The makeup of a university department can shape its research and teaching for many years. Having a diverse group of professors can inspire students from all backgrounds to aim higher in their education or research careers. It is a well-known fact that diverse teams come up with better ideas and achieve more. In 2020, the number of female professors in a certain de...
Fish can be very sensitive to changes in their environment. Two types of fish, Colossoma macropomum and Piaractus brachypomus, were put through a temperature test. This was to see how their bodies reacted to a sudden drop in temperature, followed by a return to normal. The fish were kept in water that was suddenly cooled from 28. 7°C to 18. 6°C. This was done for...
Let's talk about pigs, but not the ones on farms. We're talking about the ones living in our homes as pets. You might be surprised to learn that most of the health data we have for pigs doesn't really apply to these companion pigs. This is because the data comes from farm pigs, which can be quite different. The main goal of a recent study was to create new health gui...
The world was thrown into chaos in early 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, which required a rapid switch to online learning. The changes were not easy, especially in countries where accessing the internet and other digital tools was not simple. The move to digital classrooms was a massive test for educators. The challenge was particularly steep for su...
Ever wondered how a tiny creature like the Noah's Ark shell (Arca noae) builds such intricate structures? Scientists dove deep into this question, using powerful tools like X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopes, and atomic force microscopes to understand the shell's makeup. They found that the shell isn't just a simple structure—it's a complex mix of tiny,...
Did you know that sea ice can influence how some underwater plants in Antarctica grow and what nutrients they provide? Scientists looked at how different amounts of sea ice affect four common marine plants along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. They found that while sea ice coverage can change how many plants there are, it doesn't really affect what nutrients these p...
Biochemistry is a big deal for medical students. It helps them understand how the body works and how to treat diseases. But here's a problem: many students in Riyadh are forgetting this vital information over time. This is bad, because a solid grasp of biochemistry is key to becoming a good doctor. So, why are students struggling to remember? And what can educators d...
Ever wondered how tiny creatures like cyanobacteria tell time? It's all thanks to a protein called KaiB, which has a neat trick up its sleeve. KaiB can change its shape, switching between two states: a stable one and an unstable one. This switch is crucial for the bacteria's internal clock, creating a delay that makes the clock tick at the right pace. Scientists have...
Oral exams are like a game of chance—they can be fair or unfair, depending on who's asking the questions. In India, a team aimed to fix this by structuring oral exams for first-year med students. They made sure all questions were equal in number, time, and difficulty. Afterward, they asked students and faculty what they thought, hoping to make exams more reliable. ...