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7 Tips on How You Can Help the Environment

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This is part three in a series on primates and conservation. Check out parts one and two here. If you want to help with saving our environment and animal conservation efforts follow the tips below! Even the smallest efforts can make an impact on primate conservation, and help combat against the effects of global warming. 

Primates: Nature’s Grounds Keepers

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A young macaque enjoys some jackfruit up in the trees.

This is the second installment of the Primate Conversations Series. You can read Part 1 here. In the past year, the iconic video below has become the face of orangutan conservation efforts: a young male orangutan confronting a bulldozer as it destroys the forest around him. Orangutan populations once stretched from the islands of Indonesia… Read more »

Global collaboration in science

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Map of the world showing 2 centers in the United States, 2 in Europe, 1 in India, and 1 in Japan.

Looking back into the archives of scientific papers published in the past few decades, the majority have one, or at most four, authors. Most projects were conducted by a single individual (or a man and multiple uncredited women, but that’s a whole different topic than what I’d like to discuss here): one person started with… Read more »

Dispatches from the statistics wars

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We recently took a guided tour of statistical significance, in which we focused on how the media often fails to correctly interpret statistical information. But, journalists are not the only group that is tripped up by statistics. The scientific community itself has been engaged in deep debate about the proper use of statistical methodology. These debates… Read more »

World Elephant Day

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A herd of African elephants walks across the savannah at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. There are five adult females and six offspring.

World Elephant Day, coming up on Monday, August 12th, was established in 2012 as a way to celebrate these wonderful mammals and promote conservation efforts. There are two main genus’ alive today: the African elephant (Loxodonta) and the Asian elephant (Elephas). The African elephant genus is split between two species the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)… Read more »

The power of quantum computing: Parallelism

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Dilution refrigerator hanging, showing support arms and lots of beautiful electronics.

The author is ScIU guest writer AJ Rasmusson, a graduate student in IU’s Department of Physics. Tech companies are going big in a microscopic way, pouring millions of dollars into a new form of computing: quantum computing. Quantum computers will revolutionize drug research, material discovery, and artificial intelligence by solving complex problems in a new way…. Read more »

Back to the Stone Age: Why study primate archaeology?

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An orangutan with a ripped paper bag on her head acting as a hat.

In 1960, Jane Goodall observed a chimpanzee, whom she named David Greybeard, deep in the Tanzanian jungle using a stick to fish for termites. This discovery was the first documented observation of a chimpanzee using tools in the wild and quashed the long-held view that humans are unique in their ability to make and use… Read more »

Collection is not curation: artifact hunting and personal collections

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Colored image that reads “archaeological preservation” and includes a list of some of the American laws that protect archaeological sites.

This is a ScIU guest post by Krystiana Krupa, a Ph.D. candidate in IU’s Department of Anthropology and Research Associate for IU NAGPRA, and Molly Mesner Bleyhl, a Ph.D. student in IU’s Department of Anthropology and Graduate Assistant for IU NAGPRA It is common practice for hikers to pick up artifacts that they find on… Read more »

Conflating mental illness with the supernatural and occult

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Roll of movie tickets.

Disclaimer: Spoilers for the film Hereditary present throughout this piece! I have seen hundreds of horror films; in fact, I even began my graduate school personal statement on the topic. As a shameless horror fan, I am often asked, with perplexed and disgusted looks, “Why?” I am fascinated by the psychological processes —decision making, sensory… Read more »

The perils of publish or perish

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Academia is a tough career choice. The pay is low (especially for graduate students), the hours are long, and the job market is uncertain. Those entering the field often receive this simple advice — “publish or perish.” Publications are the central method by which people are evaluated in academia. One either continually publishes papers, ideally… Read more »

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