Melissa Pandika | Portfolio
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Air Pollution Causes Epigenetic Changes That May Trigger Asthma (September 2015)
Heavy pollution leaves behind molecular scars that may be passed on to children and grandchildren.
OZY
The Clothing of the Future is Dipped in Silver (September 23, 2015)
Stanford University engineers have figured out how to coat clothing in a meshwork of silver nanowire so that it not only insulates better than regular clothes but also generates its own heat.
Keisuke Goda: The Man Who Takes Selfies of Atoms (May 7, 2015)
Engineer Keisuke Goda has built the world’s fastest camera. It can see cancer cells that are about to spread.
The Nate Silver of Public Health (November 5, 2014)
Global health researcher Abraham Flaxman's software cleans up the often sloppy data on hepatitis C, cholera and other diseases that plague the developing world, allowing researchers to monitor the spread of these ailments and stop them in their tracks. (Also published on USATODAY.com)
The Caribbean Goes Geothermal (August 19, 2014)
The Caribbean islands could help lead the way in weaning us from fossil fuels by tapping into heat energy deep within the Earth. (Also published on USATODAY.com)
Smelling Your Way to a Healthier Tomorrow (July 25, 2014)
A simple breath test could one day streamline diagnoses of everything from breast cancer to Alzheimer’s disease.
SIERRA Magazine
Cool Schools: Solar Decathlons (September/October 2013)
By building eco-houses, students are jump-starting careers.
Critter: Peacock Spider, the wee wonder from Down Under (July/August 2013)
With its doll eyes and fuzzy mouthparts, the Australian peacock spider could endear itself to even the most skittish arachnophobe.
Los Angeles Times
Ocean species relocate in response to climate change, study finds (September 13, 2013)
Even as climate changes heats our oceans, many marine species have moved to seemingly warmer waters. New research says they're still reacting to climate change, but at a local scale.
Scientists build silver nanoparticles that outshine gold ones (September 5, 2013)
Gold nanoparticles are used for drug delivery, cell imaging and many other applications. But now chemists are giving silver -- a cheaper, more abundant material -- a chance to shine. They’ve figured out how to make silver nanoparticles that are even more stable than gold nanoparticles.
The secret behind soda's bite? Not bubbles, study finds (August 22, 2013)
Bubbles aren’t needed to experience the burning sensation, but they do enhance it, according to a study published in the journal PLOS One.
Gene therapy using HIV helps children with fatal diseases, study says (July 11, 2013)
Gene therapy researchers say they used a safe version of HIV to prevent metachromatic leukodystrophy and halt Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome in children.
Gene sequencing of cholera bacterium from Haiti points to U.N. source (July 3, 2013)
The United Nations sent Nepalese peacekeeping troops to bring relief to Haiti after it was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake in 2010. A new study concludes the peacekeepers brought something else, as well -- cholera.
Stanford News Service
An autonomous system for exploring the solar system's smaller members, such as moons and asteroids, could bring us closer to a human mission to Mars.
Engineers at Stanford's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have developed autonomous underwater vehicles that can photograph regions of the ocean floor that were once too risky for these robotic explorers.