The sunrays glide across the pond with grace as you take your weekend stroll. It is a bright, pleasant Sunday morning. As you kneel near the rose bushes, you close your eyes and take a deep breath — and the stench of your younger brother’s dirty socks envelop your senses instead. What can explain this…
Music on the Brain
Whether it is eating a healthier diet or exercising more frequently, we often dwell on ways to improve our physical health and preserve our wellbeing. However, we never tend to think about our brain’s health or the effects of our actions on such a dominant muscle—often overlooking the importance of our mental health. Similar to…
Does a blind person view the world in complete darkness?
It is difficult to imagine how disabled people live without actually losing some body functions. A few years ago, I have seen a movie that left a deep impression on me as a child. The movie was about a blind Chinese national security officer in WW2 who used his talent in monitoring telegraphs to save…
The Subjectivity of Taste
When I was a young child, my mother tried to get me to eat healthy foods. She would try to disguise vegetables as snacks or meat by simply saying they were something that looked similar. Carrots became cheese, broccoli became cauliflower (I used to like cauliflower), and tomatoes became cherries. Somehow, my mother was able…
Yoga: not only an exercise but also a great masterpiece
Yoga is a mind and body practice origins from ancient India with a 5,000-year history. It’s also one of the most ancient eastern strength techniques that combine physical postures, breathing exercises, and spiritual contemplation(meditation). In more recent years, it has become popular as a form of physical exercise and a self-mind exploration as it enhances…
Synesthetes and their Arts
Synesthesia refers to the phenomenon in which stimulation of one sense modality gives rise to a sensation in another sense modality (Harrison and Baron 1994). I know it sounds tedious and confusing. To put this definition into plain and simple terms, a few concrete examples might help. Imagine seeing waved colors when listening to your…
You are “Learning” When Sleeping
Have you ever thought of how wonderful it would be if I can remember the vocabularies or formulas or other textbook materials by eating the paper? I have to admit that I dreamed about this many times when preparing for standardized exams and other test. Apparently, we as humans are not able to convert something…
Peizheng Li
Hi everyone! My name is Peizheng(Yolanda) Li and I’m from Sichuan China. I haven’t declared my major yet, but I currently plan to double major in psychology and business. I love traveling, fashion, singing, dancing and I’m really into Korean music (Blackpink is the revolution!). Although I will not major in biology, I want to…
Lucero Rios
Hey everyone! My name is Lucero Rios and I am from Providence, Rhode Island. I am a Computer Science major with a possible minor in Economics. I have always had an interest in art, so the opportunity to view art from a more scientific perspective, particularly through a biological lens, is very exciting! Aside from…
Elaine Leung
Hello! My name is Elaine Leung and I am from Suwanee, Georgia. Though I am still unsure on what to major in, I’m planning on majoring in Psychology and Linguistics. I love watching movies, listening to music, and roadtripping to new places. The brain and art are both fascinating topics to me, and it’s so…