As a graduating senior, I have had my share of experiences at the University. Whether it was finding myself at McDonalds for midnight dollar big macs, all night sessions in the library, painting splatter paint squares at 3 am (long story), or explaining to all my peers and professors why I had a cast on my hand in class when it had not been there 48 hours before (even longer story). With less than two months left before I walk across the stage at PNC and shake President Paul Brown’s hand, there are some things that I learned over my four years here.
Features
Storing Data in DNA
From a blade of grass to the wing of a falcon, to the seed of a coconut to the stem cells in your bone marrow, almost all known life uses DNA as an instruction manual of sorts to carry out its representative functions. Recently, a team of biomedical engineers at Harvard led by Nick Goldman has successfully stored 739 kilobytes of hard-disk storage into synthetic DNA, sequenced it, and recovered the original content with 100 percent accuracy, according to Nature.
Movin’ On Up: Preparing for Sophomore Year
Declaring Majors, Minors and More
In a few short weeks students will be picking their new classes for the 2014-2015 school year. For freshmen this is especially important because this also means transitioning to a new academic advisor and possibly changing or declaring a major.
No Plans? No Problem! How to Spice Up Your Spring Break
As we hit the mid-point of the spring semester (if you can even call it spring), students are navigating through midterms, anxiously waiting for summer, and of course gearing up for spring break. If you are like me, those nine days are full of glorious naps, Netflix binging and possibly a little spring-cleaning. Others are packing their bags and heading for warmer waters for some fun in the sun. However, if you have no plans whatsoever, have no fear, for there are plenty of local trips and activities to partake in during spring break.
The Seven Deadly Sins of College
The lifestyle of any college student can be difficult to conceptualize in its entirety. From cursing at your alarm clock for not allowing you to attain more than five hours of sleep, to trying to find the perfect time to cuddle up next to the remote controller, college is often a tug of war game between what students need and what students want.
Breaking Bad Habits
Bad habits. They start pretty much as soon as we’re old enough to walk, whether it’s sucking on our thumbs or not sharing our toys. As we get a little older, the habits change, for example, my younger brother used to color himself with markers every time someone was in plain site. A habit he luckily grew out of. As we get even older, the habits can be little things we don’t even notice, like chewing with our mouths open, or worse habits, like smoking or drinking all the time. Even if you have a clean record, can anyone truthfully say that they do not have bad habits?
The Spring Break SlumpIt
It is almost time for a much needed break from school and for some, a fun get away with friends. But with an abundance of snow days putting classes behind on work and nine more weeks after break to cram in work, there is still a long way to go.
Chris Miller: A Voice for Disabilities
Interning in Washington and working with the Chinese Ministry on Civil Affairs are accomplishments worth bragging about for any college student. But for Chris Miller, a political science major, such an experience was much more significant.
Starbucks vs. Local NJ Coffee Shops
Local coffee shops can’t compete with the big chains on visibility, marketing and brand-name recognition. But what really counts, they say, is what’s in the cup, and that’s where they think they can hold their own.
The Winter Olympics Call Attention to the Genetics of Risk Taking
The Winter Olympics have brought upon us a generation of seemingly fearless athletes intent on advancing through extreme feats such as snowboarding and slopestyle and half-pipe skiing. The intensity with which these athletes train to ultimately endanger their lives for the sake of the sport truly makes us wonder, what is the inherent difference between these risk taking competitors and the rest of the masses content with simply watching them on TV? The answer may verily lie within our DNA.