How Do Racing Pigeons Find Their Way Home?
My father used to breed racing pigeons, a hobby known in Spanish as “colombofilia.” He had his own “palomar,” or pigeon loft, where he raised… Read More »How Do Racing Pigeons Find Their Way Home?
Perspectives in Research
The Pressure to Be Born: How Cells Feel Their Way into Labor
Your first argument with your mother was over housing. For months you lived together in relative peace, but you just rubbed her the wrong way… Read More »The Pressure to Be Born: How Cells Feel Their Way into Labor
Life Beyond Earth?
I recently watched Project Hail Mary, a movie that tells the story of how we discover and interact with alien lifeforms outside of our solar… Read More »Life Beyond Earth?
Beyond the Bench: Why Scientific Discovery Needs Translation
I have spent much of my life translating. Growing up between Mandarin and English taught me that the same idea can take different forms depending… Read More »Beyond the Bench: Why Scientific Discovery Needs Translation
More Than Glue: How Non-Neuronal Cells Contribute to Thinking
What if neurons aren’t the only cells that create thoughts? Research into glia has complicated the neuron-focused story. Neurons are known as the brain cells… Read More »More Than Glue: How Non-Neuronal Cells Contribute to Thinking
What the X-15 Taught Me About Engineering the Impossible
Research was something my uncle and I shared, even when our sciences spoke different languages. My uncle, Edwin Junior Saltzman, was a NACA/NASA engineer whose… Read More »What the X-15 Taught Me About Engineering the Impossible
How Identity Shapes Science: Why Queer Perspectives Are Critical in Research
I recall one of my undergraduate professors preaching that science is better than other fields because we operate outside of politics, sociocultural categorizations and human… Read More »How Identity Shapes Science: Why Queer Perspectives Are Critical in Research
When Biology Becomes the Target: Pathology-Aware Drug Delivery
Targeted drug delivery has transformed modern therapeutics by enabling selective intervention at the level of specific cells and tissues. Much of this progress has been… Read More »When Biology Becomes the Target: Pathology-Aware Drug Delivery
Learning About Electrodiagnostic Studies
During an NCS, an electrical stimulator delivers mild electrical signals to stimulate motor and sensory nerves. The stimulation generates action potentials, which are changes in… Read More »Learning About Electrodiagnostic Studies
When Age Changes the Rules of Cancer Biology
Aging is the strongest risk factor for cancer, yet for much of my scientific training it existed as a background statistic rather than a biological… Read More »When Age Changes the Rules of Cancer Biology