Friendly Fires
As climate change gets worse, more and more reports of disastrous forest fires have been hitting the news. But not all fires in the woods are bad—some of them can actually be instrumental in keeping an ecosystem healthy! Fire ecology…
Category Articles
Lie Detector Pseudoscience: Why Polygraphs Fail
How often have you heard a mention of a machine called a “lie detector?” According to pop culture, members of law enforcement organizations, and even the U.S. government, a polygraph or lie detector is a machine that records certain vital…
Seeing Beneath the Surface: The Power and Limitations of PET-CT Imaging
When doctors want to see deeper into your body, PET-CT is a popular choice. It is a super powerful imaging tool that is widely used in diagnosis, staging, and monitoring of various diseases, particularly in oncology, cardiology, and neurology. It’s…
Origami & Bio-inspired Design
You’ve probably seen pictures of origami before, or even folded some yourself! Origami is an ancient art form that originated in China in the 2nd century AD. It made its way to Japan around the 6th century, where it became…
Daguerreo-what? The Chemistry Behind Early Photography!
Before smartphones and DSLRs were everywhere, photography was a physical, hands-on process. I’ll give you a quick overview of the chemistry behind the first type of photograph, the daguerreotype! Daguerreotypes were invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in France in 1839. They…
From Gene to Geometry : All You Need to Know about DNA Nanostructures
Works Cited Bujold, Katherine E., et al. “DNA Nanostructures at the Interface with Biology.” Chem, vol. 4, no. 3, Mar. 2018, pp. 495–521, Catholic University. “School of Engineering.” The Catholic University of America, 2024, engineering.catholic.edu Chen, Junghuei, and Nadrian…
The Science Behind AI
When I wrote my first line of code in 8th grade, I found a passion that would grow with me through high school and beyond. But as I delved deeper into both scientific concepts and artificial intelligence, I realized something…
How Ink Becomes Art
A Brief History of Tattooing Tattoos have been part of history for thousands of years, serving as cultural markers, expressions of identity, and art. There are many methods of tattooing, such as stick and poke with a mallet and needle…