Earlier this last year, Bédécarrats and his colleagues’ published study show that injecting RNA (like DNA, but less stable) between sea slugs (Aplysia) that changed neuronal responses. The response was originally only seen in the donor after training. This change in cellular response (more sensitive to stimulation) is a form of cellular memory, but media […]
Many biology classes mention Luigi Galvani’s experiment from 1781 where he electrically stimulated an amputated frog leg, which made the leg twitch. This was revolutionary because it linked electricity to movements and life. What they don’t tell you in these classes is that: During this time, many scientists believed that a psychic fluid in our […]
Can we take a moment to appreciate how we’re bipedal (walking on two legs), because walking is really really hard. It takes us months and months to even waddle! Yet this is easy for other animals; a duckling waddles after a day. And four-legged animals can continue to walk (and trot!) after a complete spinal […]
I’ve been painting eyes in the style of other artists with unique styles that I really like: @nogobed @amdebrincat and @ellysmallwood (these are all instagram handles) Eyes are similar across many organisms and the receptors that convert light information to signals (opsins) for the cell to use is similar across all organisms. What this means […]
Genes Humans are complex, right? Yet we don’t have substantially more genes than other animals. While we have ~21,000 genes, mice have ~23,000, and thale cress (or mustard plants) have ~27,000 genes. While we can make a compelling argument that mammals are more complex than plants with our brains, our organs, hormones, mobility, and social […]
I’ve settled in Providence! While moving, I found interesting class notes that I wrote into a letter for a friend. I didn’t remember most of these, but I pulled out my favorites to share!: Black holes evaporate over time Big bang happened everywhere at once and it was an infinitely large event so that space […]
You’ve probably heard about the 6 degrees of separation – how everyone knows everyone else (even former presidents or a vocalist of your favorite band) through at most 6 other people who are all friends with each other. This idea can be traced back to 1929 in a story by Frigyes Karinthy, but it wasn’t […]
Rodents deprived of sleep would die within weeks as they slowly lost weight and developed skin ulcerations. In humans, several days of sleep deprivation results in psychosis and frequent sleep deprivation has hinted at loss of brain cells, not to mention other complications like increased mortality. There are implications of sleep being beneficial for health […]
3 things that surprises people when it comes to working in a biological laboratory: 1. Lab coats aren’t that common. Maybe it’s more common in chemistry, but it’s definitely not always used in biological labs. Sure, we wear gloves and we might perform experiments in a ventilated area, but that’s often the extent of protection […]
The pamphlets shared by animal rights activists about the terrible conditions when working with animals were true in the 1960s. Strict laws and regulations are now enforced and I honestly believe that some animals are very happy with the care and attention they receive in a lab. Experiments with animals need to be approved prior […]
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