Cheney’s revolutionary science documentary Ian Cheney’s (YC ’02) 2018 film The Most Unknown takes a different approach than most science documentaries. Although his film explores how people study organisms, space, quantum physics, geobiology, and the human mind, Cheney, a graduate
The romance between plants and your food Vulgar, dirty, and exposed–these descriptors may come to mind upon reading the title of Norman Ellstrand’s new book. However, in Sex on the Kitchen Table: The Romance of Plants and Your Food, Ellstrand
Bridging Biology and Art Being different has always been the norm for Christina Agapakis (YC ’06). After receiving her PhD in biological and biomedical sciences from Harvard University in 2011, she became the creative director in 2015 for Ginkgo Bioworks,
Looking forward in cancer biology Nicole Eskow (PC ’19) has always been asking questions. “After losing both of my grandmothers to cancer at a young age, I began to inquire about cancers and where these diseases originate,” Eskow said. Determined
To study an animal’s brain in real-time as it navigates its surroundings, researchers typically implant electrodes into the animal’s brain. These electrodes track electrical changes in neurons, detecting when the neurons are activated. However, this method is limited in how
Pangea is Earth’s most well-known and recent supercontinent. It began to break apart only around two hundred million years ago, but the history of Earth’s continental movement starts many more hundreds of millions of years ago. David Evans, director of
Converting cells into drug synthesizers A recently published study from the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT gets glowing results, literally. Using a messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript that encodes for the bioluminescent, light-emitting protein, called luciferase, MIT researchers
As technology continues to evolve, data writing is growing as an area of interest. Simultaneously, the emerging field of spintronics studies how the spin and magnetic properties of an electron can be used for information processing. All Optical Switching (AOS)
NASA satellite finds new exoplanets just months after launch Many of us wonder what lies beyond Earth and our solar system. Star Wars, The Martian, and other science fiction works have helped to quench our imaginations, but perhaps it need
How termites help mitigate the effects of rainforest drought When termites come up in everyday conversation, horror stories of tented houses and damaged house foundations usually soon follow. However, of all the termite species in the world, only four percent
