0
Vaccination in the 21st Century
Vaccines are a complex innovation in disease prevention. Their widespread administration, both in the past and in contemporary society, has led to the eradication of diseases like smallpox and the near-eradication of ailments such as polio. Research into both existing and novel vaccines still takes place today, contributing to many fields including immunology and genetics….
0
AFM: The Polio-Like Illness Taking the Nation by Storm
BY SHREYA SHRIRAM | SQ ONLINE REPORTER | 2018-2019 A highly contagious, often fatal disease that frequently leaves its victims paralyzed and unable to breathe or move their limbs. These were the realities of polio, a debilitating viral disease that was prevalent in the early 1900s. Fortunately, polio has been almost eradicated today in most…
0
Dsuvia: Newly-approved painkiller does little to assuage the pain of nation’s opioid crisis
BY GAYATHRI KALLA | SQ ONLINE WRITER | SQ ONLINE (2018-19) The opioid abuse epidemic in the United States is one of the nation’s most devastating public health crises in recent years, currently claiming the lives of over 115 overdose victims each day. The misuse of opioids, both those prescribed in hospitals as painkillers and…
0
Could the Future of Neuroscience be Grown in a Dish?
BY ARJUNE NIBBER | SQ ONLINE REPORTER | 2018-2019 For biomedical researchers and physicians, the most complicated and at times frustrating questions are those concerning the human brain. The brain remains one of the most mysterious organs in the human body, yet also one of the most studied. The reason for this disconnect is the…
0
It’s Hard to Teach Science
There are many challenges and problems with the current education system, including its sometimes robotic nature. Often times, the manner in which curriculum is presented only seems to benefit students who excel at memorizing large amounts of information, leaving the rest of the students behind. This is obviously unfair. I see this as a problem…
0
Exercising Caution
I just wanted to write a fun blog encouraging you to go for a run and not stress about finals for a bit. As it turns out maybe that was overambitious. My last handful of blogs have been fairly uncontroversial; the research I encountered generally pointed to one solid answer and –besides having to manage…
0
Evolution Confusion
BY MELODY NAZARBEGIAN | BLOGGER | SQ ONLINE (2018-19) As finals week approaches, the phrase “survival of the fittest” resonates with many students seeking to prove themselves in UC San Diego’s competitive academic environment. Darwin’s theory definitely did not refer to one’s ability to study for endless hours, surviving on minimal amounts of sleep…
0
Made In La Jolla: UC San Diego’s Contributions to Research Around the World
BY ARJUNE NIBBER | SQ ONLINE WRITER | SQ ONLINE (2018-19) Research biologists are hard at work in laboratories all over the world, performing carefully constructed experiments to produce answers for longstanding questions about life, disease, and humanity. The biological sciences have catapulted into the future through the 20th and 21st centuries due to novel…
0
Bad Blood: An Insight into the Corrupt World of Theranos (A Book Review)
Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford in 2004, just after her freshman year, to start a biotechnology company called Theranos. She believed that with a small drop of blood (Figure 1), people could be tested for different diseases and deficiencies. That idea turned out to be more fiction than reality. Much of her support came…
0
LASIK: UNDERSTANDING HOW COMPLICATIONS ARISE
In a time in which computer screens have become a part of everyday life, myopia or nearsightedness is more prominent than ever. Currently forty percent of the US population is myopic, and the rate is expected to reach fifty percent by 2050. This is why Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, or more commonly known as LASIK,…