A couple years ago, I did a research project on the terrors of the Japanese Imperial Army against China during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. I ended up finding the Nanjing Memorial, a Chinese work of architecture built to remember the 300,000 civilians killed during the Rape of Nanjing in 1937. It…
Recently, I had taken upon a new hobby that some might consider to be rather niche: microscopy! I bought my first compound microscope a couple weeks ago from AmScope and have been playing around with it ever since, imaging all sorts of samples from fibers of tissues to saliva. One thing that struck me particularly…
This post is going to be a departure from my previous blogs in that it’ll be more laid-back. I wanted to start a series where I could freely talk about different ways data is used in art. Okay, so you’ve probably heard the term “visualization” before. Whether it’s through an art class or not, you…
Most universities are divided into a subset of schools that house different majors categorized by their focus. A biomedical engineering student might consider the College of Engineering, a botanist might consider the College of Life Sciences & Agriculture, and the list goes on. But almost every university has a specific school: the College of Arts…
Have you ever wondered how a firefly glowed in the dark? What about anglerfish—how do they have their own light bulbs in the water? The answer relies on a biological phenomenon known as bioluminescence. In short, bioluminescence is an adaptation where an organism interacts with the environment to undergo chemical reactions that result in light…
X-Ray Crystallography: What is it? When you think of the word X-ray, you probably imagine pictures of bones or lead aprons. The truth is, X-rays are just a form of electromagnetic radiation with a very short wavelength. The discovery of X-rays just before the 1900s has given it the opportunity to branch out into a…
The Miracle of Sight There is zero doubt that Leonardo da Vinci was the paragon of achievement. By the end of his 67 year-long life during the peak of the Renaissance, his name was well recognized from Milan to France. In his life, he accomplished what many could have only wished to with several lifetimes….
This is Honeycomb, a recently constructed condominium based in the Bahamas. Complete with pools and balconies, this feat of architecture takes inspiration from a very special shape (which you might’ve already guessed based on its name): the hexagon. Architecturally speaking, hexagons are important not only to give a sleek and modern look, but to provide…
It’s no wonder origami is such a popular pastime. The memories of following paper crane tutorials and pushing down on jumping frogs remain dear in peoples’ lives. While we might remember the artform for its simplicity, artist Pei Haozheng has been attempting to change that perception. Born in China’s Jiangsu province in 1996, Haozheng is…
Varanus pransinus (Emerald monitor); accessed from Florida Museum Are you an artist interested in drawing animals? An animal enthusiast who wants to learn more about the anatomies of the thousands of species on our planet? If you’re even remotely interested in the topic of animal morphology, then there’s good news for you. This year, scientists…
