Happy Fall 2020!

-

          I am planning to take a detour from genetics and biology. Today I want to honor the season of fall. This is the first day of fall. This means that the summer is officially over. It also signifies that the summer fun is gone and we have to brace ourselves for winter! But we are also happy to see the wonderful fall colors.

These colors are amazing and make us truly appreciate nature. Just take a look at fall colors in my home state of Connecticut:

https://www.ctvisit.com/articles/connecticut-fall-foliage-report

Well, that is a beautiful picture, isn’t it?

With the fresh aroma of pumpkin-spice flavored bread, Halloween trick-or-treats, Thanksgiving turkey, and most importantly the changing nature, fall has different magic. I believe that nature has a beautiful way of communicating with us through these distinct, pretty seasons. Today, in this blog I would like to share with you what the season of fall truly means to me!

With the leaves falling off the trees, nature is preparing for those cold winter days. In my opinion, this is an important doctrine. When something becomes obsolete and might need some change, there needs to be a transformation in order to succeed. The leaves fall off as they cannot face the cruel snowstorms. The trees realize this and shed their leaves. This helps them to survive cold winters. Similarly, when a way of life seems to be dull and monotonous, it means that some alteration needs to be introduced. Maybe picking up a new hobby, indulging in a self-care routine, or simply changing your perspective on your current activities. To be successful in tough times, we need to be equipped with the necessary tools. Nature understands that there are tough times to be dealt with and there needs to be a change. When I realized that my school life was becoming monotonous, I tried to pick a new hobby which is playing the guitar. I absolutely love this new hobby. Whenever school becomes too stressful, I simply pick my guitar and try to unwind. This gives me fresh energy to tackle stress and enhances my performance in school.

Fall also encourages us to pause and reflect on the year so far. Now this year has been challenging for all of us. But let go of that frustration, let go that feeling of isolation like the trees shed their leaves off. Welcome new and positive energy. There is a significant opportunity to turn these thoughts filled with disappointment to something more productive. How can you turn this quarantine into a positive moment? Is it by learning a skill that you always wanted to learn? Is it by connecting with old friends? Is it by just merely observing nature?

There are so many lessons taught by nature. We simply have to take a moment out of our busy lives and learn those beautiful lessons! I hope this blog made you appreciate nature and its season of fall. I hope you feel equipped for the not-so-good or average days by trying something new or just relaxing with a cup of pumpkin-spiced coffee!

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Promising Molecule Drug aimed to treat cancer

-
Image
The common aim for the majority of the biological scientists is to tackle Cancer. Cancer is a growing complication due to lifestyle changes like long exposure to the UV light, disrupted sleep cycles, stress, and pollution. Many people experience stress caused by their workload. For personal or professional reasons it is a common tendency to compromise sleep which results in a disrupted circadian rhythm. In simple words, circadian rhythm means the normal sleep cycle of human beings. In research named”Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Cancer Biology” conducted by Christos Savvudis and Micheal Koutsilieris, it is cited from the International Agency for Research on (IARC) 2007 that, “shiftwork that involves circadian disruption [as] probably carcinogenic to humans”. Therefore, the disruption in circadian rhythm is linked to the development of cancer in humans.             Nevertheless, the scientists at the University of Southern California have used the disrupted circadian rhythm as a too
Read more

Enzyme of the Month March edition - RuBisCo

-
Image
  I hope you enjoyed reading about DNA polymerase last month! This month we are discussing an essential enzyme also known as Rubisco. We have to respect this mighty enzyme which happens to be the most abundant enzyme on this planet. Without this plant enzyme, planet Earth would have no life. Hence, dedicating a blog to this ultra-important enzyme makes sense, right?  RuBisCo or Ribulose biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase is found in the plants and is a major enzyme in the process of photosynthesis. We will first briefly go over the process of photosynthesis. Ideally, photosynthesis is the reverse pathway to cellular respiration (refer to the January edition of the blog to understand cellular respiration). Unlike cellular respiration which is a catabolic (breaking down the energy source) pathway, photosynthesis is an anabolic pathway (synthesizing an energy source) that synthesizes glucose from water and carbon dioxide. The reaction formula of photosynthesis is as follows: 6 CO 2 +
Read more

Enzyme of the month January edition - Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)

-
Image
The enzyme I would like to introduce you to in January is a liver enzyme called Alanine Aminotransferase. It is a very crucial enzyme in cellular respiration. The purpose of cellular respiration is to produce energy in the form of a chemical molecule known as ATP.  Many biochemical pathways are involved in cellular respiration. Examples of animal cellular energy pathways include Glycolysis 1 and Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA) 2 .
Read more