Category: syn·op·sis beta

Referring to the brain, the center of our nervous system, as one singular, consolidated organ is no longer the full truth. The long-standing model developed decades ago by developmental biologists treated the brain as the product of a common neural ectoderm. Ectoderm refers to the outermost germ layer formed during early animal embryo development that major structures…

Throughout history, eye-witnesses have reported seeing “darts of light”, “rockets”, and “flames” above thunderstorms (Boeck et al. 1998). Were they random acts of nature? Completely made up? No, they were likely Transient Luminous Events (TLEs): lightning-related phenomena that despite their fantastical names, are as real as you and me. Before getting into TLEs themselves we…

When considering wine production, we often picture grapevines, fermentation, and the overall chemistry that is behind it. However, we should also consider the impact of the surrounding vineyard ecosystems and how they directly or indirectly influence wine production. In fact, many wine producers can be seen incorporating beekeeping at their vineyards. This lets us ask,…

If you’ve been on the internet at all recently, it’s difficult to not have heard the word looksmaxxing. This phenomenon impacts primarily young men on the internet and is essentially a trend of “maximizing” one’s appearance, particularly masculine features such as the jawline. Methods of looksmaxxing span from dieting and skincare to steroid use and…

If you’ve ever used an analog television, you’re likely not surprised to hear that the static “snow” you experience when flicking through channels is a result of different electromagnetic waves interfering with the TVs signal. You may, however, be surprised that a portion of those waves, particularly in the microwave spectrum, can be traced all…

Within the population of USA, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) disproportionately affects women a lot more, with 2/3 of the overall cases being women (Association 2016). In fact, through numerous studies, it was found that sex, after age, was the most determining factor in Alzheimer’s risk (Subramaniapillai et al. 2021). This is because women are more impacted negatively by factors that increase their…

The traditional narrative suggests that heterosexuality is the natural way of life in the animal kingdom, yet same-sex sexual behaviour (SSSB) has been documented in over 1500 different species (Gómez et al., 2023). One of these species is the bonobo (Pan paniscus), where SSSB frequently occurs (Waal et al., 1998). How and why then did…

Would you believe if someone told you they just sailed “over a boundless plain of snow, or a sea of quicksilver”? Those were the words of Captain Kempthorne of the Moozuffer in 1849 when he sailed through a patch of the Arabian Sea (Hudson and Miller 2025). Fewer than 400 similar sightings have been logged…

In the musical Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, the main character Diana undergoes various medications and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to manage her hallucinations and bipolar, resulting in severe memory loss. Throughout the second act, she struggles to gain back her memories, highlighted by the line, “You wonder which is worse, the…

During midterm season, university students have a common habit of staying awake all night in hopes of retaining more information for an important test. The belief is that the more time spent studying, the more information is retained; therefore, the better performance on an evaluation (Hershner and Chervin 2014). Most students understand that repeated sleep…