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Davis Downfall According to Sierra Club
By Mari Hoffman Authors note: UC Davis does an immense amount of waste reduction and energy conservation practices, but after writing this essay in my Water Quality at Risk class I wondered if it is enough. In 2018, UC Davis did not make it on the “Cool Schools” list by Sierra Club Magazine. The previous […]
A Regenerative Cocktail: Combination of Drugs Promotes the Conversion of Glial Cells to Neurons
By Reshma Kolala, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology ‘22 Author’s Note: While browsing recent findings in Neuroscience, I came across research investigating the possible conversion of glia to neurons. Although the conventional idea that neurons are irreplaceable has been overturned in multiple research studies, I was immediately intrigued by the possibility for neighboring glia to be […]
This is Your Brain on Music
By Timur Katsnelson, Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, ‘19 Author’s Note: Like everyone else, I love music- especially the works of my favorite artists. There is nothing better than listening or jamming out to your favorite song. The human love for music is a powerful binding force, but why do we even like it? What are […]
A Forbidden Food: a Narrative about Chronic Allergy Management
By Anna Kirillova, Genetics & Genomics ’19 Author’s note: I wrote this case study for my writing in health sciences class since allergies are a growing epidemic in the developed world. Due to the prevalence of this chronic chronic condition, food contamination is health concern for those prone to acute allergic reactions. However, little is known about […]
CRISPR: Are We Ready For It?
By Tannavee Kumar, Genetics and Genomics, ’20 Author’s Note: When I found out that CRISPR was used for the first time on human embryos that were fully brought to term, I was pretty surprised that such a new technology with numerous unknowns was being used on the germline. I was interested in understanding the reasoning for […]
Efficacy of Various Treatments in Comparison to Surgery for Lower Back Pain Related to Disc Herniation
By Arianne Medrano, Psychology- Biology Emphasis, ‘19 Author’s Note: I wrote this literature review for my UWP 104F class in my fourth year at UC Davis. My goal is to become a physical therapist and one of the most common complaints I hear from older generations is that they cannot perform activities they once loved because of a ‘bad back.’ My father experienced a disc related injury, which led to sciatica, after he fell off a ladder. This prevents him from enjoying activities such as heavy-lifting, riding roller coasters or picking up his grandson. For these reasons, I was interested in researching effective prevention and treatments to help alleviate discomfort and improve quality of life. Continue reading
Erasing Cue-Associated Memories
By Neha Madugala, Cognitive Science, ‘22 Author’s Note: While working on a different paper, I became interested in treatment and therapy for drug addiction. Addiction continues to increase, yet there seem to be limited viable options to actually overcome this problem. One of the main issues in the recovery process is relapses. I found this study […]
Are Children Fighting The “Fat” Gene? An Analysis of Pediatric Obesity and Genetics
By Peggy Palsgaard Author’s Note: I wrote this literature review for my UWP 104F class, and I specifically chose this topic because obesity is a very stigmatized disorder or “disease” (as the AAMC recently labeled it). I wanted to explore the link to genetics and to see how thoroughly we understand the underlying causes of […]
“Gut Feeling”: How Does Modulation of Gut Microbiome Affect Depression Pathophysiology and Status?
By Raida Aldosari, Nutrition Science (Biology option) ’18 Author’s Note: I wrote this literature review as part of my UWP 104F class with Dr. Lisa Sperber. The assignment was to choose a clinically-relevant topic, review the existing body of literature on this topic, and choose a specific area to write on. My topic of interest was about […]