By Bhanu Sontela Federal proposals to cut grant funding for medical research institutions are having widespread effects on universities and research centers across the United States. The majority of those impacted are researchers and students whose grants and fellowships are funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)

By Ethan Eng Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, announced on January 7th the replacement of third-party fact-checkers with a community-driven notes system. The new change in their policy mirrors that of X, formerly Twitter, and its shift towards relying on user-based notes on posts. The notes left by

By Isaac Margolis Scientists have discovered evidence suggesting that the Moon may still have active tectonic plates, which contradicts previous beliefs that it is geologically inactive. Researchers using modeling software identified younger ridges and curves on the Moon’s surface, indicating ongoing movement similar to Earth’s current tectonic activity. The

By Keily Gupta Simultaneously watching an experiment run, taking notes and making observations, a woman stands in the center of a Stanford research laboratory. Abantika Ganguly, a current staff scientist at Stanford Medicine, researches molecular biology and focuses on studying stem cells and regenerative medicines to help cure incurable diseases.

By Kara Ngo In recent years, STEM education, poverty, and gender inequality have become focal points for policymakers, educators, and advocates. The gender gap in STEM fields is a persistent issue that limits individual potential and hampers societal progress. As diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are threatened, there is

By Kaia Paul In 2017, the FDA approved the drug Ozempic as a treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes. While only 11.6% of the US population suffers from this condition, the medication was listed on the FDA’s 2023 drug shortages list. The main cause of this unexpected

By Lilianne Grace Montehermoso Quantum Computing. A relatively unknown field, but consisting of qubits and a promising future. Quantum computing is known as a revolving part of information theory, computer science, and quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is the study of subatomic particles and explains how extremely small materials have characteristics

By Ina Kim Women’s health apps are designed to collect data for a woman’s menstrual cycle, pregnancy tracking, fertility, or general well-being. While the idea of tracking a lot of information at once may sound like a positive aspect for women, women’s health apps are often considered

By Reinina Zhang A woman named Alicia Framis sits cross-legged on her living room chair, exchanging conversation as she enjoys a meal with her soon-to-be husband. At a moment’s glance, the scene is oddly comforting, yet it quickly lends itself to a strange, dystopian ambiance. Truthfully, Framis is the

By Ahana Mandal There are some in the world with unbelievable talents — accomplished soloists by their early teens, math geniuses accepted into MIT — who seem to be gifted with their abilities since birth. But what if those abilities were acquired later in life — by accident? That is the true story

By Ashley Liau Japan’s Mount Fuji experienced its first snowfall on Nov. 6, breaking a 130-year record for the longest time before the first snowfall. Beating the previous record of Oct. 26 occurring in both 1955 and 2016, the brief snowfall on Nov. 6 was the latest in the

By Kara Ngo Researchers at New York University (NYU) conducted a study that revealed that kidney and nerve tissue cells can form memories in November 2024. This discovery challenges long-held beliefs about memory formation, contradicting the traditional view that memories are formed exclusively in the brain. This research, published in

By Kaia Paul 80% of sewage is emptied into our oceans every day. This wastewater — fraught with toxic pathogens, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics — is deadly to aquatic wildlife. While companies have previously tried to clean sewage with carbon-intensive treatment methods, there are not enough resources to purify all sewage water. With

By Lilianne Grace Montehermoso Picture sitting in the most futuristic car imaginable with a two-seating arrangement and the ability to drive without human assistance. As of early October 2024, Tesla’s new vehicle, the “Cybercab” or the “Robotaxi”, was revealed at Warner Bros Studio in California. This autonomous automobile changes

By Isaac Margolis As technological advancements continue to revolutionize industries and the growing global workforce, it is evident that the limitations of a traditional STEM curriculum are beginning to become increasingly apparent. STEM is an acronym standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This current system fails to prioritize creativity

By Ina Kim On February 28th, 2024, a boy named Sewell Setzer III took his own life after chatting with an A.I. character from the online artificial intelligence chatting software Character AI. The mother of this teen is now taking legal action against the company, claiming that the bot

By Ahana Mandal 6 hours. That was all the time an AI program needed to create thousands of molecules mimicking potent toxins like VX, a compound that is linked with biological and chemical warfare. And that was 3 years ago, back in 2021. In essentially less time than we attend

By Bhanu Sontela In the 1997 movie “Gattaca”, genetic engineering shapes society so that only “perfect” people prosper and those who are born naturally are left behind. Today, this scenario is becoming a reality because of the gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9, which holds promise for treating illnesses including sickle cell anemia

By Ethan Eng The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom surrounding the lives of Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, who are physicists working at the California Institute of Technology. The show primarily focuses on their comedic struggles as they navigate their social and romantic lives. In the series, Sheldon

By Ethan Eng Deadly Flesh-Eating Bacteria infections break record highs in Japan in June with experts theorizing it to be a repercussion of the immune system debt caused by COVID-19 restrictions. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a type of strep bacteria that can cause varying infections ranging from minor to

By Reinina Zhang Xenotransplantation: the past, the present, and the promising future. The world’s first combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant was performed at NYU Langone Health in mid-April this year. In a hospital room of NYU Langone Health Hospital, Dr. Robert Montgomery moves urgently among

By Bhanu Sontela MIT and Nanyang University engineers developed an affordable lead contamination sensor according to a MIT News article published in May 2024. This device provides an alternative to traditional lead testing methods, often involving costly laboratory analysis and long wait times for results. “There’s this problem that

By Theertha Hariharan Arulmozhi With a career spanning decades in which she has inspired countless volunteers and established numerous successful ocean restoration projects, marine biologist Nancy Caruso is a beacon of hope for Southern California’s marine ecosystems, as she specializes in restoring its struggling kelp forests and abalone habitats. Caruso’s

By Keily Gupta Subhasree Mandal is currently a distinguished engineer at Google, where she is paving her own path to make an impact in STEM as a woman. Mandal was born in India, where she lived until she graduated from the Indian Institutes of Technology, commonly known as IIT. After

By Ahana Mandal For millennia, music has brought people together to enjoy and reflect on past memories, from the days of the large orchestral symphonies to modern-day pop songs that lie in our playlists. However, there is now an emergence of a different kind of music—one that isn’t

By Ina Kim Watching grotesque humans covered in mushrooms run in ruined cities would certainly not please anyone to eat mushrooms now, because The Last of Us has the exact gruesome image of these human fungus-infected zombies. Cordyceps. It’s a type of fungus that infects insects using spores in

By Kaia Paul Trapped in a violent storm of dust and debris, astronaut Mark Watney struggles to reach his ship and escape Mars’ harsh climate. Suddenly, a large metal plate strikes Watney unconscious, leaving him stranded on this foreign planet as the rest of his crew escapes to Earth. Left

By Kara Ngo Picture yourself as a child, sitting cross-legged in front of the television. The Magic School Bus is playing on the screen, and you excitedly take in its vibrant animations and educational adventures. Though as you grow older, you notice your beloved shows are becoming rarer on television,