Today the United States will hit 500,000 deaths due to COVID-19. It’s a sobering number. And this number isn’t including those we have lost due to the mental toll the pandemic has taken. I send love to everyone who has lost a friend or family member this year. As a scientist who studies viruses andContinue reading “Half a Million”
Author Archives: annickae
Adeno-Associated Virus
Meet Adeno-Associated Virus, also known as AAV! I have spent most of my scientific career working with AAV and have grown quite fond. AAV (part of the parvoviridae family) is a small (25nm in diameter), non-enveloped, virus carrying single-stranded DNA. The capsid is made of 60 protein subunits (known as VP1, VP2, and VP3) arrangedContinue reading “Adeno-Associated Virus”
APGAR Score
The Apgar score, developed by Dr. Virginia Apgar in 1952, is a quick way to quantify the health of a newborn baby after birth. The score is determined by evaluating 5 different criteria, each on a scale of 0-2, and summing the scores. Interestingly, the 5 criteria are summarized using a backronym (acronym assigned toContinue reading “APGAR Score”
Never Limit Yourself
Mae Jemison – first black female astronaut in space. ✨ “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; Never limit others because of your own [limited imagination].” Posted on Instagram on February 15, 2021.
Science of Love
Love is such a beautiful part of life and it never hurts to know a little more about how it works. Swipe through to see the chemicals involved in the stages of romance and which parts of the brain either produce them or are influenced by them. Stage 1 is the very initial physical attractionContinue reading “Science of Love”
Knee Joint Art
The knee joint, filled with synovial fluid, is a modified hinge joint. This means it allows a small degree of rotation on top of both flexion and extension. There are two articulating surfaces in the knee joint (meaning points of contact between bone surfaces). The first is the tibiofemoral – tibia (bone of the lowerContinue reading “Knee Joint Art”
Maillard Reaction
Science of Cooking Part 3! Today we’re talking the Maillard (my-YAR) Reaction – amino acids (protein) + sugar + heat = browning effect in your food. Seared steak and the crust on bread are two very obvious examples of this in the kitchen. The example I use here is a toasted marshmallow, because it isContinue reading “Maillard Reaction”
Science is True
“The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson
Caramelization Flavors
Science of Cooking Part 2! Today we’re talking the many wonderful flavors of caramelization! Caramelization is a complex and multi-step reaction that breaks down sugar, removes water, and produces hundreds of new aromatic compounds in the process. Different aromatics are responsible for some of the characteristic flavors in the kitchen. The first smell that occursContinue reading “Caramelization Flavors”
Physics of Punting
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Want to understand more about what determines the trajectory of a football after being punted? The equations of projectile motion allow us to determine how far (Xmax), how high (Ymax), and how long it will remain in the air (Ttotal or hang time) given an initial kick velocity (V0) and kickContinue reading “Physics of Punting”