Olivia L. Dobbs
Bio
Science Enthusiast, Naturalist, Dreamer, Nerd.
I crosspost my Medium articles here :)
You can find my main account on Medium: https://medium.com/@oliviadobbs13
Check out my science! -> bit.ly/DobbsEtAl
Stories (93/0)
The Gut-Brain Connection: Unraveling the Impact of Gut Microbiome on Mental Health
Hangxiety is a nightmare. If you’ve ever woken up after a night of moderate [or heavy] drinking to a fresh and acute batch of cringe and emotional stress, you’ll be all too familiar with the terrible phenomenon — especially the shame, irritability, and general malaise that can come with it.
By Olivia L. Dobbs6 days ago in Longevity
Want to Learn Something New About Science? Check Out These 5 Fun & Educational STEM Podcasts
Everyone these days has a podcast. It’s the hip new thing for influencers to do! Since everyone has decided to pick up the trade, finding a good podcast to listen to can feel super daunting, especially when you’ve decided to trawl through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube for content.
By Olivia L. Dobbs13 days ago in Education
This Flower Is Evolving to Survive a Post-Insect Environment
Environmental changes are driving evolution at an unprecedented pace. The harsh reality of a changing climate isn’t only affecting human civilization and at-risk animal populations — ripples of the phenomenon are already visible everywhere. Recent studies have painted a picture of just how drastic these changes already are for life on earth, by focusing on the rapid adaptations of flowering plants. Due to the extreme effects human activity is having on insect population decline, flowers have begun to evolve to give up on insect-caused pollination.
By Olivia L. Dobbs20 days ago in Earth
Why is Evolution a Theory and Not a Law?
Folks, I have a pet peeve. The argument “Evolution is just a theory” absolutely drives me up the wall. When I chose evolutionary science as my focus in college, I figured that I’d need to be equipped to explain the evidence and educate folks in everyday life. Even with that preparation, though, I underestimated just how often I’d hear that specific phrase. It’s unnervingly common. When speaking with those who do not believe in the mechanism, it’s commonly one of the first arguments uttered upon discovery of the “Evolutionary” part of my educational journey. Well, it’s either that or “Climate Change isn’t real” — but I’ll save that rant for another article.
By Olivia L. Dobbsabout a month ago in Earth
We Need to Talk About Celebrities Polluting Our Atmosphere with Their Frivolous Private Jet Trips
Early February 2024, Taylor Swift made headlines after her lawyers threatened legal action against Jack Sweeney. The user on X, formerly Twitter, is known for creating accounts that log the private jet trips of celebrities and has previously been in trouble due to his tracking of Elon Musk and other celebrities on the site. His set of accounts, which were cited in an analysis in 2022, found that Swift was one of the biggest celebrity polluters due to her frivolous use of air travel. Her legal team is claiming, despite the public availability of flight record information, Sweeney’s sharing of this information is a form of “harassing conduct”, as the information shared has been used to shame her traveling habits.
By Olivia L. Dobbsabout a month ago in Humans
Your Brain on Coronavirus
Bear with me here, folks, I’m writing this amid the throws of COVID. I noticed an incredible decrease in my cognitive ability over the past few days. As the fevers hit I became rather easily confused, often disoriented, and less cognitively capable than usual. Now, at [what I’m hoping is] the tail end of this bout of illness, I became curious about what exactly happened to my brain over the last week, and if this sort of symptom is common amongst others who have experienced coronavirus. I investigated my brain on COVID while dealing with COVID-brain. Here’s what I found:
By Olivia L. Dobbs2 months ago in Earth
5 Utterly Wild Fun Facts About the Kangaroo
Ah, the kangaroo — those adorable creatures renowned for their cute little hops, have always been considered quite the charismatic animals. Yet, beyond being fun to observe wandering about in zoos, they hold a world of scientific fascination! Get ready to be amazed as we delve into five incredible facts about the kangaroo. From their unique reproductive methods to astonishing adaptations for survival, each revelation adds a layer to the wonder that is the kangaroo. Join me on this journey into the scientific marvels of these marsupials, and you’ll discover that there’s much more to them than meets the eye!
By Olivia L. Dobbs2 months ago in Earth
Want to Help the Environment this Year? Vote for Economic Stability and Equality
2024 is a turning point year for climate change. We must make radical and rapid changes to mitigate future damage, or we risk cementing the occurrence of an unprecedented catastrophe. I wish I was writing in hyperbole. “A course correction is urgently needed to limit warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius set out in the Paris Agreement. Yet our current trajectory of between 2.5 and 2.9 degrees Celsius ensures the prospect of catastrophic climate change”, write Laurence Tubiana and Catherine McKenna of TIME in their article 2024 Must Be the Year for Exponential Climate Action. 2023 was a year of emission improvements, but not in any way were they rapid enough to keep up with the demand our planet has for it.
By Olivia L. Dobbs2 months ago in Earth
Breaking Barriers: The Historic Encounter — Scientists Engage in the First-Ever Conversation with Whales
Late in 2023, scientists made yet another breakthrough that made our modern era seem a smidge more sci-fi. To better understand non-human communication, scientists from UC Davis used playbacks of whale recordings to talk with a female humpback whale named Twain and, amazingly, it worked. Twain echoed back distinct calls and moved about in response to the whale sound recordings. This incredible milestone is already making waves in the scientific community — especially in animal behavior and astrobiology.
By Olivia L. Dobbs2 months ago in Earth
5 Ethical Ways to Use AI to Enhance Your Writing Process
Should you mention ChatGPT in a room full of writers, you’d be hard-pressed to not see at least one of them bristle. For many of us, the mainstream-ification of AI is horrifying. That’s deeply valid, considering how close it is to generating human writing already. The concept of automation of human thought and expression feels rather dystopian, for good reason, it does have the potential to be dystopian if not addressed properly.
By Olivia L. Dobbs3 months ago in 01
How to Successfully Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: 10 Science-Backed Tips for Long-Term Success
New Year’s celebrations have come and went and we are, once again, on a precipice of a new beginning. On this momentous occasion, it’s almost poetic to begin anew, motivated to grow with the impending spring growth.
By Olivia L. Dobbs3 months ago in Lifehack