Blog

Addressing bullying in STEM: a call for UGA to empower trainees

Bullying in academia Bullying continues to be a problem in academia. A recent global survey showed that 59% and 84% of participants either witnessed or experienced abusive supervision behaviors, respectively. Bullying in academia is difficult to address because a power differential exists within the mentor-mentee relationship. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers (both referred to as

Ale Villegas June 15, 2021

What are colors, anyway?

It is springtime! As spring prevails, all things in nature are suddenly adorned by myriads of colors. These myriads of colors inspire myriads of feelings. No other thing affects living beings' psyche as powerfully as colors. May that be love or war, spirituality or science, ascetism or fashion, poems or technology, colors seem to touch

Bijay Duwal June 9, 2021

Bats, One Health, and Emerging Infections

I grew up on Ferngully, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, the Wild Thornberrys, Studio Ghibli movies, and Avatar the Last Airbender. The theme of the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the environment has been entrenched in me for most of my life. Furthermore, it is the foundation of One Health, an approach emphasizing collaboration between human

Gabriella Veytsel June 1, 2021

The Power of People and the Prairies

What ecosystem do you think about when you see the state of Georgia? Was it the sprawling forests you see on nearly every drive you make? If it was, this is likely because Georgia's land is nearly 70% forested and is one of the top states that contributes to the logging industry. Georgia is made

Samantha Surber May 21, 2021

Lamenting Loss: The Science of Hallucinations During Bereavement

Leaning against the kitchen counter, I wait for the microwave to finish while overwhelmed with a million deadlines. It's almost the end of the semester, but because of the pandemic, I'm back at home, trying to juggle classes and learning how to use Zoom. Then, I feel my dad's hand around my shoulder, squeezing it

Kendall Clay May 11, 2021

Microsporidia: tiny parasites with big impacts

A vessel is harpooned and infiltrated by an enemy, then robbed of its precious cargo â€“ this imagery may call to mind Long John Silver or other fictional marauders, but these events happen every day, all around us, on a scale so small we cannot see it. I'm referring to microsporidia, a group of real-life,

Benjamin Phipps May 6, 2021

Toxicology and Poisons: a Cat and Mouse Game

Murder is as old as mankind. Or so the saying goes. Every culture has a history of poisons, from the ironically named â€œelixirs of lifeâ€ eagerly sought after by early Chinese emperors and nobles, to the Poison Damsels (Visha Kanya) of ancient Indian mythology that could kill you with just a drop of the deadly

Corinne Sweeny April 30, 2021

Preventing the Loss of a Natural Spectacle

There is a certain art to finding fireflies, and it comes down to understanding suitable habitats for common species in your area. As a child, you may have turned off your house lights and used a flashlight to attract fireflies, desperate to catch a glimpse of these bioluminescent creatures. These flashing beetles generate a sense

Nicole Steel April 23, 2021

A bee’s eye view

Humans see a vast array of colors, ranging from red to violet. I remember learning the acronym Roy G. Biv (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet), the acronym elementary schoolers use to memorize the colors of the rainbow. Humans see the visual light spectrum, which is the range of light in the electromagnetic spectrum

Chazz Jordan April 20, 2021

Learning Disabled People Are (Metaphorically) Disappearing

Growing up in the special education system, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: learning-disabled students become invisible as they age. That isn't to say that they aren't in the building, but that they work hard to make it less and less apparent that they are learning-disabled. By the time learning-disabled students enter college, their learning disability

Meghan Brady April 8, 2021

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

Kelly McCrum April 2, 2021

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

Jen McFaline-Figueroa March 30, 2021