Caltech

When entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Caltech alumnus Ross M. Brown (BS' 56, MS '57) established the Brown Investigator Awards in 2020, one of the first honorees was Caltech physics professor David Hsieh. It was a natural fit.…

The core–mantle boundary (CMB) is the interface between the earth's iron metal core and the thick rocky layer of mantle just above the core. It is a world of extremes—temperatures thousands of degrees Fahrenheit and pressures over a…

Some exoplanets seem to be losing their atmospheres and shrinking. In a new study, astronomers report evidence of a possible cause: The cores of these planets are pushing away their atmospheres from the inside out. Exoplanets…

Sodium in the form of table salt helps make French fries a tasty snack and bacon a delicious indulgence, but it is also a vital nutrient for the proper functioning of our bodies, playing a role in the movement of your muscles, the…

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a formidable pathogen. It mutates rapidly; in fact, estimates suggest that the genetic diversity of HIV in a single person at one point in time is equal to the diversity of influenza across…

Caulerpa is a type of marine algae made up of one extended cell, though each plant can grow to be a meter across. While there are many individual nuclei within a Caulerpa plant, it contains no cell membranes that would normally divide…

In the search for new particles and forces in nature, physicists are on the hunt for behaviors within atoms and molecules that are forbidden by the tried-and-true Standard Model of particle physics. Any deviations from this model…

A great number of health problems, and consequently the medical treatments for them, involve how blood flows through the body. Heart attacks are caused by restricted blood flow to the heart muscle. Many symptoms of diabetes are the…

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative condition that damages a person's ability to think, remember, and perform basic functions. According to the National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer's affects more than 6 million Americans,…

Brain–machine interfaces (BMIs) are devices that can read brain activity and translate that activity to control an electronic device like a prosthetic arm or computer cursor. They promise to enable people with paralysis to move…