science and the world

When I was doing my PhD, I spent a great deal of time thinking about the reasons why I was pursuing a particular line of research. Between personal existential crises and a demanding thesis committee, a PhD candidate must always be able to explain why a specific scientific question is worth her time. To me, … Continue reading →

Dear readers, I’m so very sorry that nothing has happened on this site for two whole weeks. I was unwell for a week and since then I’ve been struggling to get back into the swing of things. Motivation to write posts for this site has been particularly hard to find. I’ve found myself asking, why did I … Continue reading →

Today, dear readers, I’m extremely proud to introduce Melissa Garren for my second Conversation with a Scientist article. Melissa is a marine biologist specializing in coral reef and microbial ecology, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in Roman Stocker’s research group at MIT. I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa while I was still at … Continue reading →

Happy belated solstice, dear readers. We’re officially in full-blown summer here in Columbus, with days that are sunny until after 9 pm and skies so moist that they’re hazy. Work breaks spent running around outside with the puppy now end with puppy and me collapsed in a panting heap, one of us sweating profusely and … Continue reading →

This article appeared in Komaza Issue 8, Spring/Summer 2012. Most items we wear on our bodies are static. Shirts, pants and shoes are not made to change shape or size, even though our bodies can alter substantially over very small timescales (witness the ritual unbuttoning of pants after Thanksgiving dinner). For wearers of prosthetic limbs, … Continue reading →

In February 2005, a 23-year-old man in eastern Myanmar entered a rural hospital with a fever. A blood test showed that he had malaria. He was given tablets containing artesunate, the most common treatment in that region, but for two days his condition did not improve. On the third day, he became unconscious and slipped … Continue reading →

This article appeared in Komaza Issue 6, Spring/Summer 2011. It is a cruel irony that groundwater wells, usually installed to offer an alternative water supply to contaminated surface sources, can sometimes bring illness. In many countries, arsenic is naturally present in groundwater in very high concentrations. People drinking that water over a long period of … Continue reading →

This article appeared in Komaza Issue 6, Spring/Summer 2011. Esther Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics at MIT. She is also a co-founder and director of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2011. … Continue reading →