Have you ever wondered if the article you're reading was written by a human? I imagine you probably haven't. After all, why would there be any reason to assume otherwise? What about art or music; are you certain that the works you see and hear are truly human creations? AI is now smart enough to
Slightly off the Californian coast, battle lines are drawn. On one side lies a purple, spiny, extraterrestrial-looking creature intent on eating all plant life in its path. On the other, an equally eccentric echinoderm in the shape of a star awaits that same creature as its next meal. The battleground between them is overshadowed by
From the Yoruba tradition of throwing cowrie shells, to the Roma fortune tellers peering at palms, people throughout history have wondered if there was some sort of physical or external way to map out the path of our lives. Modern day scientists are still pondering how to predict the future, but instead of looking up
Anyone who knows me knows that mitochondria are pretty much my life. My Ph.D. focuses on making these little cellular power plants more efficient at producing energy so that they can help muscles heal faster after traumatic injury. More than that, though, I want to teach people that mitochondria are more than just “the powerhouse
We are at the brink of a severe climate crisis caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide. Anthropogenic activities such as burning fossil fuels have significantly elevated the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. As a matter of fact, the global CO2 average has hit a new
Humans have shared a special bond with a certain animal since the time of Aristotle. Artworks as early as 1500 BC depicted interactions with this fascinating creature. Members of this species have assisted the US Navy, and have also been used as therapy animals for patients with Down syndrome and autism. These amiable beings are
The term psychedelics, or hallucinogens, describes a class of drugs that produce significantly altered perception when ingested. Due to their ability to cause lasting effects on a user's mood and thought, some researchers believe they have therapeutic potential for treating difficult mental illnesses like depression, addiction, PTSD, and Alzheimer's, though only a few institutions currently
Growing up in Arizona, we were told that people could go to jail for damaging a Saguaro cactus. Saguaros are a protected symbol of the Southwest. Yet in 2019, videos shot by Kevin Dahl, the Arizona Senior Program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, recorded bulldozers uprooting Saguaro cacti and other desert shrubs at
What does it take to reach the peak of athletic performance and break barriers thought to be beyond human capabilities? One of these barriers is the two-hour marathon, a feat which requires running 26.2 miles while maintaining an average pace of 4:34 per mile. At that speed, you could run the 100-yard length of a
Suppose you stop someone on the street to ask them a question. You offer them three words: what are mitochondria? Chances are, they will reply “the powerhouse of the cell†as a near-Pavlovian reflex. It's amazing to think that almost everyone who went through high school-level biology or life sciences can remember this factoid, regardless
After two days of driving, our U-haul rounded the final corner of the gravel road leading to our destination, The Rocky Mountain Biological Station, affectionately known as RMBL. We were in Gothic, Colorado, which is four hours of windy mountain roads up from the nearest city, Colorado Springs. My labmate and I were transporting over
I still remember my first night in the United States, not due to the long journey, but because of the first question someone asked about my home country. “Do you guys really ride camels and live in tents in Egypt?†It took me a few minutes to realize the question was genuine. Previously, I had
