Opinions

Empty hospital beds in a white room, with medical equipment. Used to illustrate how design influences healthcare in hospitals.

Cozy clinics and medical mazes: How design influences healthcare

Maria-Elizabeth Baeva takes a deep dive into how design influences healthcare in hospitals, from patients, to visitors, to doctors.

Photo of a laboratory that contains equipment used by Thomas Edison. It is part of the Edison and Ford Winter estate. He used the laboratory to find the best rubber plant. Used to illustrate the idea of special considerations for laboratory design. Photo by Sieuwert Otterloo / Unsplash.

No Home for My Genome (Sequencing Apparatus): Special Considerations for Laboratory Design

What does it take to make a lab? From equipment to aesthetics, Maria Elizabeth-Baeva delves into considerations for laboratory design.

White gloved hand holding up an mRNA vaccine vial

The mRNA vaccine: Success for COVID-19 and beyond

Erik Lamoureux explores the success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, and how they could be used for malaria, Ebola, and other diseases.

Red and white pills, tablets and other medications arranged in a question mark shape on a yellow background.

Pomegranate juice, or: what to say when science doesn’t have the answer

What should we say when science doesn’t have the answer? Author Maria-Elizabeth Baeva explores how we can balance scientific reason with human empathy when engaging with the public, especially in uncertain times.

Title card on blue background with title: The Tensegrity of Arts and Science (Part Two): Why Art Need Science." On the right there is a patent drawing of an original rotoscope, which was used to make early animations by tracing over live-action footage frame by frame.

The Tensegrity of Art and Science (Part 2): Why Art Needs Science

Some skeptics remain hesitant to include the arts under the umbrella of STEM, perhaps out of fear of shifting priorities from scientific domains or owing to perceived challenges in maintaining subject-specific standards. However, as writer Maria-Elizabeth Baeva demonstrates, these disciplines are reliant on each other, and scientific discovery has had significant influence on the arts.

Title card on blue background with title: The Tensegrity of Arts and Science (Part One): Why Science Needs Art. On the right there is an ink and pencil drawing of a Purkinje cell in the cat's cerebellar cortex by Santiago Ramón y Cajal.

The Tensegrity of Art and Science (Part 1): Why Science Needs Art

A science major might consider the arts to be intangible or abstract, whereas an art major might argue that the sciences are boring or uninspiring. Despite this tension, writer Maria-Elizabeth Baeva demonstrates how these two disciplines share commonalities, and most importantly, how they are reliant on each other.

Laptop on desk that reads COVID-19 updates

Mixed Messages: Why Science Communication is More Important Than Ever During the Pandemic

As COVID-19 continues to pose a large threat to people’s lives and economies all around the world, it is crucial for new knowledge about the virus to be easily accessible to the public, and clear messaging by scientists is more important than ever.

Slide with a disk of Alfred Nobel's face, and text that reads "The Nobel Prize Series Part 4: A Grand Finale"

The Nobel Prize Series Part 4: A Grand Finale

Beyond the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony and award, what happens after you win a Nobel Prize? In this last installment of the Nobel Prize series, we discuss the perks and problems that occur with winning this prestigious prize.

Colourful, diverse faces making up an abstract background

Nobel Prize Series Part 3: The Choice Between Acknowledgment and Atonement

As scientists, we pride ourselves in our discipline being objective and truth-seeking. Which is why topics of gender and racial inequality make us uncomfortable: it’s difficult to come to terms with the fact that this “rational” profession is still subject to irrational prejudices. The Nobel Prize is an institution unfortunately not exempt from discriminatory norms.