By Danielle Rodriguez, C2ST Intern, Waubonsee Community College

On a warm February night not too long ago, tornado storms swept through my college campus and hit surrounding towns. It was unusual to experience such a storm during a usually calm winter month. When I arrived at class the day after the storm, I saw uprooted trees, light poles completely knocked down, and traffic signs scattered. I began to wonder about how tornadoes form and why the United States experiences so many of them.

Continue reading “Tornado Terrain: Why is the US a Twister Hotspot?”

By Bianca Loglisci, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

If you live in the Midwest, you may have noticed that the weather has been all over the place lately. From 70-degree days in mid-February to 20-degree days at the end of March, the fluctuating seasons may seem frustratingly unexplainable. Part of an explanation for this wacky weather falls to a natural phenomenon called El Niño.

By Vivienne Couris, C2ST Intern, DePaul University

By Danielle Rodriguez, C2ST Intern, Waubonsee Community College

The beat of your heart, the grumbling of your stomach, the whisper of air traveling in and out of your nose – these are all processes of the human body that we can feel and hear. But what about the processes in our body that go unheard? What about the traits that transpire before we even take our first breath; the ones that determine if our hair is curly or straight, our eyes brown or blue? These traits are determined by our DNA sequences, and scientists are creating ways to find patterns in these sequences by translating them into music.

Continue reading “The Dynamics of DNA: How Scientists are Translating Genes into Symphonies”

By Ariane Tsai, C2ST Intern, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Institute for Genomic Biology

In a world of modern science, few discoveries hold as much promise and intrigue as stem cells. With their remarkable ability to regenerate and repair tissues, stem cell therapy has revolutionized medical treatments ranging from liver disease to leukemia¹. But have you ever wondered how these tiny yet potent entities take on these seemingly impossible tasks? Taking it one step further, how can two stem cells with the same characteristics regenerate different organs (i.e., one becoming a liver cell and another skin cell)? To understand how the cells go from stem cells to their final state, we will follow the journey of three stem cells in finding their way to fulfill their cellular fate.

  Continue reading “Diary of a Memory T cell: A Tale of Three Stem Cells”

By Bianca Loglisci, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

You’re likely familiar with the frowned-upon chemical compound carbon dioxide, CO2– a dangerous greenhouse gas that when released into the atmosphere in large amounts can drastically escalate the effects of climate change. But did you know that CO2 can be helpful in certain conservation efforts? Scientists have recently discovered and started implementing a new method of controlling invasive carp species in freshwater ecosystems. In some cases, CO2 may not be so bad after all!

Continue reading “Closeup on Carp: CO2 for Ecological Innovation”