Life Sciences Commons^™

Eavesdropping On Animals: Can Bioacoustics Help Save Species?, Zoe Grueskin

Capstones

Around the world, scientists are using sound to study the natural world in a growing field called bioacoustics. Researchers are eavesdropping on frogs and fish, elephants and earthworms, and many hope what they hear can inform and inspire conservation action around the world. From the field’s auspicious beginning with accidentally-recorded whales, to researchers today listening to locations as diverse as the Arctic seafloor and India’s Western Ghats mountain range, this capstone project explores the potential — and limitations — of conservation bioacoustics. Read the story, see photos and listen to audio pieces featuring three bioacousticians and their field recordings here: …

Who Pays To Clean Up What A Dying Industry Leaves Behind?, Audrey Carleton

Capstones

As the birthplace of oil and gas, Pennsylvania is home to the highest number of orphaned abandoned oil and gas wells in the country — an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 dot the Keystone State, all remnants of a dying industry. These wells emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and have, for decades, caused alarm to hundreds of residents, documents obtained in a months-long capstone investigation show. The state is currently plugging 10 to 12 abandoned wells per year, on average, out of hundreds of thousands, in part because it has not collected enough in cleanup funds from producers to fund …

Dolphins In Ny? Researchers Turn To Boat Tours For Sightings, Aaron K. Tremper

Capstones

Before 2009, coastal bottlenose dolphins were a rare sight north of New Jersey. According to local researchers, large pods of bottlenose dolphins made their way that spring/summer along Long Island. While dolphin population data by state and federal wildlife regulators are spotty, studies by local scientists suggest more dolphins have been flocking to New York since 2009. Many researchers are turning to whale-watching ventures to learn more about what dolphins are up to in the Big Apple.

https://jkt711.github.io/capstone/

Lost At Sea, Anny Oberlink

Capstones

At the end of World War I and World War II, in a new era of peace, nations confronted an unprecedented logistical problem: millions of tons of unexploded ordnance—once a wartime boon—had become a peacetime burden. Faced with a mandate to dispose of excess munitions, militaries turned to dumping their stockpiles into the sea. But now a complex and urgent issue is emerging. Increasingly, as industry looks to build offshore—wind power turbines, internet cables, oil pipelines—they are facing a potential peril: millions of tons of unexploded bombs and ammunition that are lying on the ocean floor can explode or leak …

A Crisis Of Kelp, Rachel L. Sherman

Capstones

Along with insects and lab-grown meat, for years seaweed has been lauded as a sustainable “food of the future” by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. As the world increasingly turns to alternative foods in pursuit of a healthier Earth, seaweed has all the makings of an ecological savior. It’s plentiful — seaweeds and ocean algae make up roughly nine tenths of all the plant life on Earth — it’s cheap to harvest and get to market, packed with nutrition, and keeps oceans clean, absorbing more carbon dioxide and releasing more oxygen than the world’s rainforests.

But outside of Japanese …

Bioscience: How One Industry Won The Pandemic And Will Change Us All, Sonya Swink

Capstones

A video and print capstone about the next great generation of biological sciences as a private industry since 2020. It encompasses the pandemic as the boost the industry needed, discussion of science’s bad reputation and the potential benefits, especially for new workspaces and real estate investors. Colorado is a focus as a burgeoning market. The news value of this story as a primer is how this will be both a beneficial industry and one that must be held to account if it becomes too monopolistic. Comparisons are from the viewpoint that bioscience is like the next Silicon Valley, but statements …

Feeding The Future Meat Doesn’T Come Cheap, Lukas C. Southard

Capstones

Cultured – or as it is referred to by companies innovating the technology clean – meat is expected to be the next innovation to change the way the world gets its animal protein. Meat from animal cells grown in a lab seems like science fiction but it is around the corner from hitting your supermarket shelves. The technology has been developed but how these companies intend on scaling up their production to meet retail demands remains a mystery. So far companies have relied on seed and early stage investment from venture capital companies and private sources to fund research. Predictions …

What If The Key To Climate Change Is Hiding Under The Sea?, Shira Feder

Capstones

“We know more about outer space than we do the ocean,” says Vicki Ferrini, a research scientist at Columbia University with over 20 ocean expeditions under her belt. And as the woman leading Seabed 2030, the charge to map the world’s oceans—which are 85% unexplored—she knows how vital this is to combat climate change and exactly how she’s going to do it. Read it here: https://medium.com/@shira.feder/what-if-the-key-to-climate-change-is-hiding-under-the-sea-4503565c33a2

The Invisible Brain Injury Crisis, Michael E. Rosenthal

Capstones

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2013 data, over 282,000 hospitalizations and 2.5 million emergency department visits were at least in part attributable to TBI. In the same year, about 56,000 people died.

Emergency departments in 2012 treated about 329,290 kids under 20 for TBI following an injury taking place during physical activity.

This project explores the rise in traumatic brain injuries and examines the difficult path that some of the survivors have to go through during recovery. By telling the story through my own personal experiences, I guide the reader through what the initial trauma and …

The New World Of Pet Prosthetics, Anna Brooks

Capstones

When an abandoned dog was found in Brooklyn with his paw gnawed off, the animal shelter had two options: amputate the leg, or put the dog down. But neither seemed like a solution. So they decided to do something different, and fit the dog for a prosthetic leg. Prosthetics for people have been around for millennia, and now these devices are moving into the animal kingdom. This story explores the new world of animal prosthetics, and how these devices have changed the lives of animals like Mr. Stubbs — the first alligator with a prosthetic tail — and saved the …

A Modern-Day Affliction: Did Wifi Make Joel Dean Sick?, Dominic Mckenzie

Capstones

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity is one of many disorders that exist in a strange border zone between recognized syndromes and discredited ones. One young man, a computer engineer by trade, had his life turned upside down by the disorder that has doctors and scientists across the world confused on how to treat it. Here's his story:

https://medium.com/@dominic.mckenzie/capstone-1dd7ff866a29

What Role Is Neuroscience Playing In New State Raise-The-Age Laws?, Dane N. Stallone

Capstones

Several states have cited neuroscientific evidence to help justify new raise-the-age laws that raise the age at which offenders can be tried as adults. Neuroscience shows that adolescent brains continue to mature well into their 20s. How much influence neuroscience should have in determining legal policy, however, remains contested among experts.

https://theartofscienceme.wordpress.com/2019/01/05/what-role-is-neuroscience-playing-in-new-state-raise-the-age-laws/

From Virtual To Physical: Video Game Streaming Communities, Avery Miles

Capstones

This is an exploration of the inner lives of video game streamers, how they interact with their audiences and the social phenomenon of live streaming. It encompasses streamers, viewers, professional eSports athletes and indie game designers.

www.averykmiles.com

Unseen Science: Modern Discoveries Too Far Away Or Tiny For Human Eyes, Lucy Huang

Capstones

As science has progressed, scientists have realized that evidence goes beyond the realms of physical sight. Whether it is too small or difficult to find, scientists have developed different ways to get around this problem. We see this in cancer genomics and in extrasolar planetary research. Scientists use what they know and what they measure to validate their work.

https://lucy-huang-9tge.squarespace.com/

Nature, The New Rx, Christina Dabney

Capstones

In 2010, Candice Opperman's job made her sick. The weight of working full-time while going to grad school began to create so much stress and anxiety that she felt like she was being "held down by a lead vest."

In 2013, after three years at Merrill Lynch, Opperman’s doctors diagnosed her with burnout and insisted she go on disability. Thats when she started using nature in her recovery.

Opperman turned to green spaces instinctively, but doctors are increasingly prescribing nature as therapy. Experimental data suggest that parks and open spaces can help heal the human brain, especially from disorders involving …

Of Rats And Men, Thomas S. Walsh

Capstones

This capstone is a data-driven investigation into New York City's rat problem. By using publicly available government data to map rat activity in NYC, I identified several socio-economic variables that correlate with rat populations at the community district, borough, and city-scale. I used these findings (mainly that rat problems are linked to lower incomes) as the basis of an investigation, which includes interviews with residents, experts, and city officials. Prof. Bobby Corrigan, urban rodentologist and formerly with the NYC Department of Health criticizes the city's efforts for the first time on the record.

https://thomasseiyawalsh.wixsite.com/ratstone

The Vibe, Sarah P. Douglass

Capstones

The Vibe is a long-form narrative about where tech is taking the female orgasm. The piece concludes that physiological research is a required next step when creating the climax of the future.

http://sarahpdouglass.com

Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad: How Slaughterhouse Safety Hasn’T Kept Up With The Times, Emily Ziemski

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From legal loopholes and outdated rules to undetectable infections and understaffing, the United States Department of Agriculture may not be doing all it can to make sure the American public’s health isn't at risk. As the people of the United States consume over 500 million pounds of beef a year, food safety policy and slaughterhouses are falling behind in proper procedural measurements in the beef industry.

emziemski.com/capstone

American Milk: The Raw Deal, Dan Heching

Capstones

This report takes a look at the difficulty in procuring raw milk, an increasingly desired alternative to processed dairy, in New York City. It also tells the story of one woman's journey to tasting raw milk for the first time, despite reservations.

link: https://social.shorthand.com/MoodyHeching/uyYgLmuoNp6/american-milk-the-raw-deal

Riding The Mind Lightning, William A. Fortuna

Capstones

Neuromodulation is the practice of applying external stimulation, either electric or magnetic, to the human in order to affect positive change. TDCS or transcranial direct current stimulation is a neuromodulatory technique using a 9-volt battery. Because of the simplicity of the device, and it's relatively low potential for harm, the technique is popular with both researchers and at-home enthusiasts. To find out whether this technique works the way some people say it does, I built my own.

Flight Of The Freshwater Fish, Michael H. Wilson

Capstones

Michael H. Wilson

Capstone Abstract

December 27, 2016

Flight of the Freshwater Fish

The Hudson River provides for millions of people as a path for commercial and private transportation, a source of food and energy, and perhaps most importantly for many living in the tri-state area as a destination for recreation and relaxation. The most overlooked feature of the river is how the wildlife shows clear signs of a changing climate and rapid environmental response to the impacts of global warming on the river.

Entire populations of fish species in the lower Hudson have been forced to leave the river …

Why We Still Need To Worry About Bees, Meaghan Lee Callaghan

Capstones

American honey bees, and other native bee species, are still in decline, though the specter of colony collapse disorder may be fading behind us. Colony decline, the loss of bees overwinter experienced across the country at a quarter to third lost per hive (sometimes more), is now expected. Losses can include those from colony collapse disorder. The author discusses the different causes for colony decline and speaks to bee health scientists and local beekeepers. Read more at: http://www.meaghanleecallaghan.com/capstone/index.html

Living With Coyotes, Owen H. Agnew

Capstones

Coyotes have been slowly moving into New York State from Canada since the 1930s. They reached Westchester County and the Bronx decades ago, and their numbers have been slowly rising. Sighting in Manhattan reached an all-time high last spring, and pet attacks in Westchester County have increased slightly in the last several years. But the slight increase in sightings and pet attacks in recent years has been amplified on social media in towns like Chappaqua, New York, where anxiety and fear about coyotes has pitted neighbors against neighbors.

Main character Frank Vincenti is a Long Island barber and a self-proclaimed …

The Sixty-Six Percent, Natalie Abruzzo

Capstones

The Sixty-Six Percent represent the percentage of women in the U.S. who are overweight. They are regarded as full-figured or “plus” size in the world of women’s apparel. Even though more than half of American women wear a “plus” size - size 14 and up - designs for these women account for a fraction of women’s apparel - Only 37% of women's wear is plus-size.

The Sixty-Six Percent is coming at an important time in a broader conversation about de-stigmatizing what it means to be a plus-size woman in America. Fat shaming has become taboo and mainstream media as well …

Special Muscles, Annamaria C. Scaccia

Capstones

Special Muscles is a documentary that explores living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal degenerative disease that weakens the muscles at an aggressive rate. The film will give an uncensored look at how one family copes with inevitability of the disease and their journey chasing a promising experimental cure.

Special Muscles follows 7-year-old Pietro Scarso and his family as they face the challenges, complications and promise of treating Pietro’s progressive muscle disorder. The film travels from New York to Los Angeles to Philadelphia to document the Scarso family’s race against time as Pietro undergoes a 96-week clinical trial for Eteplirsen, …

The Smell Of Hopelessness, Juline Cariba Rachel Party

Capstones

Rafts of sargassum seaweed kilometers wide have been invading the Caribbean for more than five years, but 2015 was the worst. Tons of seaweed stretch from Texas south to Trinidad and Tobago, with the Lesser Antilles suffering the most damage. Residents near beaches are exposed to an insidious and pernicious danger, scientists say, from fumes that smell like rotten eggs, emitted by the decaying algae. The odor also drives tourists away from beaches and restaurants, and the tourism economy is collapsing.Amid the algae crisis, an elderly woman, Virginie Mark, is trying to survive. She struggles with her health, finances and …

The Wild West Of Edible Insects, Kyle Ligman

Capstones

After the UN came out with a report in 2013 recommending insects for human consumption, businesses and restaurants in the U.S. have been racing to grow a new industry. This project explores the psychological, regulatory and production challenges they face.

No Waste: Nyc, Minda Smiley

Capstones

I produced three video pieces about people who are living zero-waste lifestyles or using zero-waste practices in their businesses. I also wrote a narrative piece about my experience living zero-waste for one week.

When You Can't Watch What You Eat: Examining The Fda’S Recall Process For Food Allergies, Jacob Passy

Capstones

Over a third of all recalls for food products in the United States occur due to an undeclared allergen. In these situations, a food product is often mislabeled or contaminated in some way, resulting in the unknown presence of allergen. For food-allergic consumers, a company's mistake can become life-threatening. By investigating data from the Food and Drug Administration, I found that supermarket chains are responsible for about a fifth of all recalls, and that many recalls occur past the product's expiration date. These factors point to the need to improve the FDA's handling of food allergies in food manufacturing.