For all you evolutionary biologists out there: 
A recent study published in Nature Neuroscience magazine indicates that a significant experience or event could alter DNA in sperm and essentially pass on that memory to future generations! 

Here is some background on the significance of this discovery: Lamarck was a 19th century scientist who proposed the idea of use and disuse, and that behavior could affect the phenotypes, genotypes, or behavior of offspring. However, throughout the years, this theory has largely been rejected, but this new paper could suggest otherwise!

A quick summary on BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25156510

The original paper:
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nn.3594.html

So glad to see more organizations (including toy companies) trying to reach out to the female scientific community! Here's a post from the website, Upworthy, that caught my attention: 

"Fewer than 3 in 10 graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are women. And barely 1 in 10 actual engineers are women. Early in a girl's life, the toys marketed to her are usually things that don't encourage her to enter those fields. GoldieBlox intends to change that by teaching them while they are young that these fields can be fun — and apparently epic, by the looks of this super-genius 2-minute video. Watch and learn.

If you like what GoldieBlox is doing to innovate for girls' toys, you could Like them on Facebook. And if you want to see them win a chance at airing their commercial in the Super Bowl (instead of seeing another creepy GoDaddy ad), you could vote here. Just sayin'. And you could share this epicness if you think we need more girls interested in engineering. Totally your call though."

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With the holiday season right around the corner, it's the perfect opportunity to give all the young girls in our lives the gift of education, curiosity, and interest in STEM. Make a choice to start nurturing our next generation of Scientista's--I believe it'll be a worthy investment. 

For all you pre-medical Scientistas out there, there's an interesting medical ethics talk being held on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7PM in Steinhardt Hall. 

"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?"

Dr. Daniel Eisenberg, a radiologist at Einstein and Jewish Medical Ethics Expert will be speaking with Stuart Butler, PhD, a Distinguished Fellow and Director at the 'Center for Policy Innovation at the Heritage Foundation,' about the ethics of healthcare rationing, and specifically how decisions are being made around the current problem of medication shortages. 

Admission is *suggested* $10, but you may pay what you wish with a student ID. 



Here is the Facebook event with more details. Hope to see some of you!

https://www.facebook.com/events/469432536506232/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

 

Some food for thought:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-15/ada-lovelace-day-fixing-the-problem-of-women-in-science-in-wikipedia


-Angela 

Hello Everyone, 

My name is Angela and I am so excited to join the Scientista Foundation as the Ambassador for UPenn! 

A quick introduction about myself: I grew up in the Bay Area of California as an only child with two loving parents. From a young age, I took a great interest to my natural environment and all the physical phenomena around me, and luckily my high school environment was very geared towards science and technology education, which nurtured my passions. I applied to college as a chemistry major, but through the process of self-exploration and discovery, I've switched gears and am now pursuing a dual degree in the College (Biological Basis of Behavior) and Wharton (Healthcare Management). I am currently working in a neurobiology lab where we study the effects of sleep deprivation on memory consolidation (an occurrence I'm sure many of us college students are all too familiar with), and hope to someday attend medical school back in my home state of sunny California. 

As college-educated women of the 21st century, we as a demographic group are becoming increasingly influential on our generation's views on women in research, academia, and the actual science behind it all. I hope that through Scientista's many branches and the community that is formed as a result, we can all come together to learn more about how to advance women in science, share experiences, and foster a supportive environment. 

Quote of the day: Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world. 
-Hillary Clinton