This year—2022—has been another exciting year for research in human evolution. With many projects around the world proceeding despite the COVID pandemic, there were multiple exciting discoveries and breakthroughs in a variety of fields. From telling us more about our food, our health, our close relatives and ancestors, and even our animal friends, these new discoveries shed more light on what it means to be human.  Meat, fire, and beer: the origins of our modern food staples and how they shaped our species For decades one of the hallmarks of human evolution has been the presumed shift fro ..read more

The communication gap between the medical field and the general population can lead to devastating consequences. Pediatric emergency medicine in particular faces many challenges as patients are often too young and inexperienced to advocate for themselves. Along with this, healthcare practitioners do not always know the most effective ways to interact with the young patients and their guardians. Many of these problems can be traced back to the history of pediatric medicine, primarily because the idea of specialized emergency care for children is relatively recent. The field of emergency me ..read more

By Patricia Newman Expressions of gratitude for nature rarely make headlines. Yet a growing body of research tells us that we feel better when we’re outdoors. Connections to nature improve our physical and psychological health and define our cultural identities. Perhaps we cultivate respectful values by following nature’s lead: nothing in nature lives for itself. The survival of one species depends on the survival of all species within an ecosystem. As an award-winning author of environmental children’s books, I have spent the last eight years visiting classrooms across the U.S. sharing my pas ..read more

To unthaw or to unthaw? That is the question. Introducing my favorite word in the English language, “unthaw” has two meanings; 1) to thaw and 2) to freeze. Two definitions that directly contradict each other! And drive some of my family members nuts when I use unthaw. This is why clear and concise language is so incredibly important especially when we want to effectively communicate science to the public.   Language is a lot like science, both are super cool and both are always changing and updating.  Language is especially neat because it allows us to communicate complex ideas ..read more

In this post, graduate student Makayla Anderson illustrates the work of Dr. Wanda Thruston and the importance of serving the community. This post was written in partnership with Dr. Krista Longtin’s advance science and research communication writing course at IUPUI. –JAS According to the CDC, there is about a 1 in 500,000 chance of getting struck by lightning. The CDC also reported that the risk of a fully-vaccinated person getting COVID-19 is around 9% – but I suppose my subconscious equated that to the first statistic. “There’s no way this storm will hit my home,” I thought. Alas, not long i ..read more

Patient input is critical to the advancement of patient care. In this post graduate student Michael Liesen showcases Dr. Paul Musey’s research which focuses on improving mental health interventions in the ER. This post was written in partnership with Dr. Krista Longtin’s advance science and research communication writing course at IUPUI. –JAS “The only way out is through, and the only way through is together.” This quote, which is adapted from Robert Frost’s Servant of Servants, is likely one you may have read or heard, and if you email Dr. Paul Musey you will see it at the bottom of his email ..read more

Do you think cleaning the cat litter box is an annoying chore that you have to complete every day? What if I told you that scooping the litter incorrectly could endanger your life? It is possible that your sweet and innocent cat is harboring a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (Toxoplasma) that can be passed to humans through contact with cat feces. In most cases of human infection, the parasite lies asleep in the brain. However, in individuals with impaired immune systems, Toxoplasma can cause lots of problems for its human host such as damage to the eyes, brain, and other ..read more

By Kate Narita My biggest aha moments in life have happened when I’ve become aware of an implicit bias that a few months earlier I would have told you I didn’t have.  At the end of 2021, I would have told you with 100 percent certainty that I embrace and support STEM education as much as literacy in my fourth-grade classroom.  I would have told you that, after a professor from Columbia University’s Teacher College heard me speak about science instruction, she asked me to co-present a session at the National Science Teacher ..read more

An insulin bottle and packaging from the 1920s “Iletin Insulin, Lilly, 1920s” CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Image credit "Iletin Insulin, Lilly, 1920s" by national museum of american history is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 By the start of the 1920s, a treatment for diabetes, one of the world’s oldest diseases, had eluded the medical community for over two millennia. However, the prolonged wait was nearly at an end. In 1921, a research team from the University of Toronto isolated a new hormone from dogs. That hormone was insulin, the body’s regulator of blood g ..read more

April is Citizen Science Month! In this post, graduate student Mandy Dees illustrates the work of Dr. Gabriel Filipelli and how research benefits greatly with partnerships between the community and scientists. This post was written in partnership with Dr. Krista Longtin’s advance science and research communication writing course at IUPUI. –JAS Lead & daycare playgrounds do not mix! Some daycare playgrounds are in the back yards of Indiana and many don’t realize pollutants may be hiding in the soil. Have no fear, because a citizen science effort in Indianapolis, led by Dr. Gabriel Filippell ..read more