Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cool Coatings For Cool People: What Sustainable Surfaces Can Do For You, Jack Dupuy

Osmosis Magazine

Climate change is forcing cities around the world to rethink their landscapes. Urban spaces, packed with concrete, asphalt, and rooftops, absorb more heat than rural areas, creating a phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. This temperature rise stresses energy grids, shortens the lifespan of infrastructure, and makes city life more uncomfortable, particularly during summer months. Fortunately, cool coatings— innovative surface treatments designed to reflect sunlight and reduce heat absorption—are emerging as a solution to help cities beat the heat while saving energy and improving outdoor comfort.

Tower Of “Vietnam”: A Broader Version Of “Tower Of Hanoi”, Tien Nguyenchu

Osmosis Magazine

The traditional problem, “Tower of Hanoi”, might seem familiar to you. The “game” is believed to have been invented in 1883 by the French mathematician Édouard Lucas, although this fact is still disputed. In Vietnam (or sometimes India), there is a legend of a very tall temple with so many floors, and the floor’s diameter gets smaller as the temple gets higher. Priests would then lift each floor up, and move from one peg to another, using another peg as an auxiliary, such that no lower floor is smaller than the upper one. The legend said that once the priests …

Understanding The Theory Of Relativity: Simplified Space-Time, Xander Shelton

Osmosis Magazine

We’ve all heard of Albert Einstein and I’m sure most of us have heard of his theory of relativity. It’s a very popular concept that’s often talked about and mentioned, but what really is the theory of relativity? Well to understand it, first we have to get the backbone of the idea set up. The theory is composed of mainly two parts: Special Relativity and General Relativity. These two concepts are ideas that shaped scientific understanding of space, time, and gravity and fundamentally changed thinking in areas like atomic and nuclear physics in the 20th Century.

Why Can’T We Keep Making Antibiotics?, Kien Bui

Osmosis Magazine

Globally, the annual number of deaths due to antibiotic resistance infections is estimated to be 700,000, which can climb significantly with new viral diseases. The acquisition of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a process related to the use of antibiotics to cure bacterial diseases. As bacteria replicate, mutations occur randomly, and there is a certain probability that this mutation introduces an antibiotic resistant gene. Upon exposure to antibiotics, all bacteria are cleared out, except for the ones that are antibiotic resistant. In other words, antibiotics significantly increase the gene frequency of the antibiotic resistant gene, allowing these bacteria to grow …

When Sense Start To Fade: Understanding Schizophrenia In The Blind And Deaf-Blind Communities, Bezawit Mulatu

Osmosis Magazine

Can Congenital Blindness Protect Against Schizophrenia While Gradual Loss of Sight and Hearing Heightens Vulnerability?

Exercise As A Drug: The Pharmacological Benefits Of Muscular Endurance Training For Type Ii Diabetes, Zack Ruighaver

Osmosis Magazine

In the United States, between 34 and 36 million people suffer from type II diabetes. That’s a little more than 1 in 10 Americans. Although type II diabetes typically develops in people 45 or older, cases are appearing more frequently in younger populations. But what if I told you that there was a drug that could help reverse this trend? No, I’m not talking about metformin or Ozempic. I’m talking about exercise – more specifically, muscular endurance training.

Would You Push The Fat Man? What Psychology Tells Us About Morality, Sam Chanenson

Osmosis Magazine

You’re on an out-of-control trolley hurtling towards five pedestrians trapped on the track ahead of you. While you can’t slow down, you notice just in time that if you flip a switch, you can jump to a parallel track. But oh no! On that track, another pedestrian is trapped. Quick! What do you do?

Mbti Results And Stereotypes: Should We Trust Them Or Not?, Sarah Su

Osmosis Magazine

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), is a popular personality test that’s been around for decades. With a huge test taking population, it is a personality test well known and generally accepted by the public (Delgado, 2023). It is almost everywhere, from day to day conversations to its presence in social media, to even workplaces, where managers are using it as a tool to simplify complex human interactions (Essig, 2014). This means a huge population is using it to determine individual personalities and seeking connections within the society.

A Scientist's Guide To The Laboratory, Eve Snyder

Osmosis Magazine

“’You’re a scientist for goodness sake! What do you mean you don’t want to know why?’”

Letter From The Editor, Andrew Watts

Osmosis Magazine

Dear Reader,

Thank you for opening Osmosis Magazine. We are excited to bring you more accessible, intriguing stories in science and technology spanning the disciplines of biology, chemistry, psychology, and mathematics as well as faculty interviews.

Our goal as a magazine is to share the joy of science with the UR community in an accessible and entertaining fashion. We hope that you enjoy reading this Fall edition of Osmosis Magazine.

Finally, this is the last edition where I will serve as Editor in Chief. It has been a pleasure to work on this project with so many talented writers and …

Osmosis Magazine - Fall 2024

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Interview With Dr. Knouse, Paxton Mills

Osmosis Magazine

Dr. Laura Knouse, Professor of Psychology and Faculty Director of the Richmond Scholars Program, came to the University of Richmond from Carlisle, Pennsylvania as an undergraduate student. At UR, she obtained a B.S. in psychology and went on to receive her PhD in clinical psychology at UNC Greensboro. Her studies then took her to Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School for a clinical internship and her post-doc. After continuing her education up and down the east coast, Dr. Knouse gravitated back towards Richmond, where she now lives and works at the very university she attended.

Fostering Belief And Belonging: Catalysts For Success In Stem, Andrew Watts

Osmosis Magazine

As an aspiring scientist, have you ever found yourself consumed by the suffocating pressure to be perfect? Does the weight of failure loom ominously over your endeavors, threatening to derail your aspirations? And in the quiet moments of introspection, do whispers of self-doubt emerge, casting shadows of uncertainty over your path forward in STEM? I know I certainly have.

An Investigation Of Idaho Phragmites, Paxton Mills

Osmosis Magazine

In fall 2022, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture reached out to the lab of Dr. Carrie Wu, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Richmond, for assistance in determining the genetic lineage of a suspected invasive stand of Phragmites australis, a wetland reed which has proved to be particularly troublesome throughout its introduced range. Like most invasive species, Phragmites wreaks havoc by outcompeting native plants, which disrupts normal ecosystem operations.

Unpacking The Unreliability Of Our Memory, Isabel Dilandro

Osmosis Magazine

Our memories are precious to us. They are a representation of individuality, unable to be separated from us. The only ones who can access them are ourselves, making them private, intimate, and personal. But what happens to our lives, or rather our understanding of our lives, when these memories are not as reliable as they seem? False memories are real, and we are much more susceptible to them than we may at first think possible.

Meet The Pollock Lab: Understanding Breast Cancer And Disease Development, Jeff Tsai

Osmosis Magazine

In October 2023, I was eagerly looking for my lab home, as most Gottwald students would refer to the process. I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Julie Pollock about her significant research in breast cancer. A great part of the reason why I enjoy learning about proteins and their functions is because of my mother’s history of battling stage II breast cancer. During my time taking care of her and eventually taking a class at the University of Richmond studying gene regulation and protein functions, I gained a greater appreciation for the work that biochemists do in breaking …

Ozempic: A Potential Game- Changer For Type 2 Diabetes Or A Misused Celebrity Weight Loss Trend?, Bezawit Mulatu

Osmosis Magazine

Ozempic, a medication initially designed to combat Type 2 diabetes, has garnered widespread interest due to its unexpected association with celebrity weight loss trends. This article delves into the multifaceted narrative of Ozempic, exploring its pivotal role in diabetes management, its unanticipated link to weight loss, and the controversies that have ensued.

Zero & Infinity Two Divergent Concepts Converging Into Nothing, Aiden Hills

Osmosis Magazine

The concepts of zero and infinity have perplexed mathematicians, philosophers, and scientists since the very beginning of civilization. These abstract ideas challenged existing paradigms in arithmetic and geometry, paving the way for groundbreaking advances in fields ranging from quantum mechanics to cosmology. Let us examine the resistance and eventual acceptance of zero and infinity, highlighting their indispensable roles in modern science and technology.

Human Health Through Long-Distance Space Travel, Alex Robertson

Osmosis Magazine

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the USA and Soviet Union spearheaded humanity’s push into space, driven partly by curiosity and mostly by political ego. The Space Race saw humanity’s first space-bound launches take place, sending out satellites equipped with payloads containing everything from scientific instruments to monkeys and dogs.

Letter To The Editor, Andrew Watts

Osmosis Magazine

Dear Reader,

Thank you for opening Osmosis Magazine. We are excited to bring you more accessible, intriguing stories in science and technology spanning the disciplines of chemistry, environmental science, psychology, and mathematics. In addition to this edition’s science articles, we are excited to introduce faculty interviews, which chronicle select faculty members’ journeys into science and some of their passions outside of it. Our goal as a magazine is to share the joy of science with the UR community in an accessible and entertaining fashion. We hope that you enjoy reading this Fall edition of Osmosis Magazine.

Happy reading, Andrew Watts …

Osmosis Magazine - Spring 2024

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

“Faculty Interview: Dr. Leo”, Paxton Mills

Osmosis Magazine

Originally from Yorktown, Virginia, Dr. Michael Leopold, Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Professor of Chemistry, came to the University of Richmond with a mission: to show the world that undergraduates are capable of doing R1 research. He was drawn to the University for its vision of “combining scholarship with excellent teaching” and the Chemistry Department’s mentorship of undergraduates in non-traditional classrooms (i.e., research laboratories).

Pixels Of Our Universe, Kritim K. Rijal

Osmosis Magazine

The notion of humans living in a simulation gets tossed

around quite often in general conversations. From sci-fi movies to advanced video games, we experience the gist of a simulated world in various forms. From there questioning the “reality” of our own worldly experience is but a mere step away. The perpetual advancement in the field of AI, which has continued to predict, imitate, and almost create experiences that seem previously intrinsic to humans alone, has not helped the case for conspiracy theorists. However, all of this is observational. Its basis is on human intuition alone.

“The Algebraic Background Of Error-Correcting Code”, Aiden Hills

Osmosis Magazine

Imagine a scenario where mission control on Earth must communicate with a satellite as it orbits Mars, nearly 240 million miles away. This communication relies on binary commands, where a simple digit, '0' or '1', can dictate critical actions. For instance, '0' might instruct the satellite to capture vital images of the surface of Mars, while '1' could command it to maintain its trajectory.

Rat Ultrasonic Vocalizations And Their Implication In Limiting Anthropomorphizing In Animal Research, Isabel Dilandro

Osmosis Magazine

Emotions in humans are very difficult to measure in a scientifically responsible manner.They are fickle, difficult to define, and even more difficult still to attach numerical value to as a subjective, malleable thing. If affective science, also known as the study of emotion, is difficult to fully grasp with participants that can talk back to us, effectively providing verbal insight to the inner workings of their cognition and self-reporting their thoughts and feelings for interpretation, then what are researchers meant to do when it comes time to measure the same responses in subjects that cannot provide them with any of …

“How Neonicotinoids In Pesticides Impact Bee Behavior And Ecological Interactions”, Jack Dupuy

Osmosis Magazine

Animal pollination, primarily facilitated by bees, represents a crucial ecosystem service, benefiting nearly 90 percent of flowering plants and contributing to the prosperity of 75 percent of the world's most prevalent crops.

Unraveling Adar Expression And Rna Editing Activity In Adult And Embryonic Tissue In The Squid Euprymna Berryi, Kayla Friedman, Gjendine Voss, Joshua Rosenthal

Osmosis Magazine

RNA editing by adenosine deamination gives an organism the ability to alter its protein-coding sequences, resulting in an overall change in protein structure and function. Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) convert specific adenosines (A) into inosines (I) that are interpreted as guanosines (G) by the translational machinery. Coleoid cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish), like vertebrates, possess two catalytically active ADAR enzymes, sqADAR1 and sqADAR2, but unlike any other organism, cephalopods recode transcripts by A-to-I RNA editing to an extraordinary extent, particularly in neuronal tissue.

“How Shape Affects Drug Action”, Andrew Watts

Osmosis Magazine

There are innumerable factors that influence the development and efficacy of pharmaceutical agents, but one of the most crucial considerations is the shape of the drug. Yes – the shape. Drugs come in all different shapes and sizes

Letter From The Editor, Andrew Watts

Osmosis Magazine

Dear Reader,

Thank you for opening Osmosis Magazine. We are excited to bring you more accessible, intriguing stories in science and technology spanning the disciplines of chemistry, environmental science, and mathematics. In addition to this edition’s science articles, we are excited to introduce faculty interviews, which chronicle select faculty members’ journeys into science and some of their passions outside of it. Interactive components such as crossword puzzles and word searches are also included. Our goal as a magazine is to share the joy of science with the UR community in an accessible and entertaining fashion. We hope that you …

Osmosis Magazine - Fall 2023

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.