Tag: science journalism


  • Take Caution: Dangers of Heuristics and Headlines

    A year into the pandemic, much more is known about the coronavirus. In any study, especially scientific ones, it takes time to collect data, it takes time to collect samples, it takes time to run experiments, and it takes time to find the right and diverse sample size to have meaningful and representative data. However,…

  • Escaping the Darkness: Reflections on Stephen Hawking

    “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”…

  • The After Hours Life of a Protein

    After you get home from work, perhaps after eating dinner, you may start working on other projects that you have, something that you might call a hobby. Humans aren’t the only ones that have a life after hours. Recently it’s been discovered that many proteins also have roles in the cell outside of their main…

  • Analyzing without Lysing

    Non-damaging Techniques for Monitoring Cells Studying the interior of cells offers insight to the biochemical processes occurring. However, the process of collecting data involves bursting the cell open in a process called lysing that may also destroy important biochemical interactions. Researchers at Stanford University and the University of Michigan are developing technologies at the micro-…

  • Marching Will Not Help Science

    After the inauguration of president Trump, peaceful protest rallies were planned namely the March for Women to support women’s rights and the continuation of funding going to women’s health, and the March for Science to promote the role of scientific research in government policy. As a female scientist, it might surprise you to hear that…

  • Going Against the Masters of Physics

    Understanding the Gravity of a New Theory Both the motions of planets orbiting around the sun and a pencil rolling off the table onto the floor are described by the gravity. However, despite this phenomena being so easily recognized, why and how it happens is still very much up to debate. Theories of gravity have…

  • Just a Wobble Away from Disease

      DNA, the genetic code of life, is read over a million times per day to make proteins, the biological molecules that do all the work in cells. If this process goes wrong then it leads to cell destruction or disease states such as cystic fibrosis or cancer. Luckily, the cell has a multitude repair…

  • Peer Review in Open Access: Struggles and Successes in Obtaining Quality Articles

    The peer review process in science publication has been imperative in making sure that articles and journals written are based off data that was obtained ethically. With the push to make publications more transparent and cheaper, the importance and existence of peer reviewing have been called into question. How Peer Review Works Right Now It…

  • gap between science and the media

    The emergence — and explosion — of media has lead to an impressive amount of content being shared. While this has lead to some amazing things, with not only news traveling globally in nanoseconds but also open source initiatives, it has had some unforeseen and very unfortunate consequences in the realm of science. Namely, the…