2013 – Berkeley Scientific Journal

The Big Picture of Biological Stress- Immune and Reproductive Systems

by Berkeley Scientific2013, BSJ Blog December 17, 2013February 28, 2022No Comments

This is a review of biological stress from interviews with UC Berkeley’s Department of Integrative Biology professors, Dr. Michael Shapira and Dr. George Bentley, for Berkeley Scientific Journal’s 18th volume. The information below summarizes what I learned not only from talking with the researchers but also from the pre-interview preparation. Combined, of course, with what …

Science of Stress – Berkeley Scientific Journal’s Fall 2013 Issue

by Berkeley Scientific2013, BSJ Staff December 9, 2013February 28, 2022One Comment

This post is cross-posted with The PLoS Student Blog Twice each year, Berkeley Scientific publishes undergraduate research, interviews with distinguished Cal faculty, and feature articles spanning diverse scientific disciplines. If you are a student and are in the midst of studying for final exams, stress is not an uncommon feeling. In this semester’s issue, we chose to explore …

Watch Where You Step: A Geophile’s Manifesto

by Kaitlyn Kraybill-Voth2013, BSJ Blog November 21, 2013February 28, 20223 Comments

Whether it’s for the Big C or the Fire Trails, the Berkeley Hills find their way onto every Berkeley student’s list of token destinations. However, when we commit ourselves to trekking those ridiculous slopes, we often only look to the sky to catch the west coast sunsets, the stars on a clear night, the sprawling …

Do We Become Less Human as We Age?

by Jahlela Hasle2013, BSJ Blog November 19, 2013February 28, 20222 Comments

What makes us a human? Walking on two legs? Language? Empathy? Our large prefrontal cortex, which enables our predictive and problem solving skills? Many of the characteristics we cherish as distinguishing us from our more primitive evolutionary cousins often decline with age. We consider the pinnacles of our humanity to be social harmony, creativity, independence, …

The Scientific Human: Homo sapiens sapiens ignorando

by Hadrien2013, BSJ Blog November 14, 2013February 28, 2022No Comments

Richard Feynman, one of the most brilliant and influential scientists of the 20th century, asked in his book The Meaning of It All, Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist: “Is science of any value?” This is not a question to be taken lightly. One might recall that Richard Feynman, 1965 Nobel laureate in Physics, contributed to the …

Artificial sweeteners: A victory against obesity or just the beginning of new problems?

by Jenna Koopman2013, BSJ Blog November 12, 2013February 28, 20222 Comments

With Halloween behind us and the beginning of the holiday season ahead, many folks are beginning a preemptive diet to ward off seasonal bellies. But with diet sodas and sugar-free desserts, are you really going to keep off those holiday pounds? Or could there be even more sinister consequences of turning to sugar-free products to avoid weight gain? …

RNA-Based Therapies Meet the 21st Century

by Prashant Bhat2013, BSJ Blog November 5, 2013February 28, 2022One Comment

This post is cross-posted with The PLoS Student Blog We have all taken aspirin for minor aches, known someone who takes simvastatin to control elevated cholesterol, or are related to someone with hypertension who is prescribed ACE inhibitors for treatment. Most medications and over-the-counter drugs like these target enzymes (specialized proteins) that are directly involved in …

Big vs small: Brilliant Supernovae and Immortal Cells

by Berkeley Scientific2013, BSJ Staff November 1, 2013February 28, 2022No Comments

The death of a star is a spectacular event. Check out our interview with 9 time UC Berkeley “Best Professor” Alex Filippenko about star collapse and the formation of brilliant supernovae. Check it out here. Telomeres are short, repeating units of DNA at the end of chromosomes and have been associated with aging. On the other …

Welcome to our blog!

by Berkeley Scientific2013, BSJ Staff November 1, 2013November 12, 2017No Comments

Here at Berkeley Scientific Journal, we strive to make science understandable and interesting to everyone, not only scientists and science students. Starting November, our talented undergraduate staff will write about hot topics in science, ethical dilemmas we constantly face in the scientific world, and small ideas you can follow to be more engaged and informed …