Phonotactic patterns are generalizations that govern the order of consonants and vowels, within words and syllables. Certain second-order phonotactic patterns—those that relate multiple sounds within a syllable, such as “if the vowel is [ɪ], then [s] can only appear at the end of the syllable”—require a period of sleep-based consolidation...
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane receptors in humans and play a role in nearly all physiological processes. Among GPCRs, metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are a structurally distinct family of synaptic receptors that are essential in regulating neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. Due to their important regulatory...
Cancer has long been the second-leading cause of death in the United States and represents the leading cause of death in midlife (age 40-60). While the prognosis for many cancers has vastly improved over the last thirty years, many cancers remain elusive due to the late-onset of symptoms, the specific...
This dissertation reinterprets Michel Foucault’s theory of sovereignty to offer an explanation and critique of repressive state violence. Commentators typically locate Foucault’s contribution to political thought in concepts of power that are irreducible to sovereignty or the state. In contrast, I draw on Foucault’s early genealogies of power to argue...
The ability to regenerate lost tissues or organs is widespread in the animal kingdom, but the mechanistic basis underpinning this process is incompletely understood. The planarian flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea has an incredibly robust and flexible capacity for regeneration, able to regenerate an entire organism from arbitrary starting points. This makes...
The vibrational and rotational degrees of freedom in a molecule add complexity that complicate optical cycling and state preparation procedures. However, the same additional degrees of freedom also make molecules suitable candidates for tests of physics beyond the standard model. A precision measurement of the transition energy between two vibrational...
Making the Coast Pacific is an environmental history of violence against places, plants, and people. Mexico's Pacific Coast region was a key site for oilseed agriculture and industrialization, which resulted in environmental violence and injustice. Since the region with Mexico's largest population of afro-descendants, Costa Chica, was also Mexico's leading...
Each second, living organisms take in sensory input from an ever-changing environment and respond appropriately. Identifying and contextualizing stimuli is critical for survival, and it often necessitates distinguishing between sensory experiences that are similar to each other. Pattern separation characterizes the mechanisms by which neuronal networks extract and highlight differences...
A massive amount of data is generated every second all around the world. Machine learning becomes the most attractive solution to consume the data fuel and transform it into productivity. It has yielded great results in many fields, such as healthcare, marketing, finance, etc. Machine learning models are usually designed...
Nucleic acid therapeutics can be drug molecules with high programmability, minimal off-target effects, and the capability to address “undruggable” targets for diseases. In addition, each time a new drug is needed, one needs to only change the sequence as opposed to finding an entirely new structure. One nucleic acid type...