Charged 2026

Category: today i learned (til)

  • Summer Nostalgia: Why are Scientists Studying how Fireflies Glow?

    Introduction:

    You step outside on a warm summer night to see a dark sea with little, intermittent flashes of light. Catching fireflies is a nostalgic childhood memory for people all across the globe. But what allows these bugs to produce this soft glow? 

    Fireflies produce their light through bioluminescence, an efficient light production process resulting from a chemical reaction. While the light comes naturally from fireflies, scientists are trying to understand how to replicate this process for medical research applications with the same ease as fireflies.

    How does this chemical reaction work?

    While the chemical reaction itself is relatively straightforward, fireflies have to carefully control when to light up. This bioluminescent process takes place in a special light producing organ in the abdomen. Within this organ, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which stores energy in living cells, combines with oxygen, calcium, and luciferin with luciferase, the fireflies emit light (Branham, 2005).

    Fireflies can control the flow of oxygen into the photocytes, which is part of the light-producing organ. When oxygen enters the photocytes, it reacts with the luciferin in the presence of luciferase, an enzyme, and ATP and produces light (Martin, n.d.). When oxygen is allowed to flow into the photocytes, light is emitted.

    Recent studies suggest that fireflies evolved to have biochemical pathways for the production of luciferin and the regulation of the reaction (Zhang et al., 2020). This allows for the fireflies’ bioluminescent system to be highly effective as the energy dissipated from this reaction is emitted as light instead of heat (Zhang et al., 2020). This efficiency has proven to be difficult to replicate without these adaptations, which is why scientists are trying to recreate the process in a laboratory.

    How does this Chemical Reaction Work in the Lab?

    Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have created a six-step synthesis for D-Luciferin, which is the specific stereoisomer, or orientation, of luciferin that binds with luciferase to produce light using p-benzoquinone, L-cysteine methyl ester, and D-cysteine (Kato et al., 2025). 

    This synthesis is designed to replicate the natural production of luciferin with greater efficiency and lower costs. The synthesis is done in a one-pot reaction to streamline the process and make it applicable on a larger scale (Kato et al., 2025). While this synthesis has successfully yielded D-luciferin, creating an artificial version of the full biological system of fireflies, especially with the control of oxygen flow, remains a challenge. 

    The efforts of the researchers at Nagoya University show the complexity of replicating a naturally optimized biochemical process. But why are scientists investing so much into recreating firefly bioluminescence? 

    Why are Scientists Studying this Process?

    Scientists have investigated the mechanism of the bioluminescent process of fireflies due to the emission’s application in medical imaging, including cancer research as a way to locate tumors (Martin, n.d.). However, the cost of producing the same reaction that fireflies do every night, every summer for free is quite expensive, driving the motivation for scientists to create the most efficient, cost and time-wise, synthesis for D-Luciferin (Kato et al., 2025). 

    Conclusion

    What appears to be a piece of summer nostalgia is actually a highly optimized biochemical process. By controlling the reaction between luciferin, luciferase, ATP, and oxygen, fireflies are able to make a chemical reaction a mesmerizing scene. 

    Scientists are studying the process of firefly light production to make the synthesis of D-luciferin more accessible for research and medical applications. The same soft glow that lights  up a warm summer night is now contributing to science and medicine, showing how even the smallest of animals and insects can lead to scientific progress. 

    References:

    Branham, M. (2005, September 5). How and why do fireflies light up? Scientific American. Retrieved April 17, 2026, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-and-why-do-fireflies/

    Kato, M., Tsuchihashi, K., Kanie, S., Oba, Y., & Nishikawa, T. (2025, December 25). A practical, biomimetic, one-pot synthesis of firefly luciferin. Nature Science Reports, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82996-2

    Martin, K. (n.d.). Everything About Luciferin and Luciferase. GOLDBIO. Retrieved April 17, 2026, from https://www.goldbio.com/blogs/articles/everything-about-luciferin-luciferase?srsltid=AfmBOoo5RwdWL6Aa1C7Lu7UK2e9LLM0KLTmjIYMHJmoU7DI5741Ww0Qa

    Zhang, R., He, J., Dong, Z., Liu, G., Yin, Y., Zhang, X., Li, Q., Ren, Y., Yang, Y., Liu, W., Chen, X., Xia, W., Duan, K., Hao, F., Lin, Z., Yang, J., Chang, Z., Zhao, R., Wan, W., … Li, X. (2020, September 28). Genomic and experimental data provide new insights into luciferin biosynthesis and bioluminescence evolution in fireflies. Nature Science Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72900-z

  • How Pymol Lets You Visualize DNA in 3D

    Have you ever wondered how scientists look at proteins or DNA? Here’s the secret- they don’t actually look at physical molecules all that often! Frequently, they use softwares like PyMOL. PyMOL is a widely used molecular visualization program that converts structural data into detailed 3D models, allowing scientists to rotate, zoom, and explore molecules interactively. It was originally developed by Warren Lyford DeLano and has become a standard tool in structural biology and chemistry (DeLano, 2002).

    PyMOL works by reading files that contain the exact positions of atoms in three-dimensional space, often obtained from experimental techniques like X-ray crystallography and stored in databases such as the Protein Data Bank. Using this coordinate data, the program reconstructs molecules and displays them in different visual styles, including sticks, spheres, and ribbon diagrams that highlight protein folding patterns. These visualization approaches are essential for understanding how molecular structure relates to function and are widely used in both research and education (Sehnal et al., 2021).

    What makes PyMOL especially powerful is how interactive and customizable it is. Scientists can highlight specific regions of a molecule, measure distances between atoms, and even model how molecules might interact with each other- something that is especially important in drug design and biochemistry. Because it translates complex data into intuitive visuals, PyMOL helps bridge the gap between abstract molecular concepts and real-world understanding, making it a valuable tool not just for scientists, but also for students learning about the molecular world.

    References:

    DeLano, W. L. (2002). PyMOL: An open-source molecular graphics tool. San Carlos, CA: DeLano Scientific. Available at http://www.pymol.org

    Sehnal, D., Bittrich, S., Deshpande, M., Svobodová Vařeková, R., Berka, K., Bazgier, V., Velankar, S., Burley, S. K., Koča, J., & Rose, A. S. (2021). Mol* Viewer: Modern web app for 3D visualization and analysis of large biomolecular structures. Nucleic Acids Research, 49(W1), W431–W437. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab314

    Berman, H. M., Westbrook, J., Feng, Z., Gilliland, G., Bhat, T. N., Weissig, H., Shindyalov, I. N., & Bourne, P. E. (2000). The Protein Data Bank. Nucleic Acids Research, 28(1), 235–242. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/28.1.235

  • Microscopic Masterpiece

    This may be bad to admit, but I love a good TikTok scroll. It’s probably not the best use of my time, but I’ve come across some interesting things! New music artists to listen to, events around my city, and even some science accounts. A bit ago, I found a medical student who makes histological artwork and I was absolutely fascinated. Her name is Kait and her paintings are absolutely beautiful (@createbykait on TikTok if you are curious)!

    Of course then I had to do a deep dive about histology. What actually is it? What is she really painting? I assumed it was cells from the look of it, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Turns out there is a lot more to histology than just a pretty picture.

    Histology is the study of microscopic structures of tissues. It usually includes sectioning a thin slice of tissue, staining it with dyes that adhere to different types of structures, then observing the slice under a microscope (NCBI Bookshelf, 2023). Histology is also the foundation for pathology, which is the study of the effects of disease on the body. I had heard pathology as a medical specialty, but again, did not know what they did.

    Turns out, pathologists look at tissue samples from biopsies or autopsies to make diagnoses. I got to watch a brain biopsy earlier this year while shadowing a neurosurgical oncologist. These patients had gotten MRIs that showed a spot of something irregular, called a lesion. During the biopsy, the surgeons took a small sample of the lesion tissue to send to a pathologist to determine what it was, whether it was cancer, an aneurysm, diseased tissue, or even a parasite. The first sample they took is called the frozen section, which they would send to pathology immediately. The pathologists would quickly freeze the sample and examine it to make sure it was usable. The surgeons would have to stay scrubbed in and wait in the operating room until they got confirmation from the pathologist that the sample was good. If it wasn’t, the surgeons would go in and get another sample before closing the wound.

    Pathologists also examine autopsies, or tissue from dead organisms. This is often used when there is an investigation with an unclear cause of death. This led me to Marianne Hamel, a forensic pathologist, who recognized how paradoxically beautiful these histological images can be. So much so that she created a collection of histological images that is now on display at Rudger’s University (Hamel & Johnson, n.d.). She said in an interview that she hopes to educate people about her career field, but also allow people to appreciate the beauty of the human body (Chandler, 2023).

    Histology has evolved a lot since its beginnings. Hamel said photos used to be shot in black and white, making interpreting the images much more difficult. Now there is a plethora of different dyes used to make multicolored images. This offers so much more information for pathologists to gather, but also a higher level of difficulty. Learning to read [histological] slides, Hammel says, is like learning another language (Chandler, 2023).

    It’s funny how what seems like just a pretty picture is actually such an intricate science and can show how beautiful life can be.

    “Mixed histology polyp.” Image by Caoimhin74, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    “Histology of normal antral mucosa” Image by Carrasco G, Corvalan AH, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    “Mixed histology polyp” Image by Caoimhin74, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    References

    National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2023). NCBI Bookshelf. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557663/

    Hamel, M., & Johnson, N. (n.d.). Death under glass. https://www.deathunderglass.com/

    Chandler, R. (2023, October 31). Post-mortem histology artwork brings death to life. Evident Scientific. https://evidentscientific.com/en/insights/post-mortem-histology-artwork

  • Matcha: More Than Just a Trend

    After going viral on social media in the early to mid 2020s, matcha – a traditional Japanese green tea drink – now has a ubiquitous presence in many cafes and even bakeries. Popular for its aesthetic green color and unique earthy taste, matcha’s global market has exploded over a short period of time and was estimated to be worth 5.07 billion USD in 2025 (Grand View Research, 2023). Along with its popularity, there has been growing interest in its potential health benefits. 

    In fact, recent research has suggested that matcha may actually have several health benefits – such as increasing cognitive performance, decreasing stress and anxiety, and even reducing inflammation. 

    What is matcha exactly?

    Matcha is the powdered form of Japanese green tea and has been mostly consumed in traditional settings as well as incorporated into many food items. Originating from the Camellia sinensis plant, it has been traditionally cultivated by shielding the tea bushes from the sun using bamboo mats and steamed afterwards to prevent oxidation (Sokary et al., 2023). This process allows for higher production of amino acids and compounds like chlorophyll, which gives matcha its dark and vibrant green color as well as umami flavor (Sokary et al., 2023). 

    In addition, matcha’s chemical composition consists of polyphenols (aka very powerful antioxidants), catechins, caffeine, and phenolic acids. It also contains theanine, which is a non-protein amino acid that is known to have anti-stress effects (Baba et al., 2021). Notably, it is believed that the combination of theanine and caffeine in matcha, which is not found in coffee, helps improve attention (Baba et al., 2021). 

    Benefits of Matcha

    A recent study researched the effects of matcha on executive functioning such as attention (Baba et al., 2021). The participants were randomly assigned to three groups, which were placebo, caffeine, and matcha (Baba et al., 2021). They consumed 9 pills – either placebo, caffeine, or matcha – for 12 weeks every morning and afterwards, were tested on several skills (i.e., memory, facial expression recognition, attention, etc.) using a set of cognitive tests (Baba et al., 2021). The results from this experiment found that the matcha group demonstrated significantly lower reaction times and increased perception of emotion (Baba et al., 2021). In addition, the same group conducted another experiment to observe the effects of matcha under mildly stressful conditions. They found that continuous consumption of matcha helped improve performance under stress (Baba et al., 2021).

    Another study conducted an experiment that examined matcha’s effect in mice exposed to air pollution. All mice were exposed to particulate matter before the experiment. The experimental group of mice were given 20 or 40 mg/kg of matcha, which was based on body weight (Jong Min Kim et al., 2021). Afterwards, it was found that matcha helped to alleviate inflammation (Jong Min Kim et al., 2021). The researchers also found that the experimental (matcha) group was protected from antioxidant deficits in several tissues of the body (Jong Min Kim et al., 2021).

    Conclusion

    Beyond its trendiness and aesthetic, matcha can be described as a delicious concoction of various nutrients, ranging from antioxidants to amino acids that help prevent inflammation and even reduce stress. So the next time you find yourself stressed or need to sharpen your attention skills, head on to a nearby cafe and try a matcha!

    References

    Baba, Y., Inagaki, S., Nakagawa, S., Kobayashi, M., Kaneko, T., & Takihara, T. (2021). Effects of Daily Matcha and Caffeine Intake on Mild Acute Psychological Stress-Related Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients, 13(5), 1700. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051700

    Grand View Research. (2023). Matcha Market Size, Share | Global Industry Trends Report, 2018 – 2025. Www.grandviewresearch.com. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/matcha-market

    Jong Min Kim, Jin Yong Kang, Seon Kyeong Park, Jong Hyun Moon, Min Ji Kim, Hyo Lim Lee, Hye Rin Jeong, Jong Cheol Kim, & Ho Jin Heo. (2021). Powdered Green Tea (Matcha) Attenuates the Cognitive Dysfunction via the Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Chronic PM2.5-Exposed BALB/c Mice. Antioxidants, 10(12), 1932–1932. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10121932

    Kochman, J., Jakubczyk, K., Antoniewicz, J., Mruk, H., & Janda, K. (2020). Health Benefits and Chemical Composition of Matcha Green Tea: A Review. Molecules, 26(1), 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26010085

    Sokary, S., Al-Asmakh, M., Zakaria, Z., & Bawadi, H. (2023). The therapeutic potential of matcha tea: A critical review on human and animal studies. Current Research in Food Science, 6, 100396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2022.11.015

    Uchida, K., Meno, K., Tatsumi Korenaga, Liu, S., Suzuki, H., Baba, Y., Tagata, C., Araki, Y., Shuto Tsunemi, Aso, K., Inagaki, S., Nakagawa, S., Kobayashi, M., Tatsuyuki Kakuma, Asada, T., Ota, M., Takanobu Takihara, & Arai, T. (2024). Effect of matcha green tea on cognitive functions and sleep quality in older adults with cognitive decline: A randomized controlled study over 12 months. PLoS ONE, 19(8), e0309287–e0309287. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309287

  • Lament of a Musician’s Hearing

    Cover image was taken by the author and edited in Picsart.

    Sometimes, what is most important to us is what we take for granted. For a musician, that is their hearing, although most of us don’t take many steps to preserve it, often going to rehearsal or lessons without any form of hearing protection. For a school musician, this means going a few hours a week being exposed to loud noises without any way to block them, and for a professional, this duration is even longer. If we don’t want to lose our hearing to the piercing sound of a piccolo in our ears, it’s possible we might have to make some changes to the way we rehearse.

    Hearing Loss in Musicians Compared to Other Professions

    Some might question whether playing an instrument actually increases hearing loss or if there is a larger outside factor at play. To investigate this, a study was conducted comparing the hearing loss of people with a variety of different backgrounds and found that professional musicians were 3.51 times more likely to have noise induced hearing loss and 1.45 times more likely to have tinnitus (Schink et al., 2014), which suggests that the job that someone works in has a large impact on that person’s hearing. This makes sense considering the significant amount of time the average adult spends working. Musicians tend to get the short end of the stick here as a good portion of that time is spent listening to loud music, which oftentimes when playing is right in your ear.

    Source: taken by author and edited in Picsart.

    Reducing Ear Damage

    Since the consequences of continued exposure to loud noise can become severe over time, it is important to take steps in order to prevent excessive damage. First and foremost, musicians should be aware of the risks that long periods of practice can have on their hearing; they should be able to watch for warning signs and know what safe sound levels are (85 dB TWA (time-weighted average) for eight hours in one day, which is around the noise level of a food blender, heavy traffic, busy restaurant, or movie theater (How Loud Is 85 Decibels | What Does 85 DB Sound Like, 2021)). It is also beneficial to get an audiogram and have access to a sound-level meter to make sure you aren’t exceeding the safe sound levels (Chesky, 2008). Also, most students have some sort of hearing protection device or HPD (around 69% percent according to one study) that they can use during rehearsal to block some of the sound (Olson et al., 2016).

    Source: (Lowery, 2023)

    The Great Balance

    If the measures to be taken are seemingly so obvious and simple, why aren’t they more common? Even if the resources are readily available, it turns out that protecting one’s hearing still comes with its downsides. According to several music students, even though there are clear advantages to using things like HPDs, such as hearing preservation, reduction in noise exposure, and the ability to play longer without taking breaks, there are also significant disadvantages to consider like decreased auditory perception, issues with communication, less comfort, and many reported improved performance when not using HPDs (Olson et al., 2016). The goal of an ensemble is to make music that sounds good (well, and have fun, hopefully), so naturally, the musicians in an ensemble would not want to sacrifice their sound to protect their hearing, which is something they might not even be conscious of because damage happens gradually.

    So how do we balance the desire to play well with the desire not to go deaf before we get old? Perhaps this will be a question better answered in the future, maybe even by someone reading this article, and we’ll have a device that still lets us hear everything we need to without all of the damage. Maybe we’ll have a way to reverse hearing loss that’s as easy as drinking medicine to cure a cold. But for now, while maybe not during performances, we can just do what we can, however little it may seem, to protect one of our precious senses. We only have five, after all.

    References

    Chesky, K. (2008). Preventing Music-Induced Hearing Loss. Music Educators Journal, 94(3), 36–41. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4623689

    How Loud Is 85 Decibels | What Does 85 dB Sound Like. (2021, November 18). Decibel Meter App | Best Digital Sound Level Meter for Your Smartphone. https://decibelpro.app/blog/how-loud-is-85-decibels/

    Lowery, K. (2023). How to choose the best hearing protection [Online Image]. In audibel.com. https://www.audibel.com/preventative-care/the-best-hearing-protection/

    Olson, A. D., Gooding, L. F., Shikoh, F., & Graf, J. (2016). Hearing Health in College Instrumental Musicians and Prevention of Hearing Loss. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 31(1), 29–36. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48714485

    Schink, T., Kreutz, G., Busch, V., Pigeot, I., & Ahrens, W. (2014). Incidence and relative risk of hearing disorders in professional musicians. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 71(7), 472–476. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43869897

  • Ghost Fishing – Small Action Big Impact

    Have you ever gone fishing and got something that is not a fish? I’m not talking about shrimps, squids, or seaweed. If I could get a dollar every time I fish a hook, I would have gotten 3 dollars. Three dollars is not a lot, but weirdly it happened three times, and I only go fishing like once a year! 

    Not that it was entangled with another angler’s hook. The hooks were abandoned in the water, attached to a long fishing line (cord). It’s nothing but an annoying occurrence. One can simply spend at most 5 minutes removing it. However, this is nothing but the tip of an iceberg that implies a bigger problem. What if it wasn’t a hook, but something bigger? Something that is way more difficult to remove, like a net? And it wasn’t your hook that was entangled, but rather tons of marine creatures were trapped?

    What is Ghost Fishing?

    Ghost fishing was defined as “the ability of fishing gear to continue fishing after all control of that gear is lost by the fisherman.” (Matsuoka et al., 2005) Specifically, fishing gear (either recreational or commercial) can become a derelict fishing gear (DFG) where the equipment continues to capture the intended targets or non-intended marine animals, potentially endangering protected species (Lively & Good, 2019). One uncontrolled piece of equipment can continue to fish from days to years, and it can reach as shallow as less than 1 meter, or as deep as 900+ meters. According to World Wild Life, fishing gear accounts for roughly 10% of 12 million tons of plastics that end up in the oceans every year. In the most recent update, 46% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of discarded nets, lines, and ropes (World Wild Life). This doesn’t just happen within a single patch: it’s a worldwide issue!

    Impacts of Ghost Fishing

    Fishing gear used to be made of natural materials like wood and cotton.The introduction of highly durable fishing gear made of long-lasting synthetic materials makes the matter worse (NOAA Marine Debris Program, 2019). As technology advances, new fishing equipment uses stronger and long-lasting materials like plastics, vinyl coated steel, etc. These equipment now take years to bio-degrade, and hence started to accumulate within the oceans. Ghost fishing started to pose a threat to the marine ecosystem. As the 20th century progressed, it started to become a more widespread issue. By the 1970s, The International Maritime Organization Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) prohibited the abandonment or dumping of fishing gear in the oceans (Lively & Good, 2019). 

    By late 1980s, more researches worked on the total number of mortality per gear after gear loss for gillnets and trammel-nets (Matsuoka et al., 2005). Traps continue to ghost fish as long the bait remains. Nets can ghost fish way longer due to their scale and property of getting things entangled when attached to natural marine traps like corals (Lively & Good, 2019). There were an increasing number of reports on incidental catch of non-fishery animals such as marine mammals, reptiles and seabirds along with fishing gear entangled on seabed (Matsuoka et al., 2005). Marine protected areas now accumulate a large number of DFG. These regions are designated and managed by laws and regulation for the long-term conservation of marine resources, ecosystems services, or cultural heritage.

    According to the Marine Debris Program, overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ghost fishing can impose a variety of harmful impacts to marine ecosystems. The impacts are not limited to “killing target and non-target organisms, including endangered and protected species; causing damage to underwater habitats, such as coral reefs and benthic fauna; economic losses from target species mortalities and replacement costs; and contributing to marine pollution” (NOAA Marine Debris Program, 2019). According to Lively and Good (2019), between 1991 to 2008, the red king crab caught in derelict nets may account for 1%–3% of the local red king crab population per year in Women’s Bay Kodiak Island, Alaska. Some studies estimate that over 90 percent of species caught in DFG are of commercial value, which can contribute to a significant loss of revenue for jobs surrounding marine species such as fishermen. 

    Below is a comparison table between major types of fishing gears and their impacts regarding ghost fishing (Lively & Good, 2019) .

    Prevention & Mitigation

    Unfortunately, these DFG might not just be the consequences of abandonment of vandalism. Environmental factors such as storms, floods, or hurricanes can contribute as well (Lively & Good, 2019). Prevention is difficult to implement, but better gear management can help reduce the impacts.

    Around the world, World Wild Life joined hands with fishers, government agencies, and others to remove abandoned nets from the water. They increased establishments for gear collection and recycling programs. Better technology for tracking and recovery of gear are under development (World Wild Life). GPS and bottom mapping technology can identify obstructions that might result in accidental loss of gears. A cost-free solution is provided to fishermen to dispose of unusable fishing equipment (NOAA, 2011). Others suggest encouraging arts to monetize unused gears at proper disposal. The NOAA Marine Debris Program has collected more than 1,814,369.48 kilograms (4 million pounds) of gear from 56 locations across the United States. Everyone is working to recover the marine ecosystem.

    What Can YOU Do?

    Individuals cannot contribute much to the grand scale of technology and initializing these programs. However, every effort counts! Raising awareness is very important. Word should travel that everyone should try their best to minimize the garbage and gears that can make their way to the ocean freely. Otherwise, these beautiful creatures might go extinct. And before you know, the King Crabs will become protected species.

    References:

    Lively, J. A., & Good, T. P. (2019). Ghost fishing. World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation, 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-805052-1.00010-3

    Matsuoka, T., Nakashima, T., & Nagasawa, N. (2005). A review of Ghost Fishing: Scientific Approaches to evaluation and solutions. Fisheries Science, 71(4), 691–702. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1444-2906.2005.01019.x

    NOAA. (2005). Turtle entangled in marine debris (ghost net). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turtle_entangled_in_marine_debris_(ghost_net).jpg.

    NOAA. (2011, September 27). What is ghost fishing?. NOAA’s National Ocean Service. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ghostfishing.html

    NOAA. (2019, February 24). What we know about “ghost fishing” | marine debris program. NOAA Marine Debris Program. https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/what-we-know-about-ghost-fishing-0

    World Wild Life. (n.d.). Ghost fishing gear: Ocean’s Silent killer | world wildlife fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/ghost-fishing-gear/

  • The Next Time You Smell Rotten Eggs, It May Be Comet 67

    ROSINA:

    In 2014, scientists embarked on a journey to discover which elements Comet 67, or Churyumov-Gerasimenko, would exude from its coma. Using the ROSINA, a mass spectrometer, scientists were able to measure characteristics of Comet 67’s atmosphere such as its composition, temperature, and velocity (MPS 2026)

    Chemical Composition:

    Comet 67 consists of multiple compounds that create individual “perfumes” and give an overall pungent smell. Furthermore, Comet 67 released these chemicals that gave way to the overall repulsive odor the ROSINA detected:

    Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia, Sulfur dioxide, Hydrogen cyanide, Formaldehyde, Methanol, and Carbon disulfide.

    Molecular Compounds:

    The three main components of the comet’s refractory are: Hydrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen. Comet 67 is mostly inorganic material, 55%, and 45% organic material. Other elements include sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, and calcium (Filacchione et.al, 2019).

    External Composition:

    There are five components of a comet: the hydrogen envelope, coma, plasma tail, dust tail, and nucleus. The nucleus consists of icy matter, while the coma is an atmosphere that encompasses the nucleus as the ice melts. On the other hand, the plasma tail is a blue streak of carbon monoxide gas pointing away from the sun. Lastly, the dust tail is made up of solid-based particles that curve due to solar radiation.

    Aromas:

    Besides the notable rotten egg aroma, Comet 67 has quite a few other notorious scents…

    Rotten eggs, sweet, urine, vinegar, and bitter almonds

    Fun facts:

    1) Comet 67 has a rubber duck shape

    2) A collision formed Comet 67

    3) Comet 67 produces oscillations that sound like singing

    4) Scientists call Comet 67 fluffy due to its porous internal structure

    5) Comet 67 contains phosphorous and glycine- some of the building blocks of life

    6) The surface is darker than coal

    7) Scientists discovered molecular oxygen

    8) The emittance of gas creates the coma when close to the sun

    9) An aircraft, Philae, landed on the first comet in 2014 (NASA 2024)

    References:

    Emily, Altwegg, K., & University of Bern. (2014, October). The ‘perfume’ of 67P/C-G. ESA. April 2026, https://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/10/23/the-perfume-of-67pc-g/

    ESA. (2023, October). Structure of a Comet. ESA. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/11/Structure_of_a_comet

    MPS. (n.d.). ROSINA – Rosetta Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis. Max Planck Institute For Solar System Research. https://www.mps.mpg.de/en/rosetta/rosina

    Filacchione, G., Groussin, O., Herny, C., Kappel, D., Mottola, S., Oklay, N., Pommerol, A., Wright, I., Yoldi, Z., Ciarniello, M., Moroz, L., & Raponi, A. (2019). Comet 67P/CG nucleus composition and comparison to other Comets. Space Science Reviews, 215(1), =. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-019-0580-3

    NASA. (2024, November 3). 67P/churyumov-gerasimenko. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko/#:~:text=Besides%20collecting%20a%20vast%20amount,cell%20membranes)%20in%20the%20comet

     

  • The Symptom Gap for Women with ADHD: The Hidden Signs Behind Anxiety, Depression, and Late Recognition

    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, is historically known as a neurodevelopmental disorder that interferes with daily function and development through inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. However, this definition is largely based on how ADHD has been studied and recognized in men rather than in women. Today, in schools, homes, and medical settings, researchers and clinicians are paying closer attention to how ADHD presents differently in women and girls because so many have gone undiagnosed for years. Women often experience ADHD symptoms that are more masked, internalized, and frequently misdiagnosed (Littman & Wagenberg, 2023; Platania et al., 2025; Stibbe et al., 2020). Especially when undiagnosed, ADHD can cause several disruptive and antisocial behaviors over the lifespan of patients, ranging from substance abuse and work absenteeism to criminality, further contributing to the socioeconomic burden of the disease (Stibbe et al., 2020). Misdiagnosis can change the trajectory of one’s life, and it changed mine. 

    I grew up in an immigrant home where struggling academically was not a choice. As an adolescent, I often did badly when I was left to complete tasks without my mother’s supervision. My mother would get upset, indicating that I needed to “grow up.” Fast forward to high school: I got diagnosed with anxiety and depression because of experiences that I had been going through, even though I still became my class’s salutatorian. Therapy was not resolving my overbearing amount of anxiety and depression. I would always ponder when I would stop feeling so awful. I got to college, where life became centered around self-accountability and doing well, and I genuinely could not function because I could not concentrate on anything. This past year, I got diagnosed with ADHD after years of appearing high-functioning, meaning I would work under high stress while my mental health suffered as a result. It all finally made sense to me. 

    I went undetected for 20 years of my life as a woman due to the stigma and diagnostic gap between how ADHD presents in men and in women. I struggled so much as a woman being held up to high expectations while not understanding why my brain would not function the way I wanted it to. You must be wondering, how could this even happen? One major reason is that, in classrooms, clinics, and even at home, ADHD in women often does not look like the version people expect. Mental health conditions can be misdiagnosed quite frequently, even though they are often the main expressive behaviors in women’s ADHD symptoms. Men are more likely to experience externalizing disorders, such as substance or alcohol abuse, antisocial personality disorder, and conduct disorder, while internalizing disorders, such as anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, and bulimia, are more common in women (Littman & Wagenberg, 2023; Martin et al., 2018; Platania et al., 2025). 

     Symptom masking has become quite common among women with ADHD (Marschall, 2026; Platania et al., 2025). Women, including myself, often have a greater tendency to internalize their struggles, as we are often told that it is our “hormones” or something that can be left to be resolved by ourselves. Since men exhibit more defining features of ADHD that have been researched based on adolescent and male populations, they are more likely to get symptom relief through medication at a younger age than women (Littman & Wagenberg, 2023; Platania et al., 2025). 

    As mentioned earlier, hormones play a completely different role in gender symptom manifestations, yet this is often overlooked. Across different stages of life and in healthcare settings, this can make women’s ADHD even harder to recognize. A premenstrual girl with ADHD presenting to a clinician as insecure, anxious, and despondent can appear confident, effective, and hopeful a week later, after menstruation commences (Littman & Wagenberg, 2023; Quinn & Madhoo, 2014). Several women around me who have been diagnosed with ADHD have discussed the major highs and lows they have and how they feel like they are “going insane.” However, often they get directed to the idea of having PMDD or other menstrual-hormone associated disorders compared to ADHD. Women with ADHD exhibit high rates of premenstrual syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, severe postpartum depression, and climacteric symptoms when compared with their neurotypical peers (Quinn & Madhoo, 2014). 

    Today, researchers believe there is a need to develop a new edition of the DIVA-5 designed to better capture ADHD manifestations in women and girls, and examining gender differences in populations with and without ADHD could deepen our understanding of how ADHD manifests across genders (Platania et al., 2025). If clinicians had been better equipped to recognize these signs earlier, I may have understood myself sooner and spent less of my life believing I simply was not enough as an individual. Closing the symptom gap for women with ADHD is not just about improving diagnosis; it is about ensuring that more girls and women are understood, supported, and treated before being detrimentally impacted long-term. 

     

    References: 

    Davies, W. (2014). Sex differences in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Candidate genetic and endocrine mechanisms. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 35(3), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2014.03.003  

    Littman, E. B., & Wagenberg, B. (2023, July 26). Gender differences in ADHD and their clinical implications. Psychiatric Times, 40(7). https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/gender-differences-in-adhd-and-their-clinical-implications  

    Marschall, A. (2026, March 31). ADHD masking harms neurodivergent women at work. ADDitude. https://www.additudemag.com/neurodivergent-women-in-workplace-adhd-masking/  

    Martin, J., Walters, R. K., Demontis, D., Mattheisen, M., Lee, S. H., Robinson, E., Als, T. D., Brikell, I., Ghirardi, L., Larsson, H., Sullivan, P. F., Thapar, A., Neale, B. M., & Andreassen, O. A. (2018). Sex-specific manifestation of genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the general population. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(8), 908–916. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12874  

    Platania, N. M., Starreveld, D. E. J., Wynchank, D., Beekman, A. T. F., & Kooij, J. J. S. (2025). Bias by gender: Exploring gender-based differences in the endorsement of ADHD symptoms and impairment among adult patients. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, 6, Article 1549028. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2025.1549028  

    Quinn, P. O., & Madhoo, M. (2014). A review of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in women and girls: Uncovering this hidden diagnosis. The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 16(3), Article PCC.13r01596. https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.13r01596  

    Ramtekkar, U. P., Reiersen, A. M., Todorov, A. A., & Todd, R. D. (2010). Sex and age differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and diagnoses: Implications for DSM-V and ICD-11. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(3), 217–228.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2009.11.011  

    Stibbe, T., Huang, J., Paucke, M., Ulke, C., & Strauss, M. (2020). Gender differences in adult ADHD: Cognitive function assessed by the test of attentional performance. PLOS ONE, 15(10), e0240810. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240810 

  • New Year, New Me: A guide to rewiring your brain

    Although it’s been about 4 months since the New Year, the start of summer is another perfect opportunity to get back on track with your new year’s resolutions. And this time, you’re going to stick to it because I’m going to explain the science behind your habits and how you can change your brain to change your habits. 

    Scientifically, a habit is a routine, behavior, or cognitive process that starts spontaneously but is repeated automatically as a result of prior experience (Mendelsohn, 2020). It essentially means that it’s something you do without really thinking because you’ve done it before. For example, brushing your teeth as soon as you wake up, showering before bed, or grabbing a snack as soon as you get back to your apartment even if you’re not hungry. Habits are context dependent which means they are strengthened through repetition and use cues from the surrounding environment. When you perceive a cue, it automatically triggers a response without much cognitive input (Mendelsohn, 2020). In the example above, the cue is getting back to your apartment and your habit is grabbing a snack, because you’re normally hungry when you get back. But today, you ate a bigger lunch and even though you aren’t hungry you carried out your habit, why? 

    The relationship between the cue and the response is strengthened by dopamine, the same molecule that keeps you scrolling on tiktok even though you have to wake up in 5 hours. This means that habits are strengthened and rewarded, urging you to carry them out over and over again. When you do something for the first time, your prefrontal cortex is highly active, aiding in carrying out complex cognitive behavior, attention, and decision making. As you continue to carry out the response, dopamine is released by two other brain regions known as the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) and Substantia Nigra (SNc). Here, dopamine helps facilitate learning by spiking the exact neural pathway carried out if an action is worth carrying out again or repeating. This strengthens the firing of those neurons in relation to one another, a process known as neuroplasticity (more on that later). Once the response has been reinforced with dopamine, it’s tagged for repetition which is facilitated by the corticostriatal loop which connects the cortex to the striatum, the part of the brain responsible for motor control and decision making. Over time, the brain starts to correlate the cue not the action with the reward leading to the automatic nature of habits. Finally, the striatum translates dopamine release into motor encoding so the output is not reliant on cognitive input and the prefrontal cortex but associations with contextual cues (Wyatt, 2024). 

    This makes it seem like once a habit is formed, it’s an automatic response wired into us for good. Luckily, our brains are constantly evolving, rebuilding, and restructuring, a process known as synaptic plasticity. This means even though it may be hard, we can restructure, rebuild, and begin new habits. Neuroplasticity is the way the brain changes its activity in response to a stimulus by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections. This can be carried out through a mechanism known as synaptic plasticity in which long-lasting changes are made to the connections between neurons. In order for this to occur, neurons must “fire together to wire together”(Puderbaugh & Emmady, 2023). At the cellular level, this change happens through synaptic plasticity. When neurons repeatedly fire together, they strengthen their connections, a concept known as “neurons that fire together wire together.” When one neuron activates another, it releases glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter. With repeated activation, receptors like AMPA and NMDA work together to increase the sensitivity of the receiving neuron. Over time, this makes the connection stronger, meaning the same signal produces a bigger response. This is how repeated behaviors become more efficient and automatic in the brain. This is obviously really cool science, but how do you use this to form new habits? 

    It’s clear that habits require repetition whether it’s strengthening the synapses between neurons or the control of actions shifting from the prefrontal cortex to the striatum. But repetition can be hard when your brain has already been wired to do something different so here’s some tips to get your brain to repeat actions that aren’t yet habits until they become one. 

    • Write down why your new habit made you feel good 

    The reward pathway and dopamine are key players in why we carry out habits but unfortunately actions don’t feel like a reward until it’s been repeated over and over again. Taking time to think about why your new habit was a good one, and how it made you feel can release some of the “feel good” neurotransmitters and activate the same reward pathways that led to habit formation initially. 

    • Habit stacking 

    Stack new habits into a routine you already have. For example, if you always brush your teeth right when you wake up but forget to take your vitamins, start taking them right after you brush your teeth. This helps link the new behavior to already existing neural pathways making it easier to reinforce through repetition. 

    • Start small 

    Because your brain has wired your habits rendering them automatic, it takes a large cognitive load to override them. By starting small, you lessen the cognitive load and reduce the demand on the prefrontal cortex making it easier to start the task. For example, instead of saying you need to workout, start by saying you’ll go to the gym for 20 minutes. 

    • Pay attention to cues 

    Habit formation is highly cue dependent so start paying attention to the cues that trigger certain habits. The next time you see the cue, you are more likely to break the automatic control of the striatum and engage the decision making and cognitive processing of your prefrontal cortex. 

    Although habit formation may seem hard, your brain is built to be changed if you let it. Now that you know the science behind changing your brain, the summer is a great time to start! 

    Sources: 

    Exploring the brain’s relationship to habits | nsf—U. S. National science foundation. (2013, January 14). https://www.nsf.gov/news/exploring-brains-relationship-habits

    Mendelsohn, A. I. (2019). Creatures of habit: The neuroscience of habit and purposeful behavior. Biological Psychiatry, 85(11), e49–e51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.978

    Puderbaugh, M., & Emmady, P. D. (2026). Neuroplasticity. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/

    Wyatt, Zoe. (2024). The Neuroscience of Habit Formation. Neurology and Neuroscience. 5. 3. 10.33425/2692-7918.1063. 

     

  • Left? Right? Left?

    https://www.procreo.jp/labo/labo13.html

    Watch this video. Do you see the dancer turning to the left?

    Keep watching. Now, do you see her turning to the right?

    The spinning dancer illusion has stumped viewers for years. Is the dancer actually changing directions, or is it just your brain playing tricks on you?

    This video was made by a Japanese web designer named Noboyuki Kayahara in 2003 (Lucafò et. al. 2016).

    Previously, I have talked about the concept of an image being multistable/bistable. Similar to images, this video can also be perceived as bistable because your brain can perceive the dancer as spinning in both the clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) directions. Your brain maintains only one direction until prompted to switch because it settles on one interpretation until more evidence is accumulated to push it to change. In this case, my prompting you to look again would be sufficient evidence for your brain to look for a different visual interpretation of this video (Lucafò et. al., 2016).

    In a study conducted by Bernal, it was found that a different hemisphere of the brain is activated for each iteration of the video (CW and CCW). This shows that different brain states are present for the subjective perception of a visual input. These differences in perception reflected spontaneous brain fluctuations in top-down sensory processing (Bernal et. al, 2014).

    The ability of the brain to “flip” an interpretation of a visual input is a topic that has only been researched in recent years. The spinning dancer illusion is a simple and easy to measure and provides a strong basis for future studies in neural perception and attention.

    References

    Bernal, B., Guillen, M., & Marquez, J. C. (2014). The spinning dancer illusion and spontaneous brain fluctuations: An fMRI study. Neurocase, 20(6), 627-639.

    Lucafò, C., Marzoli, D., Prete, G., & Tommasi, L. (2016). Laterality effects in the spinning dancer illusion: The viewing‐from‐above bias is only part of the story. British Journal of Psychology, 107(4), 698-709.