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.
-
Mini Brains: Coming Soon
In 2011, a biologist named Madeline Lancaster was working on growing 2D neural rosettes. Neural rosettes are columnar cells that form a radial structure and express proteins that are also expressed in neuroepithelial cells of a neural tube (Wilson & Stice, 2006). In an interesting turn of events, the cells instead started growing into a…
-
Like Eating Jell-O With Chop-Sticks: Analysis of Knuckleball Pitchers
“Not only can pitchers not control it, hitters can’t hit it, catchers can’t catch it, coaches can’t coach it and most pitchers can’t learn it” –American League umpire Ron Luciano (Freier, 2012) Baseball may be boring to some, but it is a romantic game to those who play it. None would agree more than knuckleball…
-
UnbeLEAFable: the learning behaviours of the Mimosa pudica plant
Known by many names, such as Humble Plant, Shy Plant, and even Shameplant (Royal Horticultural Society, 2020), the Mimosa pudica is truly unique. As shown in Figure 1, below, M. pudica displays a bright pink flower and many smaller leaves. At first glance, it may seem like any other plant you might come across in the…
-
Nanotechnology and Cancer: Shifting the Scales of Oncology
Nanotechnology, a field concerned with the properties, dynamics, and functions of vectors ranging in size from 1-1000 nanometers, is a relatively young discipline but is already of significant interest to many fields of research (Pucci, Martinelli and Ciofani, 2019). The integration of nanotechnology and medicine is commonly referred to as nanomedicine, a new approach to…
-
The Use of Metaphors in Science Communication
It can be very challenging to understand the complexity of a given scientific concept; this is where the use of metaphors intertwines with science communication as well as how science can be grasped by the general public. Metaphors can be used as a form of truth to those who are unfamiliar with the nomenclature of presented…
-
A Bird’s Eye View
At a fairly young age we are taught that birds in Canada migrate South to warmer climates during the winter. Due to Canada’s harsh winters, the survival of many birds depends on their ability to correctly interpret the Earth’s magnetic field as they make their journey to more southern areas (Gould, 2010). While most of…
-
Hey Alexa, Define Twindemic
2020 has been a tough year for all of us. First, the COVID-19 pandemic and now the beginning of flu season – does this hint at another big lifestyle adjustment? This season, we could be battling two fatal respiratory viruses at the same time, a phenomenon coined a twindemic. A twindemic is defined as two…
-
Soil bacteria to the rescue
With global temperatures on the rise, replacing industrial nitrogen fixation—a major source of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide—with biological nitrogen fixation represents one of many ways to mitigate climate change (Thomson et al., 2012). As the world’s growing population needs to be met with growing sources of food, biological nitrogen fixation will need to be…
-
Staying Fit in Microgravity
Have you ever dreamed of being an astronaut? Soaring high above Earth with stars in reach; floating, weightless, exploring the infinite unknown of our universe. For many of us aspiring scientists, travelling in space was one of our wildest childhood ambitions. Little did we know, living in the microgravity of space is akin to living…
-
Can a mobile app replace your birth control pill?
According to the government of Canada, oral contraceptives are the most frequently used form of reversible contraception, and around 75% of women will use these pills at some point in their life (Rotermann, Dunn, and Black, 2015). Despite common usage, the birth control pill puts users at increased risk of serious medical conditions, including strokes,…