Articles for category: Conservation, Disease & Medicine

Pile of logs sitting in the middle of a forest.

How Deforestation Can Lead to the Spread of Infectious Diseases

Trizzy Orozco

Deforestation is a rapidly escalating global issue with implications that reach far beyond biodiversity loss and carbon emissions. It’s a process that both directly and indirectly facilitates the spread of infectious diseases. This article delves into the multifaceted ways through which deforestation acts as a catalyst for disease proliferation, impacting both human and animal populations. ...

Researcher and microscope

Single Cell RNA Sequencing A Game Changer in Understanding Disease at the Cellular Leve

In recent years, scientific advancements have transformed our understanding of diseases, particularly at the cellular level. One revolutionary technology making waves in the field of genomics and cell biology is Single-Cell RNA Sequencing (scRNA-seq). This technique allows researchers to study the genetic activity of individual cells, providing unprecedented insights into cellular diversity and function. Practical ...

The Medical Mysteries Doctors Still Can’t Explain About Dying

The Medical Mysteries Doctors Still Can’t Explain About Dying

Sameen David

Ask any doctor and they’ll tell you: for all our scans, monitors, and lab tests, the moment of dying still feels strangely mysterious. We can often predict roughly when a body will fail, but what it actually feels like from the inside, why some people hang on against all odds while others slip away suddenly, ...

Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing (ESBLs) Enterobacteriaceae bacteria: Escherichia coli.

The Hidden World of Microbes: How Bacteria Shape Our Health and Environment

Trizzy Orozco

Microbes form an invisible network of life that influences our health, environment, and even the global climate. This hidden world encompasses bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms that inhabit nearly every part of our planet. Despite their microscopic size, these organisms play pivotal roles in ecosystem functions and human well-being. Let’s explore how bacteria, in ...

Bacteria sample

Can We Grow Brains in Labs? The Ethics of Mini-Minds in Petri Dishes

Imagine peering through a microscope and seeing tiny clusters of living brain cells pulsing and connecting in a swirling dance—created not by nature, but by human hands in a laboratory. This isn’t a scene from a science fiction movie; it’s one of the most astonishing breakthroughs in modern neuroscience. Today, scientists are growing miniature brain-like ...

Army scientists energize battery research

The Frozen Zoo: Where DNA Is Stored to Save Future Species

It sounds like something out of science fiction: a vault filled not with gold, but with the essence of life itself—cells, eggs, sperm, and even entire genomes of endangered and extinct species, frozen in time. Yet this is no fantasy. Welcome to the Frozen Zoo, a pioneering effort where hope and science intertwine to fight ...

Sacculina carcini.

This Parasitic Barnacle Castrates Crabs and Then Controls Their Bodies

Trizzy Orozco

Picture a world where a tiny invader slips quietly into another creature’s body, hijacks its mind, and takes over its life in ways that seem almost supernatural. This isn’t the plot of a sci-fi thriller—it’s the shocking reality for thousands of crabs living along coastlines worldwide. Their tormentor? A parasitic barnacle named Sacculina, whose twisted ...