Blog

Darwin’s theory of evolution is well-known: organisms produce offspring who differ from each other, and those offspring who are best adapted to their environment are the most likely to survive and reproduce. According to University of Chicago professor James Shapiro, this theory needs to be updated. He details his genomics-based ideas in the just recently published 2nd edition his book Evolution: A View from the 21st Century, Fortified. 

At the first event in a collaborative speaker series focused on careers in science communication we heard from Becky Mackelprang, Associate Director for Security Programs at the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC).

Chapter two, “Bemushroomed,” covers the history of psychoactive mushrooms. In a laboratory setting, a synthetic version of the psilocybin molecule is prepared for research purposes rather than using a psilocybin containing mushrooms. Although synthetic psilocybin is more practical for research studies, the synthetic psilocybin molecule has become separated from its fungal origin. To better understand the mushrooms, specifically of the genus Psilocybe, Pollan teamed up with famous mycologist Paul Stamets.

Do you enjoy a cold, refreshing glass of water on a hot day? Unfortunately, not everyone has that privilege: Over the past three decades, millions of Americans have been exposed to unsafe drinking water.

Science communication is a catch-all term for a variety of applications, like science policy. Often, science policy is thought of at the federal level of government, such as the suggestions handed down by the United States government and others regarding the pandemic response. But because science is so ingrained at all levels of society, science policy can start small at the town or city council level and spread to the state and federal levels.

The prologue of How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan serves to provide the reader with important context for both the content of the book as well as the more personal nature of the book for Pollan. The concept for the book came from research Pollan did while writing a New Yorker article about the use of psychedelics as medical treatment, specifically the use of a guided psilocybin session to help reduce anxiety around death for cancer patients.

One of the most effective ways to communicate science is through storytelling. For the last Science Says event of 2021, Gabriel-Philip Santos taught us how the tools of storytelling can be used to effectively share scientific ideas. As a scientist himself, Gabe firmly believes that all scientists can be successful storytellers. In fact, the very first scientific story Gabe shared was from his master’s research focused on marine mammals and paleoecology.

In 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh that manufactured clothing for several well-known retailers (e.g. Walmart, JC Penny) collapsed, killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring around 2,500 more. It is the deadliest disaster the garment industry has ever suffered.

The final section of the book covers the many ways that modern life has impacted how much we sleep. The invention of the light bulb has allowed us to restructure our daily schedules at the cost of our natural sleep cycles. Exposure to electric lights in the evening shifts the timing of our sleep schedules due to a delayed release of melatonin leading to later bedtimes. The more constant environmental temperatures afforded by central heating and cooling also alter our ability to sleep by reducing natural temperature changes that help aid in sleep.

Many entrepreneurs are excited to potentially feed nearly half a million Americans yearly with a single animal cell – a possible technological solution to address mounting global protein demands. Several products have emerged to fulfill the rising need for additional protein to support a growing, hungry and increasingly upwardly-mobile population.