Where do eukaryotic cells come from? The simple answer is, we do not know. However, Asgard archaea is currently seen as the closest prokaryotic relative of eukaryotes, and recent research has been conducted to explore Asgard archaea on a microscopic level. Eukaryotic Signature Proteins (ESPs) are proteins that differentiate eukaryotes from prokaryotes. Interestingly enough, genomes…
On Friday, September 24, nine students from the psychology department presented their summer research in the Powerhouse to a crowd of students and professors. Topics ranged from prejudice to mental health to child development, and everyone was excited to share their findings. The first poster in the lineup was presented by Nyla Guadalupe ‘23, who…
Photo courtesy of City of Toronto Twitter account (@cityoftoronto) In order to give some background on my research this summer, I thought it made sense to discuss a paper written by my internship professor. In 2019, Rebecca Totton and Kimberly Rios published “,Predictors of anti-transgender attitudes: Identity-confusion and deception as aspects of distrust.” This paper…
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What inspired you to write a senior thesis?I am a Senior Psychology major from New York. I had never taken a Psychology class before coming to Amherst. I took an Intro class and I loved it and I was particularly interested in abnormal psychology and that led to…
The following was adapted from a Zoom interview between Sarah Lapean and Annika Lunstad. Annika is a physics and math double major. She came to Amherst wanting to study physics, but without a clear idea of where she wanted to go with it. The summer after her freshman year, she participated in the Summer Science…
The following was adapted from an email interview between Sarah Lapean and Lesley Zheng. Tell us a bit about yourself; what life experiences influenced you to write a senior thesis? I am a computer science and mathematics double major. I was born in New York, but I grew up in Beijing, China. Growing up, my…
The following was adapted from an email interview between Sarah Lapean and Heather Scott. Tell us a bit about yourself. What life experiences influenced you to write a senior thesis? I am a psychology and English double major from a small town in central Illinois. I came to Amherst knowing that I was interested in…
William Balmer is a senior astronomy and physics double major. They took time out of their busy end-of-term schedule to talk about their thesis with the astronomy department: measuring the orbit and brightness of a young star embedded in a disk of material around another young star. The following was adapted from an email interview…
Currently, there are 96 candidate vaccines for COVID-19, with 27 candidate vaccines in stage 3 clinical trials. So far,13 vaccines have been authorized across multiple countries, and as of May 10th, 3 vaccines have been authorized and recommended for use in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson. Differing in how they provide immunity…
Visible even from the exterior of the Science Center building, the glass-encased upper floor laboratory spaces offer a glance into the inner workings of the research conducted in the Biology Department. Here, students are often seen working on experiments headed by professors, but they can also elect a more independent project their senior year: a…