Model organisms are non-human species that scientists use to study biological mechanisms. They should be easy to grow, mature quickly, have lots of offspring, and have a sequenced genome. Some of the most popular model organisms are yeast, house mice, fruit flies, worms, and zebrafish. Different organisms have unique traits that make studying specific processes…
In my opinion, one of the most amazing things that biologists do is peer into the past by imagining what animals once looked like and how the animals of today are related to each other. If the molecular biological and phylogenetic concepts that biologists use were artistic media, their canvas would be their organism of…
Hello! My name is Javier Londono and I am from Garfield, NJ. I am a rising junior biology major. I am also working on the 5 college marine science certificate. On campus, I am a part of DQ, the oldest Acapella group on campus and I joined DASAC this past spring! I am participating in…
How can we use science to fight injustice? What actually is a stereotype or prejudice? How do they work, and what can be done to push back against them? Ever wondered what social psychology cares about changing? If you’re curious, check out this quick overview of what it means to study stereotypes and prejudice in…
Hello! My name is Carl Soderstrom, and I am a rising sophomore majoring in Biochemistry and French. This summer, I will be on campus working as a Greg Call intern for Professor Wu Orr. Our lab is interested in how bacteria utilize small proteins of about 50 amino acids or shorter to respond to stressors…
Hi, everyone! I’m Cailin Plunkett, a rising junior majoring in physics and mathematics. This summer, I’m researching gravitational waves through the Caltech LIGO SURF program. Electromagnetic (EM) radiation—like infrared, visible light, UV, etc—is the type of data we are used to receiving from space. The first telescopes looked at stars and planets in the visible…
My name is Shikha Jha, and I’m a rising senior majoring in Psychology alongside a certificate in Culture, Health, and Science. This summer, I’m a Public Health Scholar with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and I’m excited to be talking about my experiences with the Amherst STEM Network! Members of the cohort spend…
My name is Skyler Sung, a rising third-year Neuroscience major. I look forward to sharing my reflections as a part of the National Institutes of Health Summer Internship Program (NIH SIP). Through this program, students select a lab from one of the many Institutes and Centers (ICs) to work in and are able to participate…
Hello everyone! My name is Grace Lee, and I am a rising sophomore majoring in Biology. This summer, I am conducting cell research through SURF at Amherst in the Edwards Lab. Using the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum, the Edwards Lab studies cell migration. Though the overall goal of the lab is to understand how cells…
Hello! My name is Phillip Zhou, and I’m a rising sophomore at Amherst College majoring in biology and mathematics. I love learning about developmental biology, applied mathematics, and evolution. Two weeks ago, I started work with the Gibson Lab at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, where I will be using the starlet sea anemone…