Category: Science

Health, Miscellaneous, Science

The Toddlers & Tablets Epidemic

Giuliana C., US News Department Co-Editor

Gen Alpha. The first generation to be born into a completely digitized world in which they are handed an iPad immediately after they emerge from the womb. They bring the devices to the grocery store, restaurants, and even the dinner table, glued to the screen and unable to look away as if the thousands of pixels set them into a deep hypnotic state. But this excess time spent attached to a screen comes with a price and even some side effects we aren’t fully aware of yet.

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Health, US News

A Murky Future: COVID-19’s Effects on College Admissions and Post-Secondary Plans

Nastia G., Arts Department Co-Editor

As college decision season rolls around, the full effects of the coronavirus on the college admissions process are becoming brazenly clear. Along with claiming the lives of over 500,000 U.S. residents alone, COVID-19 also affects the futures of over 20 million teenagers (ages 15-19) across the country. Graduation and what used to be prom season is just around the corner, and many communities are acknowledging the unfortunate cancellations of these in-person high school events with sympathy. Some schools are even working on creative ways to allow these cherished teenage milestones to persist even under stringent safety protocols. There is no doubt about it- high school juniors and seniors are not having the high school experience they waited for, and it is unfair. But the sad truth is that not even a magical prom or in-person graduation ceremony will amend the anger and disappointment high schoolers nationwide feel. The real brunt of coronavirus on teenagers is not that it forces high school experiences to look different but that it seriously impacts life beyond graduation and makes the future even murkier.

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Science, Space

Satellite Mega-Constellations, Hampered Science, and a Cluttered Orbit

Valene McInerney, journalist

Long ago, people would look to the night sky and observe only natural celestial bodies. Artificial lights did not blot and blur their sights, and human-made satellites did not crowd their horizons. Both of these phenomena factor into modern astronomy, but it has only been in the past 19 months that satellites have become a threat to astronomical observation. With the recent surge in satellite launches and the construction of satellite mega-constellations, hobbyists and professional astronomers alike are witnessing what can be a dangerous disruption and distortion of their cosmic viewing. 

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Science

Influential Women in STEM

Jillian Haskin, Science Department Co-Editor

Historically considered as male-dominated, the STEM field has received more popularity recently due to the recognition of more women who have pioneered the way for a diverse community of women nationwide and promoted encouragement through scientific engagement. More women have been highlighted for their intricate work and persistence in the revolutionizing of science, crushing the stigma that surrounds the history of the STEM field. This has led to the emergence of the term ‘women in STEM.’ From unveiling the structure of DNA to finding a cure for seemingly unpreventable illnesses despite minimum recognition, women have shared many complex discoveries that prove the scientific community is one anyone can enter.

Breaking gender stereotypes and transforming the birth of innovation nationwide, the accomplishments of these women are one of the main reasons we can coexist today with the help of technology.

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Opinion, Science

Meet the Uterus: A Conversation About Childbirth and Female Reproduction

Nastia G., Arts Department Co-Editor

The female body is a taboo topic. In ancient times, women’s bodies symbolized the purest of entities. The female anatomy was supposed to be mysterious, sophisticated, and beautiful. Men and women knew little of reproductive anatomy, and most early diagrams of these systems were abstract. Until the 1960s, most men and women were not educated in schools about the construct of their own bodies, and many never received proper sexual education at all. In the present day, more than half of the United States, including the District of Columbia, do not require sexual education to be taught in public schools. Despite the lack of proper anatomical education, there are dozens of slang words for different female body parts, most of them used as insults against men as a means of degrading them.

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Health, Science

Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics

Diane K., journalist

 It is estimated that people have trillions of microbes externally and internally. Though it might not seem so, these microbes are a very essential part of everyone’s health. Good microorganisms such as probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics can confer many health benefits, making it a popular topic among many. Research has shown that foods containing probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics are beneficial to health in several ways.

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Health, Miscellaneous

Cabin Fever: What it is, and How You Can Avoid It

Beatrice L., Journalist

As millions of Americans stay at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, you might have noticed that you’ve developed feelings of isolation, whether the longing for interaction, feeling bored or unmotivated, or even feeling yourself losing touch with reality. What you might not realize is that these feelings have a name. What you’re experiencing is an age-old phenomenon known as cabin fever.  

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Science

The Arecibo Telescope and The Legacy That Remains

Valene M., journalist

Guarded by three concrete towers, admired by the 900-ton observatory that hung so precariously over it, and equipped with shining aluminum panels to stretch its 1,000ft diameter, the Arecibo Telescope was a colossal structure, both in physical size and historical significance. For 57 years, this giant, which was the world’s largest radio telescope until recently, proved itself an invaluable center for radio astronomy as it mapped planets, guided spacecrafts, tracked asteroids, and searched for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. This last August, its end began when one of 18 cables suspending its hovering observatory slipped and crashed into the panels at the edge of the dish. The damage then was not irreparable, but on November 6th, another cable snapped in half and gouged the center of the dish. With two cables out of commission, the platform above it was in danger of falling at any moment, making repair too dangerous to attempt. The National Science Foundation closed the dish permanently and prepared for its controlled demolition. Then on December 1st, the platform and the 900 tons of instruments that it held came crashing down, sealing the telescope’s fate.

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Science, US News

Enigmatic Monolith in Utah Desert Conjures Theories

Paige P., journalist

Shortly after its mysterious appearance, a twelve-foot-metal structure found in a remote area of the desert in Utah has already disappeared, just as quickly as it came. Members of the Utah Department of Public Safety were flying over the desert on November 18th in search of bighorn sheep. In addition to sheep, they came across a triangular, hollow monolith sticking out of the red rock. By the night of November 27th, the structure, composed of three sheets of stainless-steel, had already been removed by an individual or group of people just over a week after it was originally spotted. At the moment, there is no solid evidence pointing to who created the monolith, how it got there, how long it has been there, or how it disappeared.

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Health, Science, US News

Covid Vaccine

Ben K., journalist

A new vaccine for the virus sweeping the country, COVID-19, is in place and may be distributed through pharmacies and grocery stores alike. For many months now, COVID has been affecting everyone in some way, no matter who you are or what country you live in. According to the Associated Press, Moderna, an American biotechnology company, has released news that the tests have yielded very good news, despite the current state of the virus now, and how the future would look very grim without the vaccine. The vaccine has appeared to be 94.5% effective, which is a huge step in dealing with the virus and will be very effective if distributed soon. Many companies are in a race for the vaccine, but only a few have been very successful. While Americans brace heavily for the next possible wave of COVID coming to us all, there is a light at the end of a tunnel for us all.

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