![[The collision of neutron stars produces a burst of gravitational waves.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2022/09/jorge-picture.jpg)
In 1916, Einstein predicted there are ripples in the fabric of space that travel through the universe at the speed of light. Today we know those ripples as gravitational waves. A century after Einstein’s prediction, science gave Einstein one of his biggest victories: the detection of gravitational waves. The detection came from gravitational waves emitted by black holes…
Entries by Guest Contributor
A beginner’s guide to Bloomington birds
![[Two round cardinals grip onto two iron bars.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2022/03/Female-and-male-cardinal.jpg)
Step outside in Southern Indiana and you’ll be greeted by a symphony of chirps, calls, and songs from a myriad of local birds. Home to over 400 species, Indiana is a birder’s paradise. Warblers, eagles, and owls alike call Bloomington home and are frequently spotted on the campus of IU Bloomington. Birds are a vibrant part of Bloomington culture, so it’s worth getting to know a few…
The happiest biotechnology lab on Earth
A trip to Walt Disney World includes popcorn, fireworks, and…genetic engineering? As discussed in a previous ScIU post, Disney attractions are full of surprising science, like illusions in the Haunted Mansion and electron movement in firework shows, but perhaps the most interesting example is the biotechnology at work in the Living with the Land attraction at EPCOT. In 1982, Disney debuted Listen to the Land, a slow-moving boat ride through agricultural vignettes that culminated in a visit to sprawling greenhouses that provided a peek at Disney’s biotechnology labs…
Disney demystified: The science of magic
![[A black silhouette of Cinderella’s Castle covered in white line drawings of scientific concepts and instruments such as beakers, elements, leaves, DNA, stars, chemical structures, and arrows.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/10/Rose-ScIU-Post-Featured-Image.jpg)
A day at Walt Disney World exceeds all expectations. Rides move flawlessly on their complex tracks, fireworks appear out of thin air, and the scent of cotton candy floats in the air. It’s as if everything happens on cue, guided by a mysterious force. It could be magic, yes, but what if it’s science? Read on for five feats of engineering, chemistry, and biology that have probably escaped your notice in the parks…
How gender is conveyed through speech
![[Recording microphone with pop filter lit in soft purple light.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/09/microphone.jpg)
When we hear a voice, the speaker’s gender is one of the first things we notice about them. Even if we’re asked to categorize speakers based on dialect or accent, we still gravitate toward grouping them based on how we perceive their gender. In my lab, we study which specific physical properties of speech (known as acoustic cues) control how gender identity is perceived. The acoustic cues we examine are voice pitch (controlled by how quickly the vocal folds vibrate), voice resonance (a result of the size and shape of the throat and mouth), articulation (how we produce the consonant and vowel sounds in our speech), and intonation (the melody we produce with our speech)…
A study on grammar and the bilingual brain
![[A cartoon of the brain, with pictures of a heart, a thought bubble, music notes, numbers, a molecule, and words.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/09/brain-5662029_1920.jpg)
We humans have a unique capacity to acquire language, even as adults. However, if you have ever used Duolingo, you might have realized that children are more successful at acquiring languages than adults. This observation is puzzling; since adults are smarter than children, shouldn’t it be the other way around? One set of explanations for this paradox focuses on parsing — that is, applying our knowledge of grammar as sentences unfold incrementally…
Seeing science in a different light
![[Test tubes containing different fluorescent proteins being exposed to UV light, causing them to glow different colors.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/05/thumbnail_Fluor_Proteins.jpg)
The first time I remember my malfunctioning eyes affecting my life was when I was younger than 5 years old. I was riding in my grandfather’s truck. We had reached a stop light, and my grandfather said we could go when the light turned green. I remember thinking “Green? That light is white.” This problem persisted all through K12 school, when a sea of classmates flashed colored pencils at me and asked, “What color is this?” I tried to explain that the issue isn’t interpreting a singular pencil of stark shade, but that it is distinguishing combinations like reds vs. greens that are close together, or greens vs. browns, or purples vs. pinks. This explanation often fell on deaf ears…
Do chameleons change their color to match their environment?
![[An animated GIF is shown featuring Pascal from Tangled, looking stressed and breathing deeply as he changes from his natural green state to match his background, a painted pot featuring flowers with a yellow center, teal petals, and green stems. His face becomes the yellow center or a flower, a teal petal in the center of his chest, and his tail is a green stem.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/05/cham1.gif)
Hopefully, we’ve all seen Disney’s Tangled, featuring the cute little chameleon Pascal. Throughout the film, Pascal takes on a range of colors depending on his background as well as his emotions. We see him blending in with teal walls and purple flowers, but we also see him turning red with anger. We’ve grown up thinking chameleons are able to blend into any background, but you may be wondering, is this true? Do chameleons really change their color to match any background or emotion?
Until I collapse: Arecibo’s more than 50 years of discoveries
![[An overhead view of the massive Arecibo telescope built into a natural sinkhole. The green Puerto Rican forests can be seen surrounding the telescope dish.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/05/cibo1.jpg)
Famous for its appearances in movies and television including GoldenEye (1995), Contact (1997) and an episode of The X-Files (“Little Green Men”), the Arecibo telescope is a massive 305m (1,000 ft) radio telescope. Built into a natural karst sinkhole on the island of Puerto Rico in 1963, it was in fact the largest single dish telescope in the world until China completed its Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in 2016. Unfortunately for the astronomical community, Arecibo suffered severe damages this year that led to its eventual collapse…
Five ways to reduce water use
![[Water running freely through a faucet on a sink.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/05/water1.jpg)
Water, the substance critical for daily life and even our survival, is quite abundant on earth. But not all water on earth is usable for our needs. Even though the majority of the earth’s surface is water, only around 2.5% of that water is freshwater. The water we use for drinking, cleaning, production, and many other vital functions is freshwater. Since the earth’s freshwater reserves are limited and required for many human activities, we need to collectively work together as a species to make sure we conserve our water usage. Decreasing wasteful water usage also provides a financial incentive as it would save families money on their water bill…