![[A bright spiral galaxy with two prominent arms of red with a blue glow of stars. The center is bright white.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/04/Hubble1.jpg)
Yesterday, April 24th, was the 30th anniversary of the launch of perhaps the most famous telescope: the Hubble Space Telescope. Orbiting the earth, this telescope has changed the way astronomers and the public alike view the universe. With over 1.4 million observations, providing data for more than 16,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers, Hubble has exceeded expectations…
Current Events
IU’s take on the cannabis trend
![[The image shows Cannabis Sativa plant]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/01/hemp-4354389_1920.jpg)
On March 20, 2019, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Professor Emeritus Dr. Brian O’Donnell and Research Scientist Dr. Alex Straiker met with the student community for a Q&A session entitled “Cannabis: Science and Policy.” “IU has been the world center for research regarding cannabinoid signaling,” said Dr. Straiker during his address at the Science Café talk. Having studied cannabinoid signaling for more than 20 years, Dr. Straiker mentions the growing enthusiasm for cannabis use in a variety of forms, like essential oils; not only recreationally, but also for the treatment of anxiety, autoimmune disease, inflammation, and pain management…
COVID–19: What is it? What you should know about it?
![[Coronavirus is a spherical virus with small suction-cup-like attachments on the surface.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/04/rona1.jpg)
Obviously, we have all heard about COVID–19, the novel coronavirus outbreak that originated at a seafood market in Wuhan China. There is a LOT of information out there about COVID–19 but there are also still many open questions that we are desperately looking for answers to. I wanted to tackle this topic from a scientific approach, so what exactly is COVID–19? The Coronavirus family is characterized as an enveloped positive strand RNA virus, much like the SARS-coronavirus that infected people in 2003, but with a slightly different genome. What does that mean? Let’s break it down…
Science, Eugenics, and Twitter
![[Picture of a flat-faced dog (a pug) sitting gracelessly and panting]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/02/fawn-pug-resting-on-floor-1289557.jpg)
On Saturday, February 16th, biologist and noted public intellectual Richard Dawkins tweeted about eugenics. Dawkins provided no context. No ongoing dispute he was inserting himself into. No obvious interlocutor. And certainly not anything as convenient as a few previous tweets to set the stage for this surprising announcement. As someone interested in science communication, genetics, and ethics, I find it worth exploring how he screwed up, how he didn’t screw up, and what any of this means for science…
What’s up with leap years?
Today is February 29. Unlike every other day in the year, this day only shows up in the calendar once every four years… but why? To understand this, we’re going to use a little bit of history and astronomy to get to the calendar that most of the world uses today. First, let’s talk about… Read more »
Science as a bridge to barriers in diversity and inclusion
This post is from ScIU’s archives. It was originally published by Alex Moussa-Tooks in February 2019 and has been lightly edited to reflect current events. A look inside the work of Dr. Mary Murphy in celebration of Black History Month Picture this: you’re a Black student on a large college campus. This is your first year…. Read more »
Brewers without borders: Crossing racial divisions in the world of craft beer
This post is from ScIU’s archives. It was originally published by Lana Ruck in February 2019 and has been lightly edited to reflect current events. A profile of Aaron Ellis in celebration of Black History Month Craft beer: chances are if you’re over 21, you’ve heard about it, drank it, or even tried to brew it… Read more »
Groundhog Day 2020: Probability in perspective
This post is from ScIU’s archives. It was originally published by Lana Ruck in February 2018 and has been lightly edited to reflect current events. Tomorrow will be the 134th official Groundhog Day in the United States. Celebrated in Canada, Germany, and the U.S., the holiday derives from a long-standing German-Dutch tradition, which we’ve been… Read more »
Meet the SciComm Symposium Speakers
ScIU ‘s annual Science Communication Symposium is tomorrow, November 8th! We’ve asked some of our panelists to answer some questions to learn about their journey with science communication. Dr. Janet Carpenter, our keynote speaker, is a Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean of Research for the School of Nursing at IUPUI What is your current science… Read more »
Creating a Science Communication Collective at IU
As you might know, here at ScIU, we like to publish weekly blog posts about science happening on campus — especially science that might not be reaching other news outlets — because a lot of the work happening here at IU is amazing, and we believe that broader audiences should have access to it. Another… Read more »