This Week's Sci-Lights

Photo credit Project Wildlife

Restless Genes

Have you ever wondered why curiousity can drive people to do things that are risky?  What is it that makes people explore going beyond what is well understood and comfortable to engage in an unknown experience?

David Dobbs writes of research that seeks to understand the seemingly innate human experience of pushing beyond.  Why would we leave an environment that provides what we need to a place that may not?  Is this genetic?  How does evolution relate?  Is this urge part of our play?

Read the feature on the National Geographic website and think of your own exploring instincts.  What is it that you're curious about?  Perhaps there's an REU or internship where you can indulge yourself.  Embrace your curiousity; see what's out there!  Our links to the NSF REU site or Pathways to Education is a great place to start!

"Paying for Graduate School: Funding and Application Strategies"

While attending graduate school is a dream for many burgeoning young STEM scholars, the financial burden can keep many from making it a reality. In a webinar series partnered by the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) and the Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE), Chris Cash, Liv Detrick, and special guests show how you can plan for an affordable, fulfilling college experience.

For the first episode, Chris has prepared an interactive guide highlighting the best routes to college funding, which is detailed in the webinar and can be accessed by visiting the COSEE Website. Alongside her, Adrian Ponce, a guest from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL) showcases graduate research opportunities at the lab and explores its significance as a NASA contractor and Cal Tech affiliate.

JPL Complex
jpl.nasa.gov

A few key points from the video:

Graduate school does NOT have to be expensive.

There are a variety of fellowships, research grants, and scholarships that can be used to offset the cost of attendance, such as fixed, portable, and professional development funding.  

Organization is paramount to keeping a handle on the application process.

Graduate school applications often require letters of reference, essays, GRE tests, and personal information. The webinar lays out an intuitive diagram of how to approach your application.

Graduate school is highly research-based.

Having established your focus through undergraduate work, graduate school allows you to delve deeply into the your study of interest.

Paid, Hands-on research positions are a key resource available to Graduate students through universities.

Working in labs like JPL provides the opportunity to bridge textbook learning with real-world experience. You will work with trained scientists and researchers acts as mentors to help advance your technique.

Anyone interested in graduate or postgraduate school is encouraged to view the linked webinar, as are those interested in research opportunities in STEM fields. For additional resources, try browsing through Pathways to Science, a research opportunity aggregator. We will be updating Sci-Curious with the next installments of the webinar as they are released. Stay tuned!

This Week's Sci-Lights

Census of Marine Life

Have you ever thought about how many different life forms exist on Earth?  Not just as an idea, but a number.  How many?  From 2000 to 2010 a group of over 2,700 scientists and 80 countries put there minds, skills, resources, and money together to establish a baseline of marine life.  Watch to see what they did.

A recent study published November 15, 2012 in Current Biology estimates that there may be as many as 0.7 - 1.0 million marine species!  More species, about 20,000, were described in the last decade than any decade prior and molecular methods aided in these discoveries.

Intrigued?  Here's some quick ways to learn more.

Global Marine Life Data Base
Video Gallery
Image Gallery
Highlights of a Decade of Discovery

As you enter 2013, I have to give you one more link to a video showing microbial species.  Here at C-DEBI we too study microbes that inhabit the subseafloor.  They may be small, but they are mighty!