Author: andoverscienceandtechreview

26Sep By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Biology, Chemistry, Technology

Mirror Organisms: The Death of Humanity for the Gain of Knowledge

By Isabela Doust '28 Imagine synthetic organisms in which every single molecule is an exact mirror image of those in natural earth life. It sounds like a tall tale from a sci-fi movie, but mirror molecules have been studied for decades, and the creation of entire mirror organisms is coming closer to reality – perhaps within the next decade or so. As the literal ‘opposite’ of Earth life, they pose a threat to all life on Earth. ‘Mirror molecules,’ technically called enantiomers, are a pair of molecules that are exactly the same chemically, but are of opposite configurations such that they are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. Your hands are an example. They are made of identical components, yet they point in opposite directions, or have opposite ‘handednesses’. Almost al...
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Assessing Quantum Interferometry to Enhance Telescopic Efficiency: A PHY440 (Astronomy) Research Project
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Astronomy, Technology

Assessing Quantum Interferometry to Enhance Telescopic Efficiency: A PHY440 (Astronomy) Research Project

By Rania Ali-Svedsäter '26 In modern astronomy, quantum communications systems have proven to ascertain numerous benefits for increased telescopic efficiency. Modern prototypes pair standard interferometry with various quantum communication networks, which accumulate to operate a “quantum telescope.” Generally, quantum communications systems can aid information processing between telescopes, increasing the overall scalability of the telescope. The scalability refers to the telescope’s ability to extract more light than made possible from standard interferometry, enabling telescopes to produce high-resolution images from greater distances. Enhanced scalability contributes to the overall efficiency of a telescope, indicating crucial development for higher resolution imagery within modern ...
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The Cutting Edge World of Tissue Engineering
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Medicine

The Cutting Edge World of Tissue Engineering

By Ava Cai '27 Imagine if after a terrible burn incident, you could receive synthetic skin grafts made from your own cells. Or if a patient suffering from kidney failure could receive a transplant from an organ made just for them, without having to wait for years on a transplant list. These incredible and almost unbelievable medical breakthroughs are possible through tissue engineering.  Tissue engineering is an innovative field dedicated to creating artificial living tissue that can replace or support the function of damaged biological tissue. From its origins in the mid-20th century to its futuristic applications today, tissue engineering is revolutionizing medicine and opening new frontiers in healthcare. Tissue engineering involves three key components: cells, scaffolds, ...
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Dark Stars: Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe?
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Astronomy

Dark Stars: Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe?

By Cyrus Law '27 Despite only orbiting the sun for 2 years, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a plethora of high-quality images that the previous Hubble Telescope failed to. In December of 2022, the JWST identified four galaxies (JADES-GS-z10-0, JADES-GS-z11-0, JADES-GS-z12-0, and JADES-GS-z13-0) high in redshift, indicating that these galaxies are extremely distant and therefore old. However, a closer look suggests that the latter 3 of these 4 galaxies may be supermassive versions of the theoretical dark stars. The concept of dark stars was first proposed by a team of university professors from New York and Texas in 2007. These dark stars are thought to have existed early in the universe and are possibly the first stars created. Even though both dark stars and regul...
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How PFAS Pollution Has Become a Global Crisis
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Chemistry

How PFAS Pollution Has Become a Global Crisis

By Nina Capaldi '27 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals used to make fluoropolymers, or polymers consisting of carbon and fluorine atoms. PFAS are human-made chemicals that have been used industrially since 1950. There are more than 12,000 types of PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA). Due to their water, oil, heat, and stain resistance, engineers use PFAS to construct fluoropolymer coatings. Further, PFAS are commonly used in products such as food packaging, furniture, clothing, accessories, insulation, non-stick kitchen appliances, dental floss, children’s toys, makeup, cleaning products, nail polish, turf, carpets, plastic bags, shampoo, fast food cont...
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Talking to the Elephant in the Room—The Importance of Scientific Communication & Why We Should Care
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Commentary, Physics

Talking to the Elephant in the Room—The Importance of Scientific Communication & Why We Should Care

By Cleo Xu '26 Sitting on the chairs in upper left Commons, hand poised above my keyboard, I realized that I had no idea how to write a scientific article.  With a background in writing fiction, I was drawn to journalism because it would be an opportunity to interact with the people whose human emotions, motives, and conditions are central to my imaginative plots. From the beginning, I found interviewing a more appealing process than typing the words. I wanted to meet people with novel thoughts, interesting takes, and equal if not more passion for the same thing I do: science and technology. Writing for Andover Science & Tech Review was everything I had expected and everything I hadn’t. I was qualified enough to understand a student’s research even if some difficult mathe...
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The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: Why We Need to Take Preventative Measures
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Commentary, Technology

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: Why We Need to Take Preventative Measures

By Ophelia Lee ‘26 In 2023, the “Godfather” of AI, Geoffery Hinton, stepped down from his position in Google to warn tech companies about the dangers of generative AI. Afraid of the technology he helped create, Hinton believed that AI could surpass the intelligence of humans within this generation and result in superintelligence.  Superintelligence arises from technological singularity: technology enters successive loops of self-improvement cycles in which each stage of artificial intelligence gives rise to an even more powerful entity. The end results could contain unforeseeable outcomes and, as Stephen Hawking feared, the extinction of humanity.  Typically, artificial intelligence is associated with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Google Bard, which are tr...
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Conor Scheidt ‘25’s Simulations of Diffusions and Interactions between Molecules Within a Lattice Structure
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Chemistry, Physics

Conor Scheidt ‘25’s Simulations of Diffusions and Interactions between Molecules Within a Lattice Structure

By Cleo Xu '26 In the summer of 2024 and continuing into the school year of 2024-2025, Conor Scheidt ‘25 worked on ways to model the diffusion and interaction of molecules with mentor Todd Gingrich. Traditionally, this is done by considering molarity—the moles of molecules per liter of volume. However, Scheidt realized that sometimes interesting chemical reactions are “averaged” out using this method, which results in a smooth curve. To avoid getting an averaged function, he considered analyzing individual molecules, or more specifically, the different states in which a given number of molecules can be. This method is not restricted to just microscopic particles, the generalization can also be used in modeling the number within a species in biology or even the cells within our body.&nbs...
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AI Meets Squash: Seth Pragun ’25’s IntelliReferee
1Dec By andoverscienceandtechreviewNo Comments
Technology

AI Meets Squash: Seth Pragun ’25’s IntelliReferee

By Jay Jung '27 Every second counts in the high-speed game of squash. Pragun Seth ’25 is transforming competitive tournament refereeing with his independent project, IntelliReferee, an AI-powered system that aims to automate decision-making during matches with an accuracy exceeding human referees.  The common disruptions caused by interference in squash games tend to be extremely distracting. These pauses can affect the flow of the game and lead to inconsistent refereeing decisions, impacting both the players’ performance and the audience’s visual experience. Seeing these conflicts and undesired pauses firsthand durisng both online matches and in-person junior tournaments, Pragun Seth ’25 was inspired to create an AI-based solution to improve refereeing accuracy. As an avid squa...
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