Hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, pots of golden rainbows and me red balloons! If you've ever eaten Lucky Charms cereal, you probably know this jingle and the tiny shapes of marshmallows it references. Interestingly enough, glycobiologists, or biologists who study the sugars that make up those tasty mallows, have their own Lucky Charm
Many scientists agree that their love for scientific research began with their undergraduate research experiences. To fulfill the need for 1 million more STEM majors by 2020, university STEM programs are faced with the task of providing the multitude of students entering their programs with unique undergraduate research experiences. The demand for these transformative research
When you think of a scientist, who do you imagine? If you've been following my #ThisIsWhatAScientistLooksLike series, perhaps you picture a #STEMinist. Right on! But have you considered the multifaceted nature of gender? For this installment, I'd like to introduce you to Lynn Conway and Ben Barres, both world-renowned scientists known for speaking out about
The dreaded question for this graduate student: “What do you do?†Ugh. Must I really talk about my research at the dinner table or in this dimly lit bar? Perhaps it's my leaning towards introversion, but this really is my least favorite question to answer outside of a strict research setting. It's inevitable though. Here's
Humor me for a moment: Close your eyes and imagine a scientist. Okay, now describe what you saw. If you're artistically inclined, maybe even sketch out what you imagined on a post-it note, coffee sleeve, or napkin. With your physical sketch in hand and mental image at the front of your mind, ask yourself: Was
Take a moment, locate a piece of paper, and then draw whatever comes to mind when you think of a scientist. Go ahead… I'll wait. Take a look at what you drew. Did you envision a man or a woman? What race or ethnicity are they? Did you draw a mad scientist like Dr. Frankenstein?
To Be or Not To Be a Vegetarian: That is the Question. Or is it? Most people see a documentary about the meat industry and then they become a vegetarian for a week. – Jason Reitman Guilty. as. charged. After seeing Food, Inc. in college, I gave up meat for idealistic reasons. A week later,
Perhaps it's my tendency to root for the underdog, but I love to see researchers challenge long-standing scientific dogma. Some of my favorite underdogs of this variety include Copernicus who determined we live in a heliocentric solar system rather than a geocentric one and Marshall and Warren who discovered that ulcers are caused by Heliobacter
by Stephanie M. Halmo Scientists from across the globe have discovered four new elements, filling in row seven on the periodic table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry confirms the synthesis of these elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118. The four new elements are not found in nature. Researchers synthesized
by: Stephanie M. Halmo Researchers at North Carolina State University, Jagdish Narayan and Anagh Bhaumik, discovered a new solid phase of carbon distinct from graphite and diamond. Coined Q-carbon, this phase can quickly be converted to diamond at ambient temperature and pressure without the presence of hydrogen or a catalyst. Before the discovery of Q-carbon,
by: Stephanie M. Halmo An article published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine linked tapeworm infection and cancer through a novel disease mechanism. It was found that tapeworm cells could become cancerous in a human host. The article followed the case of a Colombian man with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a tapeworm
by Stephanie M. Halmo When and where the world's first domesticated species of dogs originated is a hotly debated topic by geneticists. A recent study places the origin of human's best friend in Central Asia or modern day Mongolia and Nepal. These results, published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
