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by Sarah Wornow Edited by Alyscia Batista You probably don’t have to think back too far to remember the last time you caught a cold. With adults averaging around two to four colds per year, coming down with a cold seems inevitable. [1] But what if there was a vaccine that could prevent you from getting infected in the first place?
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By: Melinda Li Edited by: Sophia Collis Who is vaping?
On August 24, 2019, the first vaping-related death in the US was reported in Illinois amidst a string of similar cases involving severe respiratory disease and e-cigarette use. [1] In a media statement addressing the event, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield said: “This tragic death in Illinois reinforces the serious risks associated with e-cigarette products, [which] are not safe for youth, young adults, pregnant women, or adults who do not currently use tobacco products.” [2 Written by Zachary Jordan '21 In the 13th century, merchant Marco Polo became famous for popularizing the Silk Road, consequently helping to vitalize a rich trading route that would connect and forever change Eastern and Western cultures. Less well known is his 7 year stop-over in Afghanistan. He had contracted debilitating tuberculosis, and hoped that the clean, fresh air of the Middle East would help him to heal. Marco got more than he bargained for when he began using opiates to help manage the pain, and his short recovery stay turned into a full blown battle with addiction.
Written by Neha Mukherjee Edited by Felix Green, PhD
by Casey Chan '23 Edited by Francesca Di Cristofano ‘23  By Official U.S. Navy Page from United States of AmericaU.S. Navy photo/U.S. Navy - An infrared satellite image of Hurricane Harvey, a category 2 hurricane., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61933527 We hear about natural disasters in the news every so often without giving them too much thought. But what many don’t realize is that as environmental justice is becoming a buzzword in politics, the relevance of these devastating events is on the rise too.
by Ziwen Zhou '23 Edited by Ishaani Khatri '21  The general public has long had a complex relationship with artificial intelligence, or AI. Through iconic cinematic franchises such as The Matrix and The Terminator, we’ve recoiled in fear at the fantastically malevolent machines in all their visceral detail. We’ve marveled at how far robots have come to imitating human mannerisms and patterns. And in more modern times, we’ve worried about the effect automation will have on future employment prospects.
But what if the continued evolution and advancement of AI takes a completely divergent path? Recent breakthroughs in deep learning and neural networking have led to a monumental redefinition of the conventional limits and possibilities of AI, particularly with the unprecedented and wholly unexpected successes of Carnegie Mellon’s poker-playing bots Libratus and Pluribus. Delta Negative: The Mekong Delta and Climate Change’s Neglected Consequences in Data-Sparse Regions11/19/2019 by Ethan Thio '22 Edited by Elana Balch '21.5  Climate deniers have weaponized the unknown in an effort to discredit climate change. Opponents of climate legislation sow doubt and “manufacture uncertainty” to create the perception that the science is unclear and the potential effects of climate change are uncertain (Dryzek 146). This uncertainty is a shield, because deniers can argue that the unknown realities of climate change make climate change more benign than scientists and advocates believe. In truth, this line of reasoning is flawed because in many cases, the once-unknown only bolsters the scientific consensus. In an article published in Nature Communications, researchers analyzed the Mekong Delta, an area of land made of river sediment deposit in Vietnam. The Mekong Delta is heavily populated, and a chief concern is the effect of climate change on the lives and livelihoods of those living there. The Mekong Delta, along with other low elevation areas near bodies of water, are especially vulnerable to sea level rises associated with climate change, and assessing and mitigating these risks are critical to protect the inhabitants of these regions.
by Adin Richards '23 Edited by Maximilian Bonnici - MS '20  Equatorial Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing regions, but it is also among the most vulnerable to climate change. Vital information for its farmers, consumers, and policy makers, and indeed for the global community, may lie in … lake sediments and computer models? The connection seems far from direct, but to a community researchers in the field of paleoclimatology, knowledge of how our world is responding to environmental change can be found in subtle clues to our past, chronicled in ancient deposits and mapped through new climate simulations.
By Malika Ramani ’21 Edited by Tiffany Lin ‘21 Optimism often prevails as the supposedly superior approach to life; indeed, nearly everyone has heard the phrase “Be positive!” Studies correlating optimism with definitive health outcomes, however, considerably raise the stakes when it comes to determining how beneficial it is to adopt and maintain a positive mentality, as demonstrated by a recent study that links optimism with significantly lower cardiovascular risks.
Written by Erin Walden Edited by Jinshi Zheng
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