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by Navya Baranwal '20
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by Liz Cory, '18  “There’s a new kid in our class named Bob Schenowski,” my older sister Kenyon told my parents when she was in fifth grade. “He just flew all the way from Texas to New York.”
Bob was an all-around cool guy, and he became one of Kenyon’s good friends. When my sister went to awkward school dances, soccer games, and orchestra recitals, my mom often asked about Bob. Oh, was Bob also at the dance tonight? He was. How’s your friend Bob doing these days? He’s doing great. My sister and Bob were close the whole year—that is until elementary school graduation came around. As my mom perused the graduation brochure, she couldn’t seem to find Bob’s name anywhere. When my mom asked Kenyon why Bob’s name wasn’t on the list, she giggled and replied, “Oh come on, Mom, that was all made up.” By Michelle Muzzio, Chemistry PhD Student
by Stella Canessa  “From that equal creation [all men] derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Every five-year-old studies this well known phrase of the American Declaration of Independence that has long guided people from all over the world to America, the land of hope. A stark contrast to that is its healthcare system. The American government, as one of the only countries in the Western world, doesn’t guarantee its citizen public healthcare. This article is a part of a series, comparing two extreme cases: the U.S. and Germany, and how their different healthcare policies influence social wellbeing.
by Joshua Pirl '19 The immune system is typically thought of as a military-style force, defending our body in a never-ending battle. Its opponent? Sneaky microbes that evolve nasty ways of evading detection and setting up shop within us. So, when it was discovered that between the cells lining our guts and the trillions of microbial cells that inhabit them lies a largely uninhabited layer of mucus, war emerged as the dominant scientific metaphor. It was deemed the ‘neutral zone’, the ‘front line of battle’, or the ‘demilitarized zone.’ Bacterial toxins, antibodies, and anti-microbial peptides suddenly became ‘short-range missiles’ shot at the other side to keep them at bay, and cells that ventured out into the mucosa were ‘gathering intel’ on the enemy, cold war-style.
by Olivia Woodford-Berry '19 Though the term is greatly ambiguous in today’s charged political culture, the growth of the “healthcare crisis” is at the forefront of both American and international politics. Antibiotics, although incredibly valuable, have consistently held a key niche in this discussion. Through overuse, these have begun to become less effective [1]. According to studies published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and Internal Medicine Journal, 20-50% of all antibiotics prescribed in the United States are unnecessary [2][3]. On a global scale, the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has led to severe repercussions for public health and economic stability within the healthcare system.
by Elena Renken '19  How do multicolor images end up on a graphic T-shirt? How do we accurately precisely label measurements on medical instruments? And how are the intricate conductive paths on the surface of microchips put in place?
All these designs, and a growing number of others, rely on one process: screen printing. The method is fairly simple: A screen made of fine mesh is coated with emulsion, and a design is laid over it in a machine that gives off ultra-violet light. The UV rays can’t penetrate the dark design, so they harden only the emulsion on the uncovered part of the screen. When the screen is washed out afterwards, only the soft emulsion that was under the design falls away. by Michelle Muzzio, 2nd Year Chemistry PhD Student If you are reading this thinking about the new film based on Dan Brown’s book Inferno, I am sorry, but you’re in the wrong place. However, if you’re instead thinking about the first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy in which Brown’s Inferno is loosely (and I mean loosely) based on, then get ready to go to hell… at least scientifically.  Sometimes people get hung up on the details of "hell" that they forget about the really scary stuff like Newtonian-based physics... before Newton was even born. Picture adapted from FreakingArG on DeviantArt. by Audrey Lee '16 and ScM'17 The field of developmental biology has introduced a vast array of genes, many of which have colorful, yet informative names that represent the physical appearance of flies affected by gene mutations. The names of such genes span from pop culture references, like Ken and Barbie, to food items found at the grocery store, like Swiss cheese. Some of these odd gene names have become problematic as scientists are discovering similar gene variants linked to developmental abnormalities in humans [1].
by Navya Baranwal '20  Women have been rushing to get the birth control pill ever since it was approved by the FDA in 1960 [1]. While it has been in use for decades, men resort to more typical methods of contraception such as condoms or withdrawal. There’s also vasectomy, in which the tubes that carry sperm are blocked, but let’s be real: a permanent procedure like this prevents males from being fertile ever again, and so is extremely rare [2]. Meanwhile, a woman’s options for contraceptive measure include birth control pills, female condoms, the patch, the ring, the shield, film, implant, sponge, diaphragm, and the list goes on. According to the Center for Disease Control, 16.0% of women aged 15-44 are currently on the birth pill. The birth control pill has fairly drastic consequences, forcing us to ask this question: why is it that women have to take such brute measures to prevent pregnancy, but men can get away with putting on some latex covering? There’s no doubt that men truly need to take a more active role in contraceptive measures.
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