The goal of the Chicago Science Journalism initiative is to enhance C2ST’s online presence through its blog and to stimulate more coverage of Chicago science and technology activities. This recent collection of articles was produced in partnership with Medill Journalism, IIT, and board member and Senior Counsel at Mayer Brown LLP, Bob Kriss. Happy Reading!
Read the rest of our blog posts here.
By Lauren Robinson
Are we alone?
If you’re wandering around the chambers of the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory, what was once a gold mine in South Dakota, it might feel as though you are — until, perhaps, you take a fluid sample from a borehole in the tunnel wall, run it under a microscope and observe one of the droplets teeming with microbial life.
Caitlin Casar, a third-year Ph.D. student at Northwestern University, says scientists can’t yet answer the big question: Are we alone in the universe?
“I hope that there is life on another planet, but whether or not it’s probable, I don’t think anybody can really say,” she said.
Continue reading “Subsurface biofilms could hold clues to alien life, astrobiologists say”
By Alexis Shanes
Microorganisms hiding in your toilet water could lead to a revolution in medical diagnosis and treatment, scientists say.
University of Chicago microbiologists Jack Gilbert and Savas Tay, co-founders of the medical startup BiomeSense, have developed a tool to gain medical insight from powerful bacteria in the gut.
Nine months after creating the company, Gilbert, Tay and their development team have made the concept of a microbiome measurement device a reality.
“We monitor your poop in a way that’s relevant to clinical trials,” Gilbert said. “We are finding out the next strategies for making people healthy.”
Continue reading “The Future of Medical Treatment is in Your Toilet”
C2ST works with Chicago-area artists to create new content and develop creative ideas to fulfill our mission. The residency includes programs and content planned in conjunction with C2ST and our Artists in Residence aiming to explore themes of art, science, and their intersection, in whatever form is the artists’ preferred medium.
Jordan “Dxtr Spits” Holmes was raised in Prince George’s county Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C. His curious mind led him to become a jack of all trades as a scientist/engineer, musician, spoken word artist, and entrepreneur. Holmes relocated to Chicago in 2014 after graduating from Virginia Tech where he got his degree as a Materials Science Engineer and met his mentor Dr. Nikki Giovanni.
He began the pursuit of his music career as Dxtr Spits, a witty, impactful, and energized lyricist. Holmes is the Founder and CEO of “Onli Packs,” an apparel and backpack brand that utilizes art from local artists. He prioritizes community reinvestment and creates community support initiatives utilizing his company and brands. His versatility and hustle have landed him attention locally and nationally including NPR, The Chicago Tribune, Vocalo Radio, Voyage Chicago, & These Days News.
Shonna Pryor is a nationally exhibiting artist, art programs producer, and an educator at the esteemed School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her multidisciplinary art practice is inspired by references to food theory and its peripheral objects and concepts as a sociocultural lens through which to examine the politics of identity, memory, power, and play. Through these lens, the influence of STEM –ologies are also apparent in the visual/conceptual aesthetic of her work. Pryor’s participation in the fields of art, culture and science is enhanced by her award-winning art-based broadcast media work that has sought to create equitable space and expanded reach through a cross-disciplinary approach in the advancement of these fields collectively. She is a 2018-2019 Emmy Award, Midwest winner and was shortlisted for the 2017 Harvard University Knight Visiting Neiman Fellowship Award. Shonna’s visual art has been exhibited in major cities such as Chicago, Detroit and New York, with esteemed artist residencies at Hyde Park Art Center and High Concept Labs, respectively. Her community engagement and outreach collaboration with organizations and institutions such as AT&T Community Youth Development; Carole Robertson Community Center west Chicago; and Baker College Prep High School class curriculum have been instrumental in employing visual art to encourage young people toward Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math futures. https://www.shonnapryor.com/
By Julia M. Haried
Originally published at: https://www.icpas.org/information/copy-desk/insight/article/summer-2019/gen-next-tomorrow-is-another-day
Read the original article here.
“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles.”
A lot can be gained from Audrey Hepburn’s words. In the beginning of her career, people were sure she was destined for failure. She was too skinny, did not dance well, suffered from depression and malnutrition, and the list goes on. I don’t want to compare myself or the girls and women I work with at MakerGirl and the Big Four public accounting firm where I work to her, but I do see a powerful similarity between us all. In life and work, we must learn how to fail but not stop, how to persist, and how to be resilient in order to succeed.
Thus far in my career, I have failed and persisted and generated resilience. Women like me who have not been accepted into the colleges of their choice, who have received a sub-par work review, who have not been offered a promotion, who have stuck it out in an unpleasant and unsatisfying work assignment, who have failed CPA exams — but persevered — these are the ones who pave the way for an unknown but potentially bright future for women and girls.
By Colleen Zewe
What is the secret to a long life with undiminished mental agility? Researchers in Northwestern University’s SuperAger project aim to discover the clues by looking at those who have aged with a sharp mind.
SuperAgers are people over age 80 who have memory performance at least as good as those in their 50’s and 60’s. The memory performance of SuperAgers never ceases to surprise the study’s lead author Dr. Emily Rogalski.
“We didn’t necessarily suspect that SuperAgers’ brains would look more like 50-year-olds than 80-year-olds,” said Rogalski, an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “That’s pretty profound, right? To think that you’ve lived 80 years of life, but yet your brain looks like a 50-year-old brain. That’s kind of a dream come true that your brain looks that much younger.”
Continue reading “Brains of ‘SuperAgers’ hold secrets to long, mentally agile lives”
