On December 10th, the currently endangered black-footed ferret species welcomed a novel addition: a clone kit named Elizabeth Ann. The small ferret shares its DNA with a long-deceased wild one, Willa, whose genetic makeup has been preserved as skin cells in San Diego’s Frozen Zoo since the mid-1980s.
Read MoreJake Gable has been studying the whiskers of deer mice for 6 years now, has been part of multiple projects and has done enough research and experiments to write a series of books - a young expert in the field. But his biggest focus has been their length. Deer mice are split into forest mice and prairie mice, and with virtually no other differences, the forest mice have longer whiskers. What determined such a discrepancy in the whisker length of these populations? And which gene is responsible for it?
Read MoreTuesday is the one day of the week I get to sleep in. My first class does not meet until 1PM, I had just turned in a long assignment the night before, and my alarm was set for noon. I had gone to sleep late after deciding to cancel my spring break trip to Peru, worried about the potential of being quarantined in a dorm room upon return. My friends told me I was buying into mass hysteria - at the time, Peru barely had any recorded cases and the University had only been talking about quarantining students returning from CDC Level 3 Warning countries. At 9 a.m, my roommates jumped on my bed and told me the news: an email had just announced that we'd have to leave campus by 5PM on Sunday. I did not fully process the consequences until many hours later.
Read MoreWhen you were a kid, there was always that one badass gal who tousled your hair when passing by with her guitar case, jean jacket and shades - I know I have seen Alex Lahey before. She’s got that cool older sibling aura, the charisma of a rockstar and the calm of a seasoned performer, all tied together with a charming Australian accent. She is on tour promoting her second album, “The Best of Luck Club”, and I am meeting her before the concert at the Great Scott in Allston.
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