September 2019

Vegetables are a social construct

My particular confluence of knowledge (a blend of economics, environmental policy, and crop science) tends to leave me completely overwhelmed by the discordance among human nutritional needs, environmental health, and global agricultural systems. So, I let out a tiny gasp of elation when the Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious general medical journals, released

Plant Cells, an Unculturable Mystery

The simplest unit in biology is the cell. This central tenet has remained true since the coining of the term 'cell' in 1665 by Robert Hooke. Cells have enabled multicellular organisms to conquer every part of the planet, enabling cell line specialization and the formation of more complex organisms. Multicellularity allowed organisms to thrive by

Riding the Brain Wave

Wurzburg, Germany, 1892. Hans Berger was in military training when he was suddenly thrown off his horse and injured. That same evening, Berger received a telegram from his family coincidentally inquiring about his health. This event instigated an ambition in Berger to discover the neural basis of ‘telepathy', communication of thoughts between people without the

Malaria: From Miasma to Elimination

Life on Earth is full of dynamic and complex interactions between organisms. Some of these interactions are mutualistic, where all parties benefit from the relationship. Others are commensalistic, where one organism benefits and the other isn't really affected. Then there are the parasites, organisms that live and prey on others causing them harm.  Parasites are

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