![[A large fireball is being hurtled toward the earth as two small dinosaurs look on, possibly in fear.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2023/02/dinosaur-ge5014d187_1920.jpg)
If you ask almost any kid today how the dinosaurs died, they’ll tell you an asteroid killed them, but this didn’t used to be the leading theory. When you look at key papers about the asteroid impact the kids are referring to, you’ll learn that it defined the transition from the Cretaceous to the Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary ~66 million years ago. Before the discovery of the asteroid, there wasn’t a single agreed upon theory on what caused the 5th global mass extinction…
General Science
Increasing inclusivity one element at a time
![[Prof. Mona Minkara at the completed accessible, tactile 3D-printed Periodic Table in the exhibition hall at the National ACS meeting in San Diego, CA.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2023/03/touching-perioidc-table.gif)
Achieving full inclusion for people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics – STEAM – has become a global matter. People with disabilities in STEAM are underrepresented in postsecondary academic environments and the job market…
What makes a joke funny? Part 2
![[Image shows a man standing with a mike. Image is taken from the front. The background shows a poster which reads, 'Canvas laugh club'.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2023/02/AbhishekUpamanyu.jpg)
Making others laugh is a tough job, but surely there are a few who have mastered it. So, what is the secret of their success? Is there a formula or a trick to being funny? This blog post tries to answer this question by discussing what psychologists and cognitive scientists (who take humor very seriously :p) have found out…
What makes a joke funny? Part 1
Have you ever been to a stand-up comedy show and wondered how someone is able to make other people laugh? Or perhaps you were awestruck by how the writer of your favorite comedy show/movie was able to identify exactly what a whole bunch of strangers will find funny? This blog may be able to quench some of that curiosity…
How rat behavior may inform our understanding of racism
![[A white rat and black rat facing each other, peering inquisitively.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2023/02/rats.jpg)
Imagine that you wake up in a small room with no doors. You quickly realize that there is no way out. Oh, shoot. Further, you see that there is another individual trapped in a small cylindrical Plexiglas container in the middle of this arena, with barely any room to move. You are not sure what the consequences could be if you go investigate—something could hurt you. Someone may grab you and trap you in a claustrophobia-inducing container as well. The first thought that comes to mind may be the Saw movie series, so you would likely be reluctant…
Miss Understanding: Debunking misconceptions about vaping
![[A hand holding 2 vapes, one in each hand, and the vapes resemble a USB flash drive. One is pink and the other is black.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2023/01/vapes.jpeg)
“This isn’t nicotine, it’s just a vape!” Have you heard this before? Well, if you have, you’re probably not the only one. The real question is, is it true? There is so much information online, it’s hard to really know! Turns out, there is also a lot of misinformation about vaping. Lucky for you, kind reader, Miss Understanding (that’s me – hi) is here to debunk a few of the misconceptions surrounding vaping…
What you might not know about keeping animals: Misconceptions about zoos
![[A mother orangutan sits in the foreground eating a piece of fruit, while her young offspring swings on a branch behind her.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2022/12/pexels-brett-jordan-825595.jpg)
Zoos, aquariums, and animal sanctuaries are really important because they support animal conservation, species survival, insightful animal research, and educational programs. However, there’s a lot of misinformation and misconceptions about zoos and animal sanctuaries that animal activists, such as PETA, use in order to deter people from enjoying, learning from, and supporting facilities that house wild animals…
Heart rate variability: What it is and how it relates to mental health
![[Two red heartbeat waves extend from a black-and-white outline of a brain.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2022/12/sciu_hrv_mainimage.png)
A healthy heart is not a metronome. Even though most of us can follow our heartbeat with ease, in between each heartbeat is a period of time that varies in duration from one beat to the next. This difference in time between any consecutive heartbeat is known as heart rate variability (HRV), and researchers are increasingly using it as a tool to understand mental health…
The hunt for continuous gravitational waves
![[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…
Using art to teach chemistry
![[Portrait of a Mona Lisa]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2022/11/3694927599_039309b2e6_o.jpg)
When it comes to Art and Chemistry, we typically see these two subjects as lying on opposite ends of a spectrum. Chemistry is typically associated with someone in a lab coat, mixing up some chemicals in the hopes of not blowing anything up. In contrast, art is often viewed as a form of expression crafted in some type of studio, using creative juices to design a masterpiece. But there is, in fact, a notable overlap between these two subjects…