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Check Out Past Issues
Check out our past issues under the “Read The BSJ” menu! Some themes include symmetry, waste, and stress.
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The Hyperloop: Propelling us into the Future
“We’re not selling transportation, we’re selling time” (“Hyperloop One”). The slogan of Hyperloop One encompasses the revolutionary, efficiency-centered attitude that both their organization and the world as a whole are adopting. Imagine taking a train from Los Angeles to San Francisco in under half an hour. For someone that lives in California, traveling that fast…
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The Minimalist Cell
As scientists, we like to assign function to structure. With the human genome, however, this association becomes difficult. The human genome is 3 billion base pairs long, but only 1.5% of the genome actually codes for protein. Some unknown part of the noncoding 98.5% of the human genome is involved in gene regulation, but what…
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The Periodic Table of Berkeley
Whether you’re a dewy-eyed freshman, or a tenured professor, we all know UC Berkeley has been a world center of scientific innovation and discovery for decades—and we’re DARN proud of it. But in case you need a couple more reasons to take pride in being a Golden Bear, here are a couple noteworthy chemical…
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The Impacts of Soylent on the Human Gut Microbiome: Berkeley’s New Student Organization “Mycrobes” Launches a Research Study
Typically, we judge how “healthy” a food product is by looking at the nutritional label. However, the chemical composition of food (e.g. amount of fat, salt, or sugar) and its caloric content alone do not provide a complete picture of its dietary effects. Recent research [1] indicates that diet can alter the genetic composition and…
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The Bone Splint System: a Revolutionary Treatment for Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of genetic disorders that mainly affect the bones. Characterized as “a hidden autosomal inheritance disorder,” this condition can lead to imperfect formation of the whole skeletal system. Some outcomes of having this disorder include – but are not limited to – fragile bones, short stature and other malefactions. Individuals…
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Increasing the Human Brain Memory Capacity: Drugs that Enhance Norepinephrine and Dopamine Functionality in the Prefrontal Cortex
The human brain is the single most complex structure known to man in the entire universe. Humans have surpassed all other life forms on Earth owing to the power of the human brain. However, there is always the constant drive to reach even greater heights. Questions such as “What is the size of the universe”…
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Attack of the Zika
The human body is an impeccable machine made of tiny, living particles that compose every part of our physical existence – cells. Without our conscious thought, our cells produce the necessary proteins, enzymes, and hormonal responses that allow us to function normally on a daily basis. In comes the virus – a semi-alive being that…
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Activity-Based Protein Profiling: Discovering Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Disease
In the post-genomic era, we are faced with the daunting challenge of translating all of this genomic information into cures for human diseases. One of the major bottlenecks for drug discovery is that much of the genome remains uncharacterized, hampering our efforts to uncover their biological or therapeutic functions. Another challenge is that many of the…
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Analysing the Link between Global Warming, Hurricane Patricia, and Future Tropical Storms
For a brief time, Hurricane Patricia had taken America by storm (pun definitely intended). On the night of Wednesday October 21st, Patricia was an under-the-radar tropical depression that drew little attention. Then, due to a combination of high ocean temperatures, low pressures, and low wind currents, Patricia began to grow at a rate that astounded…