Waterbear with coronavirus
Art | Blog | Inspiration | Science Communication

A COVID comic – “Coronavirus Needs You”

Crossposted at Lifeology.io Last week, I got a panicked text from a friend who has an autoimmune disorder and is increasingly worried about the novel coronavirus. They had received a package several days earlier and put it under the bed. Now, they were worried that the virus could grow off of the box and spread….

Feature: Teresa Ambrosio on starting an Etsy shop
Art | Blog | Features | How To

Feature: Teresa Ambrosio on starting an Etsy shop

Creating art is one thing, but selling it is entirely different. One popular option for selling artistic products is Etsy, well-known for being home to handmade and crafty items. Teresa Ambrosio was kind enough to let me cross-post an article she wrote about starting an Etsy shop. I really appreciate Teresa’s openness about her journey….

Biology & Life – Today’s Science Word
Blog | Art | Science | Science Communication

Biology & Life – Today’s Science Word

Life is one of those things we often take for granted. But that may be because it’s just part of our existence every day. It might seem simple to define life as well, but it can be quite complex.  There are several things that scientists agree are essential to call something “alive”. In order for an…

Distal and Proximal – Today’s Science Word
Blog | Art | Science | Science Communication

Distal and Proximal – Today’s Science Word

Have you ever had difficulty describing where something is in relation to others? When scientists discuss where things are on a person or other animal, they also need words to compare.  Two such words are DISTAL and PROXIMAL. Distal means that something is further from either the center of the body or a point of…

The Building Blocks – Today’s Science Word
Blog | Art | Science | Science Communication

The Building Blocks – Today’s Science Word

The most common product of a genetic instruction is the protein.  Proteins are workhorses of the cell, helping reactions to occur and transporting things from one place to another. The building blocks of proteins are AMINO ACIDS.  Amino acids are molecules that can link together like a chain.  On one end is an NH2 (also…

Your Genetic Code Book – Today’s Science Word
Blog | Art | Science | Science Communication

Your Genetic Code Book – Today’s Science Word

Your codebook of DNA holds all the instructions needed to make your cells function.  Each unit of instruction comes in the form of a GENE, a sequence of DNA that encodes for a trait. A given location (also called a locus) on a chromosome is home to a particular gene, which encodes for a particular…

Into your DNA – Today’s Science Word
Science | Art | Blog | Science Communication

Into your DNA – Today’s Science Word

At the very core of making living things work is DNA, which stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid.  DNA is just a  molecule, made up of different parts held together in a ladder-like structure.  We call this structure a double helix. DNA holds the genetic material that tells our cells how to make all the things we need…

New global health guidelines may kill trans people
Advocacy | Blog | Personal Articles

New global health guidelines may kill transgender people

I know that title sounds dramatic, but bear with me, because transgender lives are at stake.

If you aren’t aware, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced changes to gender non-conformity guidelines.  These guidelines remove “gender identity disorder” (GID) as a “mental disorder”.  Instead, the guidelines have been moved into the sexual health portion of global health guidelines.

At first glance, this seems like a good thing.  There are more than a few trans* activist groups that have worked diligently for this move.  However, I believe that this will make it harder for trans* people (especially people of color and poor trans* people) to access proper medical care.

Our sexual harassment problem from the eyes of a transman
Advocacy | Blog | Personal Articles

Our sexual harassment problem from the eyes of a transman

I was born female and transitioned to full-time male in my 20s.  I think people would like to believe that society treated me the same, but that’s absolutely not true. I’m treated very differently by men, by women, by almost everyone.  This is why I felt this post on sexual harassment was important.

UA Cancer Center Team Identifies a Switch that May Help Target Dormant Cancer Cells
Blog | Science | Science Communication

UA Cancer Center Team Identifies a Switch that May Help Target Dormant Cancer Cells

Cells can enter a dormant state called quiescence, and dormant cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy and other treatments. A team led by UA Cancer Center researcher Guang Yao, PhD, has identified ways to regulate cell dormancy and “wake” these cells from their “slumber” to make them susceptible to cancer treatments.

Alternative careers in science, Part 2
Blog | Personal Articles | Science

Alternative careers in science, Part 2

In a previous post, I talked about academia not being designed for people who have depression, anxiety, etc to succeed.  I also spent some time talking about imposter syndrome. This particular post is the second in a series about careers other than being a research advisor (PI) or even being a researcher in industry. Part 2 in a 3 part series.

Alternative careers in science, Part 1
Blog | Personal Articles | Science

Alternative careers in science, Part 1

In a previous post, I talked about academia not being designed for people who have depression, anxiety, etc to succeed.  I also spent some time talking about imposter syndrome. This particular post is the first in a series about careers other than being a research advisor (PI) or even being a researcher in industry. Part 1 in a 3 part series.

Not being the “perfect” scientist
Blog | Personal Articles | Science

Not being the “perfect” scientist

I was talking to my advisor that day about these vague plans of mine, and he said something along the lines of “Don’t discount doing research.  There aren’t enough researchers who think about science like you do.  Think about becoming a PI.”   I did think about that, and it became my new plan.  But did I really understand what being a PI meant?

Communication with the non-scientific community
Blog | Science

Communication with the non-scientific community

When I was in film school, I remember one class being asked “Why do we make films?” and hearing many different responses. “But what about the audience?” my film professor asked.  Many of the students in the class were baffled.  They had never thought about important it was to effectively communicate their vision to the audience.

Advocacy | Blog | Science

The erasure of race in genetics

“Race doesn’t exist.” I remember the first time I heard this.  I was in my evolution class in undergrad.  My professor pulled up a picture of two subspecies of bird.  They looked exactly alike, and my professor mentioned that there is less genetic diversity between humans than between these two identical looking subspecies of bird.  Then…

Advocacy | Blog | Science

Why science is political

That Profound Moment I was late that morning to the Precision Health Symposium, having slept in and missed my train, but the first speaker was still talking when I arrived.  Instead of pushing my way around round tables that didn’t quite make sense for a day of presentations, I chose to stand at the back…

Blog | Personal Articles | random

A new blog

Hello, and welcome to The Process of InQUEERy. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on many topics including science, art, and social justice.  If you haven’t already, take a look at my About page, which will give you a good understanding of who I am and what I’m hoping to convey in these posts….