture, Psychology, World / /

Common sense, or the practical knowledge shared by the majority of the population regarding everyday matters, is ambiguous: It is difficult to know exactly why something is common sense even though it is intuitively clear. Many often assume that something clear to one person is also clear to another, but this may not be the

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Opinion: Weight loss drugs highlight the flaws of the US healthcare system

Culture, Health, Opinion, World / /

In recent years, the production of weight loss drugs has exploded across the United States. Though these drugs have promising potential in combating the obesity epidemic in the United States, I worry these drugs will widen healthcare inequities for the very patients who need access to weight management care the most.  In clinical studies, injection-based

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Using your shoes to step over your roommate’s line                   

Culture, World / /

It is something you don’t think about until you see someone else do the opposite. Cultural influences play a large role in what seems normal, impacting even small decisions like what to do with one’s shoes. For those who lived their entire lives taking their shoes off before going inside their house, it may seem

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The end of the eclipse

Culture, Space, World / /

For centuries, the rare cosmic occurrences known as eclipses have both inspired and terrified onlookers. Signs of both spiritual and scientific marvels, solar eclipses have often coincided with major historical events, sometimes even rewriting their outcomes. According to ancient records, for example, a great shadow descended over a battle in 585 BCE between the Lydians

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Opinion: Free speech and democracy in a partisan society

Culture, Opinion / /

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee penned a letter calling Israel “entirely responsible” for the attack. It was followed by swift and intense backlash. The student signers were “doxxed,” and Jewish alumni demanded a list of the students in order to avoid inadvertently hiring one of them.

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Genetic programming: How machine learning is evolving to solve math problems

Culture, Technology / /

In 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking theory of evolution in “On the Origin of Species,” where he introduced the world to the concept of natural selection. In the struggle for existence and reproduction, the strongest would survive, passing on their advantageous genes to their offspring. Never could Darwin have envisioned that centuries later, such

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Scientists by day, chefs by night: Cells are being cultured to resemble meat

Biology, Culture / /

Knowing that animal agriculture is responsible for at least 14.5% of all carbon emissions, scientists have been researching alternatives to the traditional meat diet, with the current leading alternative being meat analogs or “fake meats.” The menus of vegan-friendly, trendy restaurants and even your run-of-the-mill spots, like Burger King, have been featuring items such as

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