Category: public posts
The select public posts from syn·op·sis, written and reviewed by iSci students at McMaster University. Each post is interdisciplinary in nature, and a wide variety of subject matter is covered. So sit back, relax, and start learning.
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Humans, Honey Bees, and the Importance of Individual Thought
“Sometimes it’s the little things that turn the world inside out,” says science writer David Quammen, in his essay, “Thinking About Earthworms” (1998). According to Quammen, with the rise of technologies like television and radio, the human population is made to think about the same things at the same time. Because of this, he believes…
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Whale Hello There
In the 2003 film Finding Nemo, the character of Dory is portrayed as a high-energy, extroverted, amnesia-ridden Blue Tang fish who cannot be relied on for anything more than companionship. However, at one point in the film, she encounters a large blue whale of whom she attempts to communicate with by stringing together an arrangement of random words and sounds (Video #1). While the scene is meant to be exaggerated, actual (unanimated) aquatic…
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Too Hot to Handle: Ecological Responses to Wildfire Disturbance
The steady increase in area burned by wildland fires in Canada is projected to double as climate change increases, making it really too hot to handle (Government of Canada, 2020). While this can be scary to us as humans, the local wildlife is left helpless as the flames consume their homes. This disturbance prompts community…
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Issues with Modern Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the most influential factors defining the prolific success of the human race. As Earth faces human overpopulation for the first time in history, agricultural sustainability is of the utmost importance as we attempt to feed a global population increase from 7.8 billion in 2020 to 9.9 billion by 2050 (Population Reference…
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Here for a Good Time or a Long Time?
For the goldfish in Cootes Paradise, there isn’t much of a choice. In 2017, a study investigated the impacts of anthropogenic contamination in multiple sites downstream of a wastewater treatment plant (Simmons et al., 2017). This water discharges into Cootes Paradise Marsh, leaving it polluted with various pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Simmons et al.…
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Signaling types in Dionaea muscipula prey interaction and capture
Dionaea muscipula, the infamous Venus fly trap, is perhaps the most well-known carnivorous plant on the planet. D. muscipula has been described by Charles Darwin as “the most wonderful plant in the world” because of its unique structure and feeding strategy (Darwin and Darwin, 1888). The anatomical design of this species consists of a pair…
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A Vine of the Times: The Impact of Climate Change on Viticulture
In 2019, the Oxford English Dictionary chose “climate emergency” as the word of the year. A pertinent sentiment, climate change is the defining issue of our time. Viticulture, the study of grape cultivation (Oxford English Dictionary, 2020), is highly dependent on climactic conditions. The slightest changes in temperature, humidity, and time can dictate how sweet,…
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The Exciting Future of Electrified Medicine
Within the medical community, the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) has remained a challenging and unresolved endeavour. The history of PD is extensive; despite being discovered by Dr. James Parkinson over 200 years ago, researchers are yet to find a cure (Goetz, 2011; Rizek, Kumar and Jog, 2016). However, due to advancements in modern-day technologies…
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Seismic Consideration in Structural Design
Like puzzle pieces, Earth’s outermost layer is composed of tectonic plates that shift and collide against one another, accumulating stress over time. As the friction is overcome, an accumulation of seismic energy is suddenly released in the form of an earthquake (Kukowski, 2016). But while natural quakes destroy buildings, how have engineers worked to create…
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Behind the sport: figure skating
A successful figure skater must have a combination of steady balance, speed, strength, control, and grace. The seemingly effortless jumps and spins can be deceiving until you give them a try yourself. Exploring the rigorous forces involved in every maneuver, the intense psychological aspect, and the conditioning techniques gives us a behind-the-scenes look at a…