Tag Fall 2012

Body snatchers: grave robbing for medicine

NOTE: This post is not related in any way to the 1956 sci-fi film that depicts an extraterrestrial invasion where the invaders “steal” human bodies. This is NOT a review of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (though I do…

Neuroethics: expanding horizons

I LOVE science. From genetics to astronomy, neuroscience to botany, this branch of knowledge endears me with its concrete facts, equations, and straightforward answers. Engineering? It’s cool too. As an engineering major in my second year, I’m in the process…

The Paleo Phenomenon

It seems like every other day, a friend of mine declares a newfound dedication to the Paleo Diet.  Nicknamed the “Caveman Diet,” Paleo is this season’s slimmer, fitter (but just as raw) Atkins diet.  I first learned about the elusive…

Biology bucket list: algal blooms

Greetings biophiles! What do algal blooms, great white sharks, and okapis all have in common? They’re all absolutely fascinating and they’re all on my list of events and animals I would jump at the chance to observe. This ever growing…

Grad School Confidential: Danger Zone

I am sitting. More specifically, I am waiting. Waiting on the box in front of me, a box that reminds me of my grandmother’s post-war era microwave on account of its single all-purpose knob, with the only exception being the…

Mistaken concepts: the taste buds

OK, kids, we need to talk. No, you’re not in trouble. The people in trouble are health, anatomy, and psychology teachers who try to teach a specific concept that is WRONG. Any guesses about what connects those teachers? No? Well,…

Baaah Bye, Kudzu!

Would you ever think sheep could be used in the place of a lawn mower? How could an animal do the same job as a piece of lawn equipment?! Well, in the case of managing kudzu, sheep (and goats) are…