[Catalyst 2017]

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FROM THE Editors Dear Reader, Welcome to the tenth annual edition of Catalyst, Rice University’s Undergraduate Science Journal. Our mission is to foster scientific communication and showcase student perspectives on a broad range of scientific topics. Our publication is written, edited, and designed entirely by undergraduate students and we focus on making science exciting and engaging to all audiences, whether you are a scientist or just a casual reader. This year, for our landmark tenth issue, we have created our largest issue yet. As an organization, Rice Catalyst has expanded immensely in pursuing our goal of facilitating scientific communication. We have created several initiatives on campus, such as the Catalyst Scientific Communication Symposium (CS 2 for short) which showcases the oral presentation skills of students presenting about their own research or other scientific topics. We have also reached out beyond Rice’s hedges this year, partnering with the Energy Institute High School and the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy in Houston ISD to create a new publication: Catalyst Eureka. Rice Catalyst members guide high school students at each of these schools to produce articles similar to the articles that appear in Catalyst, teaching skills in scientific communication and learning about mentorship themselves. The first issue of Catalyst Eureka has already been released, and issue two will be released later this spring. Through these initiatives, we hope to further our mission to increase scientific literacy both within and outside Rice University. The progress and expansion we have undergone this year would not have been possible without the support of the Rice community, our partners, our mentors, and our absolutely amazing staff. In particular, we would like to thank the Rice Center for Civic Leadership, the Program in Writing and Communication, and the Student Activities President’s Programming Fund for their continued generous support of Rice Catalyst’s endeavors. Of course, we also want to especially thank Dr. Dan Wagner, our faculty sponsor who has provided us with invaluable advice and guidance throughout this entire process. We are proud of what Rice Catalyst has become and are excited to see how it grows in the future, but until then, we hope you enjoy this year’s issue of Catalyst! Alex Alexander and Ajay Subramanian Catalyst Co-Editors-in-Chief 2016-17 EXECUTIVE EDITORS Tejus Satish Natalie Danckers Elaine Hu Sanket Mehta Jenny Ren EDITORS ATTRACTIONS Allison Chang, Anna Zuo, Aseem Utrankar, Ashley Gentles, Brianna Garcia, Carolina Hatanpaa, Jackson Stiles, Jacqueline Locarno, Justin Qian, Katrina Cherk, Meredith Brown, Rebecca Chen, Rishi Sinha, Shaurey Vetsa, Shikha Avancha EDITORS IN CHIEF Ajay Subramanian Alex Alexander DIRECTORS OF DESIGN Vidya Giri Gloria Kim Lin Guo [ASSISTANT] DESIGNERS Albert Han, Ashley Gentles, Athena Xu, Brianna Garcia, Celina Tran, Christina Tan, Dora Cheng, Esther Lim, Evelyn Syau, Jason Dennis, Jessica Lee, Juliana Wang, Kaitlyn Xiong, Katrina Cherk, Monika Karki, Priscilla Li, Riana Syed BLOGGERS Athena Hsu, Avanthika Mahendrababu, Caroline Lee, Emre Yurtbay, Evelyn Syau, Jack Duryea, Kseniya Anishchenko, Nathan Assefa, Shweta Sridhar, Teja Ravivarapu, Victoria Wittner FACULTY ADVISOR Dr. Daniel Wagner Staff DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Amani Ramiz TREASURER Sai Chilakapati BREAKTHROUGHS Alicia Leong, David Chiang, Grace Wickerson, Jeff Michel, Rachita Pandya, Ruchi Gupta, Shannon Wang, Shrey Agarwal CONNECTIONS Allison Chang, Billy Jeon, Jacob Mattia, Pavan Pinnamaneni, Rachita Pandya, Shaurey Vetsa DISCOVERIES Ashley Gentles, Brianna Garcia, Pavan Pinnamaneni, Shikha Avancha 2 | CATALYST
TABLE OF Contents 5 6 8 10 11 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 27 28 30 32 34 36 37 38 40 41 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 ATTRACTIONS BIOLOGICAL BLOODHOUNDS: Sniffing Out Cancer // Jessica Wagner Who Says TIME TRAVEL Isn’t Possible? // Akash Gupta ALGAE: Pond Scum or Energy of the Future? // Amy Kuritzky GMO: How Safe is Our Food? // Anu Dwarumpudi TELOMERES: Ways to Prolong Life // Andrew Stefani CORALS in Hot Water, Literally // Anna Knochel MODELING CLIMATE CHANGE: A Gift from the Pliocene // Jackson Stiles WEARABLE TECH is the New Black // Avanthika Mahendrababu CRISPR: The Double-Edged Sword of Genetic Engineering // Christina Tan Surviving Without the SIXTH SENSE // Swathi Rayasam The Health of Healthcare Providers // Daniel Ngo EAST JOINS WEST: The Rise of Integrative Medicine // Jeanie Kim REWRITING the Genetic Code // Albert Truong HEALTHCARE REFORM For the Mentally Ill // Rishi Suresh ASTROCYTES: Shining the Spotlight on the Brain’s Rising Star // Kelsey Sanders Fire the LASERS // Nigel Edward TRANSPLANTING Time // Sara Ho VENOM, M.D.: How Some of the World’s Deadliest Toxins Fight Cancer // Nick Falkenberg FIRST WORLD Health Problems // Mahesh Krishna ENGINEERING EDEN: Terraforming a Second Earth // Meredith Brown ZIKA AND FETAL VIRUSES: Sharing More Than A Motherly Bond // Natasha Mehta GREEN SEA TURTLES: A Shell of What They Once Were // Kira Chen BREAKTHROUGHS HAPTICS: Touching Lives // Jack Trouve The DEPRESSIVE AFTERMATH of Brain Injury // Deepu Karri TACTILE LITERACY: The Lasting Importance of Braille // Jennifer Lee MICROBES: Partners in Cancer Research // Samantha Chao COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE: A Glimpse of the Future // Joshua Hobbs The Fight Against NEURODEGENERATION // Kevin Chang VISUALIZING the Future of Medicine // Naimah Sarwar The Secret Behind SOCIAL STIGMA // Jacqueline Locarno GRAPHENE NANORIBBONS and Spinal Cord Repair // Ruchi Gupta CATALYST | 3
Page 1: VOLUME 10, 2017 RICE UNDERGRADUATE
Page 5 and 6: F BIOLOGICAL BLOODHOUNDS: ifty year
Page 7 and 8: “time dilation is a real form of
Page 9 and 10: can easily become overcrowded, whic
Page 11 and 12: Telomeres WAYS TO PROLONG LIFE B y
Page 13 and 14: that keep the ecosystem in balance.
Page 15 and 16: A Gift From the Pliocene of our pla
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Page 19 and 20: the doubleedged sword at the forefr
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Page 23 and 24: The stress in the everyday job of a
Page 25 and 26: the University of Texas M.D. Anders
Page 27 and 28: INCarceration by Rishi Suresh Healt
Page 29 and 30: CALCIUM AND GLUTAMATE: Facilitating
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Page 33 and 34: However, a considerable risk of usi
Page 35 and 36: how some of the world’s deadliest
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Page 41 and 42: Touching lives by Jack Trouvé Ever
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Page 45 and 46: The subjects were given tasks to de
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Page 49 and 50: A Glimpse of the Future by Joshua H
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