Cover image credit: ESO/L. Calçada Two thousand years ago, Aristotle posited that the Sun and the planets of our Solar System are immaculate, divine bodies — a belief that stood its ground even into the 17th century. But Galileo, alongside other astronomers of his time, pointed his telescope at the heavens and uncovered a messier…
By Liam Warren and Garrett Cleveland Cover image credit: Aaron Bull/Getty Images On September 23, the Physics and Astronomy Department hosted Dr. Asja Rajda for her talk titled, “Transport properties of 2D corals and other ways physics can help us understand biology.” Radja holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and biochemistry from the University of Texas,…
Cover image by Mohammad Rahmani on Unsplash In an increasingly digital world, every software we use, website we visit, and piece of technology we purchase is founded on computer programs. Consumers of technology hardly bat an eye when an application performs correctly; however, if something goes wrong, companies risk their satisfaction rates, profit generation, and…
By Alyssa Friedman and Viktoria Leopold Cover image credit: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-zebrafish-larvae-appetite-suppressants.html In recent years, concern about environmental contaminants has grown mainstream, spurring research into the potential impact of certain chemicals on embryonic development, or how an organism spends the early stages of its life. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are particularly alarming because of how they mimic or…
Energy is a necessity for human survival, and in recent history, we have burned coal and drilled into the Earth’s surface to power our rapidly advancing societies. However, these methods place an enormous strain on the planet we call home. As humans are faced with the alarming ecological impacts of our energy decisions, we can…
This article is written by Olivia Law ’27, Nora Lowe ’26, Kyle Hur ’25, and Jiahuai Kang ’28. Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of this year’s esteemed LitFest guests, spoke with four Amherst students about the necessity of science in times of uncertainty, the American medical system, and the implications of Covid. A few hours prior…
By Julia Aram and Ava Wang On Saturday, November 9th, Amherst alumni Ina Petkova ‘06, Michelle Ngo ‘15, and Tara Yoo ‘15 spoke at the Math and Statistics Alumni Panel Discussion facilitated by Nika Jafar Nia. Following delicious food catered by El Comalito, these graduates offered accounts of their career paths while providing valuable words…
By Andrea Yan and Henry Sun Michael Barresi, a Professor of Biological Sciences at Smith College, was the speaker for the Biology Monday Seminar on December 4th. A prominent developmental biologist specializing in the development of vertebrae brains, he is a co-author of the widely-used textbook Developmental Biology. In his talk, he guided us through…
For over a decade, Amherst College has hosted an annual bioscience symposium for students to have the opportunity to hear from and connect with highly experienced Amherst alumni. This year, this event was named the Hughes Symposium as a tribute to the late Dr. Edward Hughes ‘62, P’95, ‘01, an Amherst alumnus whose prestigious career…
From boat ropes to shoelaces, knots are found everywhere in our day-to-day lives. But where things really get tied up is on the microscopic scale. Even the basic code for life inside our cells can sometimes be prone to tangles. So, why exactly are knots found in our DNA, and what are the biological causes?…