Dear Brad, I love you very much and it breaks my heart to write this letter. For a long time, I believed that your fascination with Deadpool was just a phase. But it has driven us apart. It is clear that you believe you can regenerate limbs like Deadpool, but you are harming your physical health and it scares me. Your belief in your power to regenerate limbs has led to some close calls. I’ve had to accompany you to the emergency room too many times, like when you almost severed your hand with a circular saw. As I don’t…
The Science Creative Quarterly
From textbook
A BRIEF GUIDE TO COMBATTING MASS SURVEILLANCE
Mass surveillance has been the norm for decades, and is growing rather than shrinking even as public knowledge of it increases. Spy agencies surveil entire countries the world over, targeting political dissidents and minorities more than terrorists and subverting the free expression essential to democratic processes. These practices harm liberty and security alike according to…
AN INTRODUCTION TO CREATINE
Many profits in the supplement industry are generated by making exaggerated claims about their products. Despite the popularity of such supplements, few are very well researched and the industry itself isn’t well regulated. In fact, one popular pre-workout stimulant, Jack3d, was recently banned in the United States because it contained an illegal dietary supplement, dimethylamylamine (DMAA), that has been linked with the development of cardiovascular problems. Creatine, however, is a popular supplement used for increasing muscle development and athletic performance that has been well-researched and has been consistently proven to produce these effects. Its effects can be explained by basic…
REFUGEE SCREENING: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION (AND A REQUEST FOR EQUIPMENT)
In an increasingly chaotic world, people fleeing life-threatening chaos—refugees—are a growing group. Today over 65 million displaced people—representing the biggest wave of mass displacement since World War II—seek safer, better lives in new countries, cultures, languages, fields, and communities. Many are climate refugees—people displaced by the effects of climate change. This group will probably grow by an order of magnitude in the coming decades, unless countries and corporations achieve global collective action to reduce carbon emissions and otherwise stem the effects of what we are already experiencing as climate departure. Refugees face many challenges, from life-threatening violence and other disaster…
THE CELL-ECTION: ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
It’s election time! Whether discussed in casual conversations or featured in heated arguments, the campaign trail is one that many have followed. The highly anticipated day when voters take to the polls will ultimately lead to huge changes on a number of fronts. The major parties have advertised their platforms on many occasions and statistics suggest leaders remain in a close race. With polls revealing no indication of a sure winner, the leaders are undoubtedly seeking to appeal to undecided voters. We now begin live coverage of tonight’s final debate in this year’s Cell-ection. – – – Moderator: The leaders…
CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Over the past few decades, cancer therapy has advanced in leaps and bounds. Despite this improvement (and also spurred on by it), scientists and researchers are constantly looking for newer and better ways to treat cancer patients. Traditionally, cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery. Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses drugs and radiation therapy uses high energy waves to kill cancer cells. However, both treatments don’t only affect cancer cells. They can be extremely toxic and have many severe side effects, as they are systemic treatments, meaning that they can affect cells all over the body,…
FLORIGEN: THE HIDDEN HORMONE
Introduction It’s a mysterious substance with a mysterious past: intrigue and imprisonment followed the first suggestion of its existence, and a lifetime of labour could not discover its identity. Mikhail Khristoforovich Chailakhyan, a biologist in the USSR during Stalin’s reign, argued in 1936 that there must be a hormone – called florigen – that causes plants to produce flowers. Florigen, and the evidence for its existence that Chailakhyan amassed, was an exciting contribution to the era’s understanding of plant development and attracted considerable scientific attention. What is surprising is that florigen was also a politically radical notion. Chailakhyan’s idea was…
TRUE FACTS ABOUT THE GIANT SEQUOIA: OR WHAT KIND OF NAME IS SEQUOIADENDRON GIGANTEUM
Imagine a large tree. Now imagine a much larger tree. That is how the giant sequoia do. No, let’s try this again. Imagine a large tree. Now imagine this tree as a branch, not a tree, attached to another much larger tree. Now imagine that much larger tree. That is how the giant sequoia do. Three decades ago, a branch fell off one of the largest giant sequoia. It was 43m long. Last try: imagine a boy. He grew up in the desert, is 4 years old, has never seen a tree, but was once told how a tree looks…
CELL BIOLOGY VIA SEVENTEEN-SYLLABLES: LESSONS THROUGH HAIKUS
Introduction Since I have a fierce love for cell biology (I did complete my BSc. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, after all), what follows is a brief overview of cell biology that someone in grade 12 could understand. We start with animal and plant cells, and the various organelles in each before we marvel at cell signaling for a moment, and then take a quick look at how cells use the processes of transcription and translation to produce proteins from a gene. Each section begins with a descriptive paragraph and helpful visuals, and is concluded by a series of…