New-clear Reactors: Newly approved nuclear reactor designs seek to improve on old ones Dev Kapadia ’23, Engineering, Fall 2020 Figure 1: Shown by the red line, the sharp increase in the number of permits issued for nuclear reactors stopped completely after the partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor in the Three Mile Island accident of 1979. Consequently, the operational units of nuclear energy,...

The Critical Role of Sleep in Determining Reaction to Daily Life Anahita Kodali, Life Science News, Fall 2020 A person at rest. Chronic sleep deprivation increases the risk of numerous conditions, from heart disease to diabetes. Source: Pixabay Sleep plays an extremely important role in physical and mental health. In terms of physical health, the body repairs its heart and blood...

The Environmental Consequences of Civil Wars Anahita Kodali, Physical Sciences, News, Fall 2020 This is the flag of Angola, the model country in the research study. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons Researchers often discuss the economic and political impacts of civil war, and for good reason. From an economic perspective, countries undergoing civil wars see immediate spikes...

Natural radiation poses problems for quantum computer development Sai Rayasam, Waukee High School Junior, Applied Sciences, Summer 2020 Figure 1: These scientists are assembling a part of a quantum computer. The superconducting qubits, the fundamental units of a quantum computer, need to be temperatures close to absolute zero in order to work, which illuminates the delicacy of them....

The Aesthetic Nature of Infinity and Repetition Seen in the Illustrations of M.C. Escher Michael Del Sesto, Computer Science / Art Sciences / Mathematics, August 29, 2020 “Tekening”, Sketch by M.C. Escher Image retrieved from Nationaal Archief Mauritius Cornelis Escher, a Dutch optical illusionist known for his symmetrical tile-like images, rose to fame in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s after Martin...

Carbon-foam Light Sailing Could Take Us to Stars in No Time Sai Rayasam, Waukee High School Junior, Applied Sciences, Summer 2020 Figure 1: This is an image of LightSail 2, launched June 25, 2019, which solely utilizes sunlight to propel its orbit. This is a revolutionary example of “light sailing,” in which a reflective material is used to extract the energy...

An International Team of Researchers Just Solved One of the Biggest Mysteries of the Human Heart Anahita Kodali, Life Sciences, News, Summer 2020 The heart is one of the most complex organs in the body. Pictured here are some of its more major anatomical features. There are many more features, and a large number are not heavily researched. There are some that researchers are not even...

Whale Size Correlates with Feeding Pattern Efficiency Sean McOsker ’21, Biological Sciences, 8/27/20 Figure: Blue Whale Surfacing off the Coast of Oregon Source: Wikimedia Commons Both toothed and baleen whales are some of the largest animals to ever exist – Orcinus orca, or the killer whale, clocks in around 11 feet. Its larger and deeper-dwelling toothed cousin,...

The Geography of Disease: a Bayesian meta-analysis approach to epidemiology Love Tsai, August 21, 2020 , Medical / Life Sciences Above is a map showing relative rates of pancreatic cancer across the globe. The darker the color, the higher the rate. 55% of the world’s cases come from developed countries because pancreatic cancer’s risk factors include obesity, smoking, and diabetes....