Recent our items

Sleeping Cells and Maternal Protection: Rethinking Strategies for Healthy Aging

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sleeping Cells and Maternal Protection: Rethinking Strategies for Healthy Aging

From Parchment and Papyrus to Neurons and Neural Networks: Palimpsests in the Brain

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From Parchment and Papyrus to Neurons and Neural Networks: Palimpsests in the Brain

Epidrugs vs. The Opioid Epidemic

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Epidrugs vs. The Opioid Epidemic

Strawberry Creek: River Restoration

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Strawberry Creek: River Restoration

Prism: Table of Contents

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prism: Table of Contents

The Positives of Parasitism: An Investigation into Cancer-Combatting Parasites

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Positives of Parasitism: An Investigation into Cancer-Combatting Parasites

Group Interview Question

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Group Interview Question

Prism: Front Cover

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prism: Front Cover

Tailoring AI for Biological Objectives: ProteinGuide and Machine Learning-Guided AAV Vector Design

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tailoring AI for Biological Objectives: ProteinGuide and Machine Learning-Guided AAV Vector Design

Unpacking Cellular Trafficking: Randy Schekman on Basic Science and Parkinson's Disease

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Unpacking Cellular Trafficking: Randy Schekman on Basic Science and Parkinson's Disease

How Do Cavities Form?: The Role of S. mutans, Protective Power of Fluoride, and Smart Dietary Choices

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How Do Cavities Form?: The Role of S. mutans, Protective Power of Fluoride, and Smart Dietary Choices

The Shulgin Legacy: A Profile of 2C-X Psychedelics

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Shulgin Legacy: A Profile of 2C-X Psychedelics

Gut Check: How the Microbiome and Diet Are Changing Cancer Treatment

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Gut Check: How the Microbiome and Diet Are Changing Cancer Treatment

We Bare Bears: Evolutionary Origins and Ecological Adaptations of Grizzlies, Polar Bears, and Pandas

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We Bare Bears: Evolutionary Origins and Ecological Adaptations of Grizzlies, Polar Bears, and Pandas

Expanding Our Understanding of Consciousness with Psychedelics Research

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Expanding Our Understanding of Consciousness with Psychedelics Research

Seeing Beyond Color: Exploring Novel Colors Through Single-Cone Stimulation

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Seeing Beyond Color: Exploring Novel Colors Through Single-Cone Stimulation

Experimental Study of Transmission and Color Shift in Neutral Density (ND) Filters

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Neutral Density (ND) filters attenuate irradiance uniformly across the visible spectrum while preserving color balance. We present a RAW-

domain workflow to measure ND transmittance T and color shift across stops n = 1–5. Experimental transmission T exp is compared with

the ideal 2−n . Color fidelity is evaluated through channel ratios (R/G, B/G) and ΔE* ab from ColorChecker targets. The optical setup, acquisition

protocol, and data-reduction pipeline are described for reproducibility. We discuss polarization leakage, spectral flatness, illuminant

dependence, and signal-to-noise effects. The tested filter follows 2−n closely and shows only minor, illuminant-dependent drifts near

perceptibility thresholds at 5 stops.

Prism: Back Cover

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prism: Back Cover

Impacts of Traumatic Brain Injury on Synaptic Plasticity and on Synaptic Plasticity and Cognitive Function

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Impacts of Traumatic Brain Injury on Synaptic Plasticity and on Synaptic Plasticity and Cognitive Function

Enlightenment: Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Enlightenment: Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

Differences in Tooth Morphology Between Sturnira mordax and Sturnira hondurensis Bats

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sturnira spp. are one of the most common genus in Costa Rica as they are frugivorous bats found in middle to high elevations

(600m-2600m). With fruit variation comes differences in tooth morphology. There are two Sturnira spp. that look quite similar and can be

passed as the same species if not given a field guide, as they carry the same field marks in body and fur. S.mordax and S.hondurensis are small

spirited creatures in the Sturnira genus that are distinguished through their maxillary and mandibular central incisors. Unfortunately, there

aren’t many studies when it comes to comparing more characteristics or the sizes of these incisors. I conducted a study of the differences in

tooth morphology between S.mordax and S.hondurensis in Monteverde and San Gerardo. I anticipated for S.hondurensis to have larger teeth

measurements than S.mordax due to the long...

Prism: Editors Note

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prism: Editors Note

Tuning Color at the Nanoscale: The Story of Quantum Dots

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tuning Color at the Nanoscale: The Story of Quantum Dots

Seeing Beyond Color: Exploring Novel Colors Through Single-Cone Stimulation

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Seeing Beyond Color: Exploring Novel Colors Through Single-Cone Stimulation

Stress, Phages, and EPS: Factors That Enhance Bradyrhizobium Biofilm Formation

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Biofilms and their exopolysaccharide (EPS) matrix help soil rhizobia ride out stress, colonize roots, and ultimately succeed in symbiosis.

We asked whether bacteriophages and common abiotic stressors modulate EPS-linked biofilm traits in Bradyrhizobium S3.9.2GM. Using a

validated crystal violet (CV) microtiter assay for biomass and Congo Red (CR) colony phenotyping for matrix-linked traits, we found that

phage and sublethal stressors (osmotic, oxidative, temperature shock) generally increased biofilm biomass, with the largest effects under

combined phage + stress conditions. One-way ANOVA showed a strong treatment effect on OD570 (biofilm biomass; p < 0.001), while mucoid

score and CR halo intensity trended upward in combined treatments but were not significant at α = 0.05. These patterns are consistent with

literature showing stress-induced EPS in rhizobia and context-dependent phage–biofilm interactions, and they suggest that simultaneous

biotic...

Filling in the Blanks: The Neurons That Build Visual Illusions

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Filling in the Blanks: The Neurons That Build Visual Illusions

Wired for Words: The Science of Language Development

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Wired for Words: The Science of Language Development

Prism: Thank You to Our Donors

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prism: Thank You to Our Donors

Healing With Sound: The Future of Stem Cell Regeneration

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Healing With Sound: The Future of Stem Cell Regeneration

Disappearing News, Disappearing Democracy: Examining the Impact of Local News Decline on Political Engagement in Rural America

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines the relationship between local newspaper presence and democratic participation, focusing particularly on how news deserts affect political accountability and civic engagement in rural America. Currently, 3.5 million Americans live in counties without any local news coverage. The impact is especially severe in the South, where every state has at least one county without a newspaper. While existing research demonstrates that newspaper closures reduce civic engagement in urban areas, I argue that these effects are significantly more severe in rural regions where geographic isolation and limited digital infrastructure compound the impact. Using comparative quantitative analysis of electoral competition in rural versus urban counties across North Carolina and Arizona from 2020 to 2024, Cooperative Election Study political knowledge data (2020–2022), and a Montana case study, this paper investigates the mechanisms through which declining local news coverage impacts...

Volume 40 (2026) - Front Matter

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Staff List and Table of Contents

The Long Game: Constraints and Exceptions in US Foreign Policy toward Israel–Palestine and Iran, 1980–2024

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

United States foreign policy is governed by the American system of checks and balances which fosters a tug-of-war dynamic between the legislative and executive branches. This institutional friction, observed by those involved in policy development, implementation, and analysis, has produced a pattern of unpredictable and politicized decision-making, driven by legislative constraints and ad hoc exceptions. This volatility is particularly evident in US diplomacy in the Middle East, as demonstrated by its attempts over the last five decades to facilitate a two-state solution to the Israel–Palestine conflict and to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran. In these cases, key US diplomatic tools including economic assistance, diplomatic recognition, terrorist designations, foreign aid restrictions, and sanctions have been applied through a series of executive orders and congressional legislation. These policies, sometimes seemingly narrow in scope or aimed at isolated issues, have...

Time Blind or Time Proof?: ADHD & Alternative Temporalities

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Time blindness is a common symptom ascribed to individuals experiencing ADHD or the spectrum of ADHD symptoms. However, it is most often characterized as a deficit to functioning properly, whether this is in the workplace, schools, or relationships. Like much of the information surrounding neurodiversity, “time blindness” is a gross oversimplification of people with ADHD’s felt experience of time. For individuals with ADHD, measuring changes in attention and shifts in chronoception (the perception of time) can be achieved through an analysis of art practice. This paper looks critically at the role that time plays in the lives of neurodiverse and neurotypical people alike.

An Emboldened Executive: The Second Trump Administration and the Rule of Law

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper investigates how the rule of law has been reconstituted, rather than dismantled, during the first nine months of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Drawing on an aggregate quantitative analysis of federal court rulings, it finds that while district and, to a lesser extent, appellate courts have frequently rebuked the administration, the Supreme Court has repeatedly intervened through its emergency—or “shadow”— docket to legitimize expansive assertions of executive authority. These interventions have not only consolidated presidential power but also altered judicial procedure and intensified divisions within the judiciary itself. Rather than signaling the collapse of legality, the Court’s jurisprudence amounts to a broad redefinition of lawful executive power, with the Supreme Court emerging as a willing architect of the president’s agenda. The paper concludes that this convergence portends a critical reordering of the American constitutional system—an illiberal turn...

California Housing Development: The Role of Local Commissions on Completion Time

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

California has been suffering from a “housing crisis” for the past several years, an issue which many have regarded as a symptom of a housing supply shortage. Many researchers, policymakers, journalists, and voters alike have pointed to the relatively (at least compared to other states) slow pace of entitling proposed housing projects as a major culprit for why California’s housing shortage persists. These “entitlements” generally include zoning-related permits (e.g. site development permit) and environmental review determinations (e.g. California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA). Importantly, despite the reforms at the state level, local governments have almost exclusive control on the number of local commissions and committees (“land use approval bodies”) that a housing project needs to seek approval from on a project. This paper provides evidence of a positive correlation between the length of time that California housing projects take to acquire land-use entitlements with...

Queer Utopia, Gay Dystopia: Power, Sex, and Pornography in the Films of William E. Jones

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In this essay, I analyze the short films of director William E. Jones and how these films depict the shift from the gay community’s egalitarian origins to the modern neoliberal and discriminatory gay community. I begin my work by analyzing Jones’ Tearoom, which presents the “queer utopia” defined by egalitarianism shown in the titular “tearoom” (or area for homosexual public sex), where men have sex freely without regard to identity. Then, I discuss how Jones’ film More British Sounds uses sound to highlight the emerging identity-based hierarchy common in Bondage, Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadomasochism (BDSM) gay pornography in the 1980s. Next, I show how Jones’ The Fall of Communism as Seen Through Gay Pornography showcases the degeneration of gay sexuality from egalitarian to a sexuality defined by predatory and class-based roles. Finally, I highlight how Bruce Labruce’s film Raspberry Reich shows that modern gay sexuality is able to be redeemed into its original...

From Pain to Promise: Black Musical Cultures as an Emotional & Emancipatory Pedagogy & the Foundation of American Music

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This research thesis examines how Black musical cultures serve as an emotional and emancipatory pedagogy, creating the foundation of American music through shared restorative power in times of distress. Acknowledging the importance of music in meaning-making and educating, this thesis utilizes Sara Ahmed’s (2014) “sociality of emotions” and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s (2019) “racialized emotions” to contextualize how emotion in the music industry can significantly influence Americans’ values. Further, I apply these methodologies to understand marginalized communities’ use of music as a tool of resistance and expression to challenge the violence of White supremacy. Through textual analysis and interviews, this research intends to answer, how have Black musical producers utilized the emotionality of music to encode the notion of freedom, moving people from suffering racial discrimination to counting on a promising future? Research findings include insights from participants from...

Magical Realism and Truth-Telling in Ernesto Sabato's The Angel of Darkness

Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This project examines Argentine novelist Ernesto Sábato’s “The Angel of Darkness” (1974) through the lens of literary magical realism. It seeks to expand the current definition of magical realism by building upon the specific parameters defined by prominent critics of the mode—namely, Louis Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris’s “Five Characteristics.” In reconsidering the nature of “magic” within these texts, “magical” instances can encompass a broader variety of phenomena. This research focuses on the normalization of violence, the omniscience and invisibility of the police state, and the metafiction present and abundant within “The Angel of Darkness” to establish Sábato within the magical realist mode.

Frozen Chemistry and Fantastic Origins: Molecular Reactions and the Chemical Tapestry of Planet-Building Disks

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. Jennifer Bergner

Phage Warfare: Mechanisms of Bacteriophages and Clinical Applications

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Phage Warfare: Mechanisms of Bacteriophages and Clinical Applications

Contrasting AI and Human Hallucinations

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Contrasting AI and Human Hallucinations

Chimera: Table of Contents

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Chimera: Table of Contents

Molecules, Memory, and the Mind: Psychedelics and the Future of Neuroplasticity

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. Andrea Gomez

Tactics To Combat Visual Predators: Cryptic Coloration in Christmas Tree Worms

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Tactics To Combat Visual Predators: Cryptic Coloration in Christmas Tree Worms

Epigenetic Editing: The Temporary Tattoo of the Genome

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Epigenetic Editing: The Temporary Tattoo of the Genome

The Taste of Survival: How Maria Ylagan Orosa Used Nutritional Science to Combat Malnutrition, Colonialism, and Imperialism in the Philippines

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Taste of Survival: How Maria Ylagan Orosa Used Nutritional Science to Combat Malnutrition, Colonialism, and Imperialism in the Philippines

Thank You to Our Donors

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

List of donors from Fall 2025 crowdfunding campaign

Toxic Water, Toxic Systems: How Science Can Serve Justice For Toxic Policies

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. Michael Mascarenhas

Rethinking the Prisoner’s Dilemma: How Quantum Games Lead to Classical Gains

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Rethinking the Prisoner’s Dilemma: How Quantum Games Lead to Classical Gains

Bioorthogonal Chemistry: A Revolution in Chemical Biology

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Bioorthogonal Chemistry: A Revolution in Chemical Biology

Gutsy Moves: Microbes in the Fight Against Colorectal Cancer

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Gutsy Moves: Microbes in the Fight Against Colorectal Cancer

Chimera: Back Cover

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Chimera: Back Cover

From Fever Dreams to Pharma Queens: How Plants Influenced Modern Medicine

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

From Fever Dreams to Pharma Queens: How Plants Influenced Modern Medicine

Chimera: Cover

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Chimera: Cover

Between Science and Spirit: Rethinking Mental Health with Psychedelic Therapy

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. Brian Anderson

Breaking Barriers: CAR-T Therapy for Solid Cancers

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Breaking Barriers: CAR-T Therapy for Solid Cancers

The Lost Languages: A Journey Through History of Being Silenced and Language Attrition

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Lost Languages: A Journey Through History of Being Silenced and Language Attrition

Comparative Efficacy of Psilocybin and MDMA in PTSD Treatment: A Systematic Review of Long-Term Outcomes

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Comparative Efficacy of Psilocybin and MDMA in PTSD Treatment: A Systematic Review of Long-Term Outcomes

Flooding Treatment Effects on Sap Flow of Deciduous Trees in the Chesapeake Bay

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Flooding Treatment Effects on Sap Flow of Deciduous Trees in the Chesapeake Bay

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Recovering 100% of Your Plastics by Refining Polymer Synthesis

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Brooks Abel

Arresting Alzheimer’s: CRISPR as a Cure to Neurodegenerative Diseases

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Arresting Alzheimer’s: CRISPR as a Cure to Neurodegenerative Diseases

From Trash to Treasure: The Lysosome’s Role in Cancer, Aging, and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. Robert Zoncu

Rising Temperatures, Rising Threats: The Impact of Climate Change on Maternal Health

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Rising Temperatures, Rising Threats: The Impact of Climate Change on Maternal Health

How AI Has Changed the World of Healthcare Diagnoses

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How AI Has Changed the World of Healthcare Diagnoses

Chimera: Editorial Note

Sat, 1 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Editorial Note

Characteristics and Effectiveness of Child Malnutrition Programs in the Philippines

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Child malnutrition remains a persistent problem in the Philippines despite the steady implementation of government-sponsored nutrition programs and policies. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of child malnutrition programs in the Philippines. Six child malnutrition programs were examined in the Philippines through in-person interviews and literature reviews. A semi-structured interview guide was used to address four major topics about each program: background information; target population; implementation and challenges; and evaluation methods. This study presented each malnutrition program with its implementation approach and scope. The six programs were compared in their approaches toward health education, feeding, gardening, and medical treatment. Five of these programs teach nutrition education, two of which cover health topics beyond nutrition. In regard to feeding, two programs provide malnourished children with ready-to-use-therapeutic-food (RUTF). Of the...

From People's Park Annex to Ohlone Park: The Wandering Body and Accessible Park Space

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper focuses on disability access in urban greenspace through the case study of Ohlone Park in Berkeley, California. Initially built as People’s Park Annex in the 1960s, Ohlone Park was used as an alternative space for political activism after the first closing of People’s Park. This paper argues that the development pattern of Ohlone Park as a controlled public space away from its radical past suggests an anticipation of an idealized type of user that occupies the park as a temporary recreational area, which perpetuates the exclusion of disabled and unhoused bodies in the park. This idealization extends to the questions of bodies and space as well as perpetuates the hypervisibility of crip movement. The combination of lawn and lane in the park suggests that the dichotomy of nature and culture in landscape design is inter-perpetual with the imagination of an able-bodied walker. This paper explores how the question of body underlies themes including elements of nature...

Volume 39 (2025) - Front Matter

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Volume 39 (2025) - Front Matter

Moved by the Immobile: A Phenomenological Study of the Moving Presence of Works in Alberto Giacometti’s Mature Period (1945–1966)

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The impetus of this thesis lies in the moving presence of the art of twentieth-century modern artist Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966), understood in the literal and figurative senses of the word “movement.” Its focus is on the way Giacometti’s inanimate works animate their viewers—stirring, moving, and inviting them to move through, around, and alongside his works. In this way, I liken the moving presence of Giacometti’s art to the presence of a human before us. Aided by the insights of twentieth-century philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, readers will be moved to their own phenomenological experiences of Giacometti’s work. Formal studies will reveal the palpable relationships between stillness and movement as well as distance and proximity within Giacometti’s works’ texture, scale, and finally, his artistic process. Drawing upon both formal analysis and phenomenological aesthetic theory, I argue that Giacometti’s lifelong struggle to find an ending point to his works was his...

Movement or Moment?: Exploring the Modern Struggle for Democracy in Iran

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In a time where democratic backsliding threatens the sanctity of our democratic strongholds, studies on the world’s would-be democracies have been placed on the back-burner. The Middle East has commonly been called a democracy desert: a region where the branches of democracy are incapable of taking root. Whether it be an inhospitable culture or the looming effects of colonial influence, the Middle East has existed in a democracy deficit since its inception following Sykes-Picot. Although semblances of democracy have taken place in various Middle Eastern countries, Iran has remained under authoritarian rule for centuries: from the Qajars to the Islamic regime. Despite wide-spread civil unrest, a lively civil society, and a diaspora who yearns for a democratic Iran, Iran has never democratized. Analyzing the two most modern pro-democracy movements in Iranian history, the 2009 Green Revolution and 2022 Women, Life, Freedom Movement, this paper seeks to explore why Iran has been...

Forms of Social Solidarity in American Politics

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On January 6, 2021, a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol and, in many ways, American democracy itself. QAnon, a conspiracy centered around the clandestine activities of the elite, was a key group in the attack. Since then, QAnon has featured in many headline-worthy national crimes, including multiple attempts to harm elected officials. While there is value in questioning how QAnon became so powerful, it is more instructive to consider why people are compelled to live, die, and kill for an ideology so outrageous. In this paper, I ask why pockets of mechanical solidarity exist within societies governed by organic solidarity. Following Émile Durkheim’s theory of social solidarity, I interrogate QAnon’s rise and conclude that QAnon exists within two large organic societies—the United States and the internet writ large. However, QAnon exists as a pocket of mechanical solidarity, and its rise is deeply connected to how people seek out and choose their communities. By comparing...

Exploring Current and Potential Solutions: The Rise of Deepfakes in Legislative, Legal, and Technological Arenas

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The rapid rise of deepfake technology, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), presents significant challenges to intellectual property (IP) and trademark enforcement. Deepfakes, created using machine learning algorithms like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), generate hyper-realistic yet entirely fabricated digital content. These deepfakes have complicated the already intricate landscape of IP protection—particularly on social media platforms—where misinformation, fraud, and privacy violations are growing concerns. As these technologies evolve and become more accessible, distinguishing between genuine and manipulated media has become increasingly difficult. This paper examines the impact of deepfakes on IP and trademark enforcement, highlighting the shortcomings of current legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms. It reviews federal and state legislative efforts and assesses the role of technology corporations in detecting and preventing deepfake content....

Divided, We Stand in Agreement: The Obstructive Role of National Identity in Contemporary Taiwanese Society

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the international arena, “Taiwan” brings to mind the conflict between Chinese dominance and American hegemony. Discourse surrounding Taiwan itself centers on its independence or unification with China. In media and popular consciousness, Taiwan’s preference for independence or unification is attributed to a difference in national identities—“Chinese” or “Taiwanese.” This reductive view masks the unique ways in which individuals in Taiwan construct their national identities, particularly given the lack of agreed definitions for basic terminology such as “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese.” Yet, qualitative data shows that national identity has little practical relevance in society, as the general consensus is that peacekeeping via maintenance of the status quo is the only current logical course of action. Despite proof of the population’s pragmatic indifference towards national identity, Taiwan’s primary political parties, the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) persist...

The Harms of Withdrawal

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper, I will explain: 1) Scanlon’s paradigm case of “Exit-Style Blame” (ESB), 2) how Agnes Callard’s “co-valuing” framework makes sense of our relational obligations in relationships of attachment, 3) how communicating one’s Strawsonian reactive attitudes is necessary for emotional vulnerability and valuing others, and 4) why exit-style blame is wrong and fails to express our subjective experience and solidify relational expectations. Some may argue that reactive communication of blame will only incite unproductive counter-anger or that this argument wrongly prescribes behavior universally. Nevertheless, without communicating some degree of our reactive attitudes when we are subject to them, we fail to express what we find valuable or harmful in the actions of those closest to us. This exclusion of our emotional experience wrongs the recipient of ESB, as it fails two epistemic and one practical obligation we have in relationships of attachment. Epistemically, we are...

Paths toward Sustainable Development in the 21st Century: A Comparative Analysis of “Exceptionalist” Development Models in Costa Rica and Kerala, India

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In working to overcome the greatest challenges of the century, populous societies and governments have not properly recognized how to improve social conditions within the limits of our biosphere. In search of paths toward sustainable development in the 21st century, I analyzed two case studies known for their remarkable development outcomes: Costa Rica and the Indian State of Kerala. Publicly available data was used to visualize their development and sustainability progress over time. My analysis reveals that Costa Rica serves as a model for sustainable development, although its egregious overuse of agrochemicals is generally overlooked and must be replaced with regenerative agriculture practices. Although the success of the Kerala model is evident in the data, Kerala should not be considered a model of sustainable development due to its rampant pollution, limited economic opportunities, and overreliance on remittances sourced from unsustainable economies. Instead, I call for...

Unlocking the Secrets of Protein Misfolding: AlphaFold’s Role in Cardiovascular Disease

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Unlocking the Secrets of Protein Misfolding: AlphaFold’s Role in Cardiovascular Disease

Fluidity of Brain States: Unihemispheric Sleep and Its Ties to Consciousness

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fluidity of Brain States: Unihemispheric Sleep and Its Ties to Consciousness

The Heart of an Ecosystem: Pollinator Species in the Face of Climate Change

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Heart of an Ecosystem: Pollinator Species in the Face of Climate Change

Molecules in Motion: Molecular Mechanisms of Exercise’s Health Benefits

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Molecules in Motion: Molecular Mechanisms of Exercise’s Health Benefits

Deep Protein Feature Learning for Intrinsically Disordered Regions in Proteins Using Image Inpainting

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Deep Protein Feature Learning for Intrinsically Disordered Regions in Proteins Using Image Inpainting

Pulse: Cover

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Pulse: Cover

Decoding Smell: The Future of Odor Mapping with AI and Molecular Chemistry

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Decoding Smell: The Future of Odor Mapping with AI and Molecular Chemistry

Generational Starvation: Generational Starvation: The Link Between Ancestral Diets and Modern Disease

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Generational Starvation: Generational Starvation: The Link Between Ancestral Diets and Modern Disease

Pulse: Editorial Note

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Editorial Note

Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Stress on Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Haliclona sp.

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Stress on Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Haliclona sp.

Pulse: Table of Contents

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Pulse: Table of Contents

From Models to Medicine: Understanding Stem Cell Differentiation in Regenerative Therapy

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. David Schaffer

A Double-Edged Sword: The Blood-Brain Barrier

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A Double-Edged Sword: The Blood-Brain Barrier

Sniffing Out a Cure to Malaria

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sniffing Out a Cure to Malaria

From Giants to Jellyfish: The Evolution of Sleep Across Species

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

From Giants to Jellyfish: The Evolution of Sleep Across Species

Illuminating Insights: Using Fractals to Model Lightning

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Illuminating Insights: Using Fractals to Model Lightning

Thank You to Our Donors

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

List of Donors from Fall 2024 Crowdfunding Campaign

Quantizing Gravity: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe's Most Well Known Force

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Professor Holger Müller

An Exposure Exposé: Talking Healthcare Accessibility and the Future of Crowd Control Weapons Research

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Professor Rohini Haar

Pulse: Back Cover

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Pulse: Back Cover

From Past to Future: Genomics, Evolution, and Aging

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Dr. Peter Sudmant

Sex Work Regulation Across 85 Nations: The Political Economy of Prostitution

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Despite the popularity and efficacy of laws that criminalize consumers in the sex industry, adoption of such policies is slow and limited. In other cases, countries act to adopt legal frameworks that may leave sex workers unprotected from violence or harm. How do we explain such different choices across different countries? To address this, I undertake a political and economic view of sex work, which refers specifically to prostitution in this study, and subsequently investigate political and economic characteristics across 85 countries as factors that may affect their selection of different types of sex work policies. Furthermore, I examine the impact of diverse political value systems as well as economic conditions. The project employs a multinomial logistic regression model to examine the relationship between these factors and the adoption of five different sex work policies. The analysis of data demonstrated that total female participation in the labor force was the most...

"Woman. Life. Freedom. Queer. Trans. Liberation": Echoes of Azadi Breaking Free from the Inner-Panopticon

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This thesis delves into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s intricate construction and reinforcement of a cis-heteronormative national identity with an emphasis on the contemporary “Woman, Life, Freedom, Queer, Trans, Liberty” revolution. The study highlights the complex web of power dynamics, surveillance mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks that operate both within the public and private spheres. By utilizing a Foucauldian framework of the “inner-panopticon,” this research exposes how the Iranian state’s systematic imposition of heteronormative values extends beyond the confines of legal and social regulations, permeating the very fabric of individual consciousness. The paper contends that the omnipresent “War on Sex,” a strategic deployment of sexuality as a political tool, has fostered an environment of fear and self-policing, particularly for non-male-conforming individuals. As a result, this paper also focuses on severe social marginalization of queer and trans Iranians within...

An Autocrat's Playbook: Nicolás Maduro's Use of Social Media to Erode Venezuelan Democracy

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s autocratic techniques have pushed Venezuela closer to authoritarianism and farther from democracy. These techniques involve newer tactics that build on his predecessor’s success in suppressing democracy and work quietly and efficiently to disrupt elections. Dodging accountability for his hand in Venezuela’s democratic backsliding, Maduro avoids explicit breaches of international codes and laws, choosing instead to operate within the grey areas of misinformation and information manipulation around which legal consensus is still being formed. The Venezuelan 2020 parliamentary elections provide a clear and compelling image of Maduro’s use of misinformation on social media platforms to threaten election integrity and erode democracy. While Maduro still relies on traditional routes to suppress dissent and maintain authority, the development of discrete, targeted demonstrations of autocratic power on social media platforms must be taken seriously...

Neuroaesthetics, Sublime, and Well-Being: Positive Affect of Awe and Aesthetic Emotions, and a Practical Framework

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Aesthetic experiences influence the way we perceive the world, often at a subliminal level. But relatively little is known about how these aesthetic experiences affect us cognitively and how they shape our identity and improve our well-being. The purpose of this paper is thus to: (1) examine and review the current literature in the emerging field of neuroaesthetics—how the brain responds to beauty and sublime experiences; (2) extrapolate from current literature the properties of beauty and what it means when people perceive something to be beautiful; (3) synthesize the current literature and my own research on the topic to bring more awareness on the health benefits and transcendent power of experiencing awe or sublimity; (4) use the PERMA (positive emotion, engagement, relationship, meaning, achievement) theory of well-being proposed by positive psychologist Martin Seligman to present an action framework I established, acronymed NUMA (nature walks, unconditional love, meditation,...