Swine flu

It's a public emergency. I'm sure someone in the University has studied it, so on the Biological Sciences head's advice, I'm going to talk to a professor Olaf Schneewind (with such an excellent name, I'm sure he'll be awesome) for a possible Maroon article.

There are so many unanswered questions: Why hasn't Chicago, with so many people with ties to Mexico, seen an outbreak yet? Is it going to be like the 1918 pandemic, where young, healthy people like myself were the hardest hit? (Although since it killed something like 60 million people, your odds were pretty bad either way.)

More to come.

Man + Machine at last?

Just finished the latest science feature for the Maroon. This one's about Nicho Hatsopoulos, a Greek statue of a man who works in what he calls "brain-machine interfacing" - essentially, using technology to let people communicate using only their brains. Useful? Sure, but especially for people missing arms and legs or paraplegics: it looks like someday we could be able to fit them with mechanical arms that are controlled with cues from their brain. Like Luke Skywalker's prosthetic hand in Empire Strikes Back, only better.

Read more about it here!.

MRSA bacteria breaks out of jail

My article on the MRSA (commonly called Staph A) epidemic, how the first doctor first noticed it in pediatric wards at the University of Chicago Hospitals, and what they did about it is up at the Maroon website.

The doctor who first noticed it is Robert Daum and he was wonderful to interview. He also says he's always looking for volunteers for the MRSA project!

Early human diet a hard nut to crack for U of C prof.

My first science column for the Maroon is up!

What did our early African ancestors eat to survive in tough times, and how do we know...based on only their skulls and some sweet computer technology? Find out here!