Sharon F. Wu

Class of 2018

Articles

  • How Things Work: Phages occupy bacteria to cure infection

    From nasty colds to the chickenpox, we all have to face infections from viruses at some point in our lifetime. But did you know that there is a virus that infects organisms many times smaller than you? In the early 1900s, scientists started to notice a group of viruses that infect and lyse bacteria, the billions of microorganisms that are prevalent virtually everywhere on Earth. Coined as bacterio...

    SciTech | April 20, 2015
  • Lightning forms due to sizeable charge imbalance

    What do you think of when you see lightning? While watching television, you may have noticed that lightning is often the backdrop to an eerie haunted house. Back in grade school, you were probably told that Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S., flew a kite during a lightning storm in an effort to study electricity. And with the recent April forecast, you may have had the chan...

    SciTech | April 13, 2015
  • SciTech Briefs

    Energy-saving exoskeleton makes walking easier

    Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have recently developed a mechanical exoskeleton boot that, in comparison to normal footwear, reduces the energy expenditure of walking by 7 percent. The device is the first of its kind to not rely on an outside power source.

    SciTech | April 6, 2015
  • CMU professor writes parenting book

    As we progress into the 21st century, the role of artificial intelligence and robotics has become an increasingly controversial topic. While the increasing presence of these technologies has brought conveniences into our lives — from intelligent personal assistants to robot-assisted surgery — it also raises many concerns, including the potential consequences of these technologies on the social and...

    SciTech | March 30, 2015
  • SciTech Briefs

    Humans wired to see an image in different colors

    Since last Thursday, an image of an ambiguously colored dress has gone viral on the Internet, triggering heated debates on social media. While some people see the color of the dress as black and blue — the actual color of the dress — others see it as gold and white.

    SciTech | March 1, 2015