Spotlight on research: What’s going on in those labs, anyway?

So some of you might be wondering what it’s like to work in a lab. Of course, some of you might think you know, since you watch CSI and all. Well, I’m here to tell you that working in a lab is just like CSI, except without the magical montages that allow them [...]

This Week’s BioBites: the end of the world, the personality of Massachusetts, and more!

This week in science has been quite busy. See what all those researchers have been up to!
Read this week’s BioBites!

Mary, Mary how does your fungus grow?

Think humans are the only farmers? Think again. Ants were gardening while we were still swinging from the trees. Only instead of corn, ants cultivate fungi. And unlike many humans’ gardens, the ants’ gardens are completely organic.
I want more candy!
You’re lying, right?
My brain hurts!

This Week’s BioBites: KoalaMatch.com, armed fungus, and more

Though grad students are great procrastinators, we still have a finite amount of free time and science is moving pretty quickly these days. Consequently, we come across a whole lot of interesting stories during the week that we don’t have time to write about on our blog. So from now on we’ll be [...]

If I only had a brain… I’d be fatter?!?

By now, we can all name lots of things that are making Americans fat: McDonalds, video games, fad diets that don’t work… the list goes on and on. But here’s one I bet you haven’t heard before: using your brain.
I want more candy!
You’re lying, right?
My brain hurts!

Marathon running: it’s all in the genes.

Okay, so it’s probably not all in the genes, but scientists have begun to track down the genes that are involved in creating runners who run ridiculous distances. Recently researchers in Australia found a mutation that changes muscle structure allowing greater endurance.
I want more candy!
You’re lying, right?
My brain hurts!

To CNN or not to CNN, that is the question…

As the Democratic convention has finished up and the Republican one is getting ready to go, politics are on the mind of a lot of people. Are you one of them, or are you the type who couldn’t care less? Turns out that your genes could help decide if you plaster your car [...]