Humanities

The Dark Past of Yaupon Tea, and What Genetics Can Do To Brighten Its Future

Whether you drink coffee, tea, or both, it’s hard to deny that we live in a caffeine culture. In 2021 alone, Americans drank over 62 billion servings of tea, and over 60% of Americans drink coffee every day. With such high numbers, tea (and especially coffee) industries are straining to keep people’s daily kick on

A botanical and medicinal history of Echinacea, a native plant of the Southeast

In Native American culture, the purple coneflower was used to treat poisonous bites and stings, toothaches, reduce inflammation, sore throat, colds, and so much more. In a way, this botanical miracle was used as a cure-all and was used to treat ailments more than any other medicinal plant. The purple coneflower, also known scientifically as

Natural Philosophers and Seekers of Truths: The Missing “Ph” in “PhD”

The History of the PhD While many students aim to earn their PhDs, few know the philosophical history of the degrees they are pursuing. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD or DPhil)  began as the degree awarded in recognition of advanced scholarship and acknowledging that recipients had expertise needed to teach at a university level. These

Survival of the Fittest: A Sullied History of Science

We've reached a point in the pandemic where people are starting to wonder: what would you do in a vaccinated world? Of course, reaching that reality requires that the world continue to take the health risks of coronavirus seriously, and that we continue to be transparent about how vaccines are made, tested, and distributed. There

a woman with grey hair walks by a business shut by COVID-19 restrictions

The unexpected silver lining: stress and premature greying

The process of hair going grey is a topic that has always fascinated me. Mainly because I cannot remember a time in my life where my Dad's hair was entirely dark. In my earliest memories, where he was a young thirty-something-year-old, I can recall giggling at what he vehemently swore were little droplets of wisdom

Biases in STEM: Gender Discrimination Affects UGA Faculty

“I think my career was negatively impacted by being a woman,” said Ellen Neidle, professor of microbiology at the University of Georgia (UGA), who has a doctorate in molecular, developmental, and cellular biology. “I always thought that women could do everything. It was a pretty big shock to me when I first realized that wasn't

Saving more than just seeds, in situ

While I'm often left paralyzed by apple choice in Kroger, I know the breadth of options at grocery stores mask a far different reality: we've lost roughly 90% of the world's crop varieties in the past 100 years. This threat to future food security is referred to as genetic erosion and primarily attributed to the

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

The Cartography of the Genome

What is a map? What does it REALLY represent? You might answer a map generally represents the relationships of locations. However, maps have evolved substantially in modern times. For example, modern genomics and cartography? While they might seem like different worlds, they actually share much in common. Both focused on a similar goal – spatial

The Magic Of Curries: A Spicy Science

Have your lunch breaks gotten boring? How about an enticing curry to spice up your taste buds? Curries like korma, rogan josh, jalfrezi and tikka masala are more than just food – they are an experience. An explosion of sweet, savory, spicy, and sour flavors all at once – each bold in its own right,

Crowd-funded Dams

     Infrastructure development is a major issue in many countries of the developing world. Countries with developing economies often suffer from a negative balance of trade and weak institutions, making lenders unwilling to lend. Governments of these countries are forced to borrow with heavy interest rates, further increasing budget deficits. This cyclical economic problem

Social Insurance: Holes in the Safety Net

This article is part of an opinion editorial series on topics under the umbrella of Social Insurance. Topics have been chosen based on common gaps in knowledge of Social Insurance. Part 1 of this series is on the topic of the social safety net and some groups that fall through its holes. The social safety

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