By Zyara Morton, C2ST Intern, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

When thinking about ancestry, one can imagine a large apple tree. This tree has various branches, each with its own unique sets of smaller branches and red apples attached to the ends. Over time, these apples ripen and then fall. Eventually, the seeds from these apples are deposited into the soil—growing a whole new apple tree with its own unique set of branches, and shiny red apples. As you may have already guessed, the branches represent different categories: mammals, reptiles, insects—and the apples represent all living beings. Evolutionary scientists analyze these trees; investigating when certain branches came into, and others faded out of, existence. However, how are they able to trace back these ‘apples’? The answer to this is through the amazing practice of DNA analysis! 

Continue reading “Tracing Back the Apple: What DNA Analysis Can Tell Us about Evolution”

By Ella Coley, C2ST Intern, Waubonsee Community College

Gloria E. Barrera, MSN, RN, PEL-CSN (Certified School Nurse), plays a crucial role in her students’ daily lives at a high school in the Chicago suburbs, leading the school health services team, providing healthcare services to over 2,500 students, and serving as the chief health compliance officer. Additionally, she is a co-director of the online RN to BSN program at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), overseeing a high-quality, rigorous program designed for the working registered nurse. The RN-BSN program focuses on enhancing clinical thinking, evidence-based practice, health assessment skills, leadership and management ability, quality and safety knowledge, nursing informatics utilization, population-focused nursing and health promotion, and an overall understanding of the broadened role of the nurse and issues facing nurses and healthcare in the US and globally. She also serves on various nursing boards at the state and national levels to advocate for progress and equity in the nursing field. In this interview, Barrera discusses her background in nursing, the challenges and rewards of her current role, and advice and information on nursing school. Her 16+ years of experience offer valuable insight into how nursing professionals contribute to a healthy and supportive school environment, aiding the entire community.

Continue reading “Inside the World of School Nursing: Insights from Gloria Barrera’s Dual Role as Educator and Care Provider”

By Frances Clinite, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

Homes on fire while submerged in water, businesses swept away, mudslides dragging cars down streets, pets separated from families, widespread power outages affecting millions, National Guard helicopters rescuing people, and tornadoes forming over the ocean. You may recall these vivid scenes from Hurricanes Helene and Milton that wreaked havoc in late September and early October. Leaving behind a path of destruction and problems along the southeastern coast, we have no doubt about the scientific importance and seriousness of studying hurricanes. Among all the devastation, however, one topic continues to dominate headlines: climate change. Scientists and media outlets are pleading for serious attention to the threat of tropical storms and hurricanes under a worsening climate. So, what do scientists actually know about the relationship between hurricanes and climate change? How does climate change explain what we’re witnessing? 

By Vaneshi Ramdhony, Illinois Institute of Technology, Project guided by Dr. Nik Sultana

We live in a world where the internet connects everything from global economies to smart homes. Just like how people travel from one place to another by different modes of transport and across different streets, data also travels from one point to another through different containers and takes different routes. Engineers use network analysis to learn more about all this digital traffic. Network analysis gives experimenters the type of network traffic, how much traffic, and many more inputs that engineers can use to know what the network needs. For example; does the network need expansion, security, speed, or all three?  Networks are complex, and making sense of the massive amounts of traffic is no small task. This is where GraphBLAS, a powerful tool for network analysis, comes into play.

By Mackenzie Smith, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

What comes to mind when you think of schizophrenia? Movies and TV shows paint a picture of uncontrollable and disturbing visions, or even threatening thoughts and actions. The reality is that these are misconceptions – the vast majority of people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia are not violent and deal with challenges in socialization and cognition. Currently, there are nearly 3 million people in the United States living with schizophrenia and struggling to find medications that allow them to live stable lives. However, new hope is just around the corner. In September, a new antipsychotic treatment was approved by the FDA for the first time in decades. Why the rollout of a new therapeutic took so long gives us a peek into the difficulties of developing ways to treat any illness, and why mental illness is often left behind.

Continue reading “The Decades-Long Search for a Better Way to Treat Schizophrenia”

By Rowan Dunbar, C2ST Intern, University of Illinois Chicago

With the coming of fall, my head is often filled with images of beloved seasonal activities like carving pumpkins, buying apple cider, and celebrating Halloween. These images also come with pictures of ghosts around corners, witches on broomsticks, and scientists creating monsters. I love spooky festivities as much as the next person, but as a biomedical engineering student*, I also wonder why science is often portrayed as scary. Where did the mad scientist narrative originate? How does this factor into the amount of people, especially folks of color, I hear say that they are hesitant to receive new medical treatments? As it turns out, these questions lead back to the story of one particular Halloween monster – Frankenstein’s monster.