If you’ve ever come face-to-face with a squirrel eyeing your granola bar on the First-Year Quad, you’re no stranger to the rodent’s cleverness. Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are considered an invasive species in certain places, like when they set up camp in African and European countries. But they truly hail from North America. And…
Finishing Wednesday on Netflix felt kind of like losing a friend. After watching an episode per day for eight days, I had spent almost eight hours with the titular character, getting to know her macabre sense of humor. How is it possible that I can feel so close to someone that I’ve never even met,…
On November 17, the Artificial Intelligence in the Liberal Arts Initiative, in collaboration with the Mead Art Museum, hosted an exhibition and panel called “Discussing Dall-E: The Impact of AI on Art.” The panel was moderated by Professor Lee Spector, and it featured Professor Yael Rice from the Art Department and Professor Scott Alfeld, Professor…
Science and art, commonly considered distant disciplines, actually go hand in hand. In fact, they complement each other and propel one another forward. Science illustrators, therefore, play a very valuable role in bridging the gap between these subject areas. A recent New York Times article explains an environmental science-related example of this phenomenon: “Pairing illustrations…
Could you briefly describe your research? “Of course! Our lab research is concerned with Drosophila—a fancy name for house flies. We are using the JR neuromuscular junction of Drosophila as a model system. Every student’s research is different, [but] I was assigned to research one of the proteins called PAR-1 within the presynaptic region of…
This piece was co-authored by Amy Zheng. STEMsibs, derived from “STEM siblings,” is a student group with a mission to guide new and undeclared students throughout their STEM journey at Amherst College. The STEMsibs offer monthly informational panels hosted by upperclassmen to form a tight-knit STEM community. Tavus Atajanova, one of the group’s organizers, describes…
On October 21, 2022, Dr. Sierra Marker King, a candidate for the biochemistry professor position at Amherst College, led this week’s Cheminar. She presented her doctoral and postdoctoral research. She began her higher education at SUNY Broome Community College and obtained an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. From there, she graduated from SUNY…
This year, the Amherst DeMott reading and lecture were centered around Poler Family Professor of Psychology Catherine Sanderson’s book, The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity. I sat down with her to ask a few questions inspired by the reading. Could you start by describing what your book, The Positive Shift…
They say that first impressions are everything – but did you know that assumptions are made about you as soon as the first seven seconds? It only takes one-tenth of a second for someone to decide if you’re trustworthy (Willis & Todorov, 2006). It similarly takes just fractions of a second for them to draw…
Yesterday was my last day working at CERN, and I was kept busy until the last moment. I spent the morning testing recently built electronics, and then I helped install them in the Antimatter Factory in the afternoon. It’s hard to believe that I untied my safety shoes for the last time and that my…