Be it fate, choice, or a downstream effect of our universe’s tendency to gradually decay into chaos, I ended up doing what I love this summer, and surrounded by some of the most interesting people I’ve met. One could not ask for more. But this begs the question, “Would I have made it into such […]

Why can’t we Bee friends? Bees (unsurprisingly) don’t do what I want them to Hi everyone, your favorite amateur beekeeper checking in! Since my last post, I’ve moved up to the exciting step of testing on a full hive! The good news is, I’ve gotten over any lingering fear of bees (see my first post). The […]

Pennywise, the dancing clown The newest addition to our mantis shrimp family is a gorgeous green-black Gonodactylus smithii named Pennywise. The Gonodactylus genus has been my fourteen-year-old brother’s favorite genus ever since I told him that it essentially means scrotum fingers, as the two raptorial appendages held at the ready take on a somewhat humorous shape. […]

Hello again everyone! It’s Yifan here with the songbird project. Like my other colleagues I also attended the 4th of July parade in Ann Arbor, which was very fun. I made a very rugged cardinal helmet which looks like a rooster hat, but I guess rooster also counts as a kind of bird, so that […]

Hey everybody, it’s your favourite Neurorobot project once again, back with more exciting updates! I went to my first knitting lesson this week at a lovely local cafe called Literati, and attended the Ann Arbor Fourth of July parade dressed as a giant eyeball with keyboards on my arms (I meant to dress as “computer […]

Hello! There has been some trial and error since my last update. I started my experiment with Monica Gagliano’s protocol (overly simplified!): Grow seedlings, 48 of them: Get them used to 8 hours of light, 16 hours dark (circadian rhythm): Train them under decision covers for 3 days: Test them She had 48 of them. Unfortunately, each of those […]

Hello, everyone! It’s Jess again. Since I last wrote, I have shifted all my work from cockroaches over to silk moths. I’ve had to make a few modifications to my protocols, but overall the transition has been smooth. Working with the silk moths has been far more enjoyable than the cockroaches (no offense roaches, but […]

Hello dear reader! It’s Maria again and my meditation project is picking up speed. I’ve now recorded ~brain waves~ from 20 different people! If I’ve learned anything so far, it’s that in science it’s data or bust. I’ve been soliciting people over email and clipboarding more than a Jehovah’s Witness. If this science thing doesn’t […]

One of the most attractive things about a BYB Summer Fellowship is the chance to spend a summer in colorful Ann Arbor. We changed the program name from an internship to a fellowship because of the lasting connections made throughout the summer, and these connections are made possible by the things we all do together! […]

Before I spill the Feijoada about Backyard Brains’ awesome experience at Campus Party Brazil, I should mention that I firmly believe that education can save the world. I should also mention that in regards to our brains, according to neuroscience research, your education lasts your entire life. I’ll cut to the chase: my recent Brazilian […]

Hello again! This is Anastasiya, and I’m here to tell you that there have been a LOT of developments in my project since we last spoke. For starters, we now have live jellies! And while that’s arguably the most important news, I also have updates on the tank setup, the custom jellyfish tracking software, and a […]

Hello! We are inching towards our goal of giving you a superpower! Last time, I was trying to find the mu rhythms, and I strongly think I may have found them. This consisted of two main steps. One was to find the right montage (electrode locations) which will help us see the mu rhythms. And […]