Living to 100 years old and beyond is no doubt one of the greatest privileges that life can offer. As of 2021, just over half a million people — less than 0.01% of the world’s population — are centenarians, a remarkable figure nonetheless. However, to live to 100 years old and be riddled with the […]
Blue zones: Lessons from the longest-living people Read More »
Since the emergence of modern Homo sapiens, humans have evolved and continue to evolve every day. Humans are getting smarter and more innovative, and are adapting better to our changing environment. But we’re not the only species that is evolving. Candida auris, a type of fungi found in yeast, is known to cause candidiasis —
The rise of Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant fungi Read More »
Everyone is capable of hallucinating. Some illnesses and the use of psychedelics may increase the frequency and likelihood of hallucinogenic episodes, but this does not mean hallucinations make one mentally ill or a drug addict. The human brain is faulty at best — it makes mistakes, and hallucinating is only one of many. There are
Yes, being ‘delulu’ is normal: Mechanisms of hallucinations Read More »
The placebo effect is a phenomenon observed in many experiments, most often medical. This peculiar occurrence is when patients are given a control treatment, such as a sugar pill rather than the true medication being tested, yet have considerable positive gains in their condition. In other words, patients’ conditions are improving despite not receiving any
Mind over medicine: The placebo effect Read More »
If you want to improve your academic level, take a music class! Studies have shown that taking music lessons can improve your academic ability. There is only one catch: you need to start your lessons … 18 years ago. Children who take music lessons have improved academic ability in the future at the college level.
Music moves the brain Read More »
In 2020 alone, 13.4 million premature babies were born. In 2019, over 900,000 children died due to preterm-related conditions and complications. Premature is defined as being born earlier than 28 weeks of gestation, or 70% of the way through full-term. As it stands, premature birth is the leading cause of death in children under five
How lambs are saving future generations Read More »
Death is often associated with negativity and darkness. However when it comes to the human body, death is a common, daily process. Our cells constantly die and duplicate, replenishing and maintaining the health of our body. Apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, is a method for cells to replace old, faulty cells with younger,
To die or not to die Read More »
It is widely believed that one is completely disconnected from the outside world during sleep, unreactive to anything happening around them. New research, however, reveals that this may be far from the truth; in a recent study, researchers led by Delphine Oudiette, Isabelle Arnulf, and Lionel Naccache at the Paris Brain Institute found that during
Subconscious communication: Windows of awareness discovered during sleep Read More »
The human genome is a vast library of over 3 billion base pairs, yet advancements in whole-genome sequencing reveal only 2% are protein-coding. This startling finding has prompted one of the most pressing missions of contemporary biology: to fully understand the role of the remaining 98% of the genome. Accomplishing this mission requires next-generation sequencing
Hidden within us: The dark matter of the human genome Read More »