Author: Kayla Otoo Editors: Joshua Payne, Elizabeth Li Artist: Caitland So A delusion from the truth. An odd hallucination. A monotone voice that lacks substance or emotion. These factors are all symptoms associated with schizophrenia. However, what is the basis of this chronic brain disorder affecting 1 percent of people worldwide? For the past several years, geneticists have examined various factors to identify the sole contributor to the disorder. Multiple genes, such as

Author: Bryan Lin Editors: Miriam Heikal, Linzi Yeung Artist: Becky Li In approximately 4% of the population, the brain's sensory wiring operates differently, creating a world where sounds have colors and words somehow have flavor. This is a neurological phenomenon, known as synesthesia, and it comes in many different forms. Synesthesia occurs when signals between sensory regions of the brain cross in unusual ways. What exactly is synesthesia? What causes this cross-wiring?

Author: Simone Maimon Editor: Serena Tsao Artist: Francesca Huang Why can humans speak, but not apes? One main difference between us and other species is our ability to communicate complex words and ideas. Sure, other animals may be able to gesture, echolocate, and dance. But none can create coherent speech. The scientific zeitgeist explains that our development of speech comes from unique physical capabilities that make certain sounds. On the other hand, other scientists pr

Author: Elaine Guo Editors: Fiona Cheng, Hwi-On Lee, Serena Tsao, Alex Yang Artist: Helen Gong Schizophrenia, a chronic mental health disorder, affects less than one percent of the US population. It influences how someone thinks, feels, and behaves, producing both positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms encompass experiences that are “present” which most people don’t experience, such as hallucinations, hearing voices, or seeing things that don’t exist. Negative sym