Blog Post

Allergy Season: A Letter from a Pollen Allergen

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By Ariane Tsai, C2ST Intern, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Institute for Genomic Biology

Dear Host,

Hi, it’s me, a pollen allergen. I am writing to you because you seem to be experiencing some discomfort upon my arrival. Rest assured, I did not enter your body with any malicious intent. Allow me to share my side of the story in hopes of persuading you to let me pass through your body peacefully. Here is what happened:

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Event

C2ST @ Inaugural Big Marsh Arts Fest

Kickoff summer at the FREE inaugural Big Marsh Arts Festival, a family-focused event to celebrate local art and artists and recognize several recent art installations at Big Marsh Park. Guests are invited to participate in workshops and activities (pre-registration may be required), explore the park, bike, hike, and picnic and bring a bike or rent one here. The newly opened Nature Trail Café will feature summer sandwiches, wraps, and drinks.

*Weather permitting, most of the festival will take place outside, with the potential to hold a class or demonstration inside the Ford Calumet Environmental Center.

Blog Post

Inside the Body of a Marathon Runner

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By Vivienne Couris, C2ST Intern, DePaul University

The 2023 Boston Marathon recently concluded when thousands of highly trained runners crossed the finish line after a grueling 26.2 miles. Evans Chebet, the winning runner, completed the race in an impressive 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 54 seconds for an average pace of 4 minutes and 48 seconds per mile! 

Extraordinary athletes like Chebet have trained their bodies to carry out several biological processes with incredible efficiency, allowing them to run a race most people wouldn’t even fathom running in their lifetimes. In this post, we’ll take a closer look into some of these amazing adaptations.

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Event

POSTPONED: New Date TBD-Science in the Parks: Explore the Night Sky at Palmisano Nature Park

Ready to see the night sky in a whole new light? As we continue our Science in the Parks series, we are excited to journey across the cosmos with the University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Chicago Astronomer Crew led by “Astro” Joe Guzman, certified by NASA as a Solar System Ambassador, and–of course–the Chicago Park District to bring astronomy to Life at Henry C. Palmisano Nature Park. 

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