By Alana Liriano, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

Fast fashion is a manufacturing and marketing method used to rapidly produce high volumes of clothing with a focus on replicating trends and keeping prices inexpensive with low-quality synthetic materials. At first glance, fast fashion stores may seem appealing with their racks of cheap and trendy clothes and the newest pop music playing. Online-only fast fashion stores are also popular and may seem even more attractive by allowing you to casually scroll through hundreds of pages of clothes from your home. 

Continue reading “The Dangers Of Fast Fashion”

By Ryan Lei, C2ST Intern, Neuqua Valley High School

How does a productive, powerful, and zero-emission source of energy sound? Introducing: Nuclear power plants!

In order to understand the awesome power behind these structures, it’s important to understand the force that lets these power plants create energy: nuclear fission. Fission occurs when a nucleus (the center) of an uranium atom splits into two, which produces heat. When this splitting process occurs, each half is then able to split again. This causes a chain reaction responsible for the explosive power of a modern day nuclear weapon. However, when this chain reaction process is executed in a controlled environment, it produces massive amounts of energy that is not only extremely effective, but more importantly, very sustainable and environmentally-friendly. 

Continue reading “A Weapon Or A Source of Energy? The True Potential of Nuclear Power”

By Laura Tran, C2ST Intern, Rush University

What drives our insatiable cravings for sugary or fatty foods?

The culprit is both our gut and our brain.

Continue reading “The Gut-Brain Axis: How Sugar & Fat Impact Our Brains”

By Rowan Obach, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

On July 23rd, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of the monkeypox virus to be a global health emergency. The media is erupting with stories and information regarding the disease, but how dangerous is monkeypox really? 

Continue reading “Stigma Vs Facts: The Reality of Monkeypox”

By Laura Tran, C2ST Intern, Rush University

Cats and catnip have a strange, age-old relationship. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a plant from the mint family and roughly two-thirds of catsٰٰٰ¹ are intensely attracted to this seemingly innocuous plant. Just the smell of it makes them go paw-sitively wild! They start rubbing against everything, rolling and flipping around, and even zooming around the house before it wears off within a half-hour. On the other hand, ingesting catnip seems to have the opposite effect and mellows out cats. So what gives? What kind of power does chemistry have on our feline friends?

Continue reading “The Chemistry of Catnip–Intoxicating & Effective Bug Repellant”

By Rowan Obach, C2ST Intern, Loyola University

In April 2022, scientists from all over the world put themselves at risk of being arrested. While the issue of climate change and climate change regulation has been a heated topic for years, a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sounded the alarm for many researchers as it warns we only have until 2025 to make significant changes to our consumption behaviors. After the report was published, an international community of scientists went to the streets to protest the lack of action by local governments and to draw attention to the dire results outlined in the new report. Peter Kalmus, of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was one such scientist. “It’s now the eleventh hour and I feel terrified for my kids and terrified for humanity,” he said. 

Continue reading “Why We Need Immediate Climate Change Regulations”