The Misleading Nature of Scientific Publications

This paper was composed as part of an honors writing intensive assignment in BIOCHM 2482H taught by Dr. Thomas J. Reilly. In the course, students were encouraged to analyze and criticize scientific publications that are often held to unrealistic standards of rigor by the public. The assignment entailed a reading of The Double Helix, which described the discovery of the structure of DNA from the perspective or Dr. James D. Watson, and then analyzing the wholly different experience depicted by this book as compared to the formal publication of the discovery in Nature. This paper explores the scientific endeavor as but one part of a web of beliefs and attitudes that constitute a social identity rather than a concept to be understood in isolation.

The Burqa Ban: A Discourse on Post-Secular Religious Freedom

What—if any—authority does the government have to intervene in the affairs of private individuals? This question lies at the heart of the following discourse on the appropriate limits on a government’s right to regulate. Using France’s 2011 Burqa Ban as a framework, this paper evaluates several competing theories on these limits and their relative significance. Though none of these theories can fully capture the complexity of this subject, they provide invaluable insight into the various postulates used to justify state control over private behavior.

Antibiotic Use in the Agricultural Industry and the Rise in Resistant Strains

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a controversial issue over the years, ultimately leading to regulations on their use in the agricultural industry. Improper management of antibiotic utilization can result in the development of resistant strains. Furthermore, in the present day, there has been a transfer of these resistant strains to not only animals, but…

A Plan for Plastics

Consumption of plastic and efforts to reduce plastic waste have been a popular topic of the past year. When a video showcasing plastic straw litter went viral, many businesses, such as restaurants and dining chains, stopped providing plastic straws unless by request. Struck by the amount of plastic in the ocean, many took a pause…

Science of Environmental Effects of Nuclear War

The only atomic bombs to ever be used outside of testing were those used by the United States in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the Second World War. These blasts exploded with the force of about 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons of TNT respectively (World Nuclear Association, 2016). The total nuclear arsenal in the world…

A War Between Two Worlds

Americans wound down Halloween 1938 gathered around their radios to hear Orson Welles read a rendition of War of the Worlds. Far from them snuggling up for a comfortable evening by the hearth, the broadcast sent a ripple of fear gliding across the nation. In the ensuing mania, America revealed its anxiety about the impending…

How Has Learning English Helped Me to Build Confidence and Communication Skills?

Last year, when I was in military service in South Korea, I was taking a subway to go home during my break. I was waiting for my subway, wearing a military uniform and carrying a backpack. Then one girl came to me and asked, “How do I go to the Sinsa station” (one of the…

My Discovery of Interconnectedness

As a child, my mother would always tell me stories of my ancestors and distant relatives, but I tended to brush it off like it was not a big deal. At such a young age, my goal was not to learn or absorb information about my past; it was to live in the present. As…

My Home is Mine to Choose

I never really did belong anywhere.   Of course, the minute I say that I’ll be ambushed with the appalled exclamations of “How could you say that? That’s not true!” from anyone close enough to be within earshot, but it is true.  Floating around, drifting in and out of people’s lives, moving from one place to…

Breakthrough Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture

A recent article published by the Washington Post articulates that new gene-editing practices in farm animals may be one of the largest research breakthroughs, though society may not be prepared for such a change (Johnson, 2018). Biotechnology, the genetic manipulation of living organisms, has made progress in the animal agricultural industry, but so has the…