Dr. Phyllis Zee, Chief of the Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Hospital, warned the audience at Horner Park on Wednesday, August 15, that we cheat sleep at our peril. Dr. Zee’s excellent presentation was the first instance of C2ST’s collaboration with the Chicago Park District in the “Science in the Parks” series. Watch the video here.
Dr. Zee explained that three scientists recently shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in the early 1980’s identifying the genes and protein molecules that drive our twenty-four-hour biological clocks, often referred to as our “circadian rhythm.” Every cell in our bodies has the clock mechanism, and all these clocks are coordinated by the master clock in our brains. The mechanism interacts with light and dark. It keeps us awake and productive (usually) during the day and early evening, and puts us to sleep at night to rejuvenate our systems for another day.
This is the repository for all things C2ST. You can learn with videos of our past events, read articles concerning cutting-edge research and development in Chicago and elsewhere that will change our lives (generally one new article posted each week), check out C2ST in the news, and more! Use the Filter Media options below to browse C2ST’s content and discover something new!
By Chris Eppig
To commemorate Darwin Day (February 12), I thought I’d talk a little bit about Charles Darwin (1809-1882); perhaps the most important biologist ever to live. More to the point, I’d like to dispel the myth that he discovered evolution.
By Sally Whitaker
In recent years, there has been movement towards a common, centralized set of standards across the United States which has led to the implementation of the Common Core in 43 states. The emphasis of the Common Core is on math and literacy, which left a need for a set of science standards as well. This led to the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and together these standards are helping to shape modern education, while also spurring much debate over the goals and outcomes of education. Continue reading “Synopsis of Decoding the New Science and Math Standards”
By Chris Eppig
Halloween is coming up, and popular culture is being filled its annual dose of references to the supernatural (including the recent season premier of the showSupernatural, which is probably not a coincidence). Ghosts, monsters, black magick, vampires, witches, and others all fall under this umbrella of “the supernatural.”
By Chris Eppig
There are many festivals in Chicago this summer and fall, and many of them will involve food. A Taste of Latin America and The Chicago Hot Dog Fest just passed, and Chicago’s New Orleans Festival and festival de la Villita are coming up soon. The food at some of these festivals will be very spicy, and the food at other festivals will not be spicy.
By Christopher Eppig, Ph.D.
By Christopher Eppig, Ph.D.
10% Of Our Brains?
There is a new movie coming out later this month called “Lucy.” (See the trailer here.) The premise of this movie is that humans only use 10% of our brains, and Scarlett Johansson gets superpowers by using more than 10% of hers. This idea that we only use 10% of our brains, but would be better if we used more, is a very persistent myth in our society.
