Amid new administration, NASA initiates two new space missions

BY HALEY LUCIAN ’17

On Jan. 4, 2017, NASA announced two new exploratory space missions, Lucy and Psyche. The goal ofthese two missions is to shed light on the period of time after the sun's birth. Each mission is estimated to cost roughly 450 million, which – according to NASA – is relatively inexpensive. The Lucy spacecraft will be launched in 2021 and will travel to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids that orbit with Jupiter around the sun. The Psyche spacecraft will follow in 2023 to explore a metal asteroid that, NASA said, has not been previously visited. 

,

Never Fear: Menstrual Cups

,

BY RACHEL RICHARDS '17 

They are an alternative method to dealing with your period, cost about $30, and can be reused for 10 years, which saves a lot on waste and the cost of buying disposable pads and tampons every month. Menstrual cups are silicone cups with a small — usually textured — tail that aids in removal. To insert it, you fold the cup into a C shape by flattening it and folding it in half, and slip it into your vagina. I cover mine in lube to ease this process, but I don’t think that’s a common practice. Once it’s in there it’ll pop back to it’s original shape. You want it up against your cervix, so push it up and back towards your spine, and run your finger around the rim to make sure it’s in the right place and has formed a seal. It’s that seal that will prevent leaking. To remove it, grab the tail to pull it down far enough for you to grip the base. Squeeze it to break the seal, and carefully pull it out. Empty the contents into a toilet, sink, or my personal favorite—in the shower. Rinse it out, and pop it back in. 

Perseverance overrules IQ in determining success

BY SABRINA EDWARDS '20

Google “IQ test” and hundreds of online examples of IQ, or intelligence quotient, tests pop up. Even when searching “IQ” questions pop up, like “What is a good IQ?” and “What was Einstein’s IQ?” These searches show modern culture values intelligence and enjoys quantifying it in order to better compare people and their success. However, this concept of IQ comesfrom dubious sources and may not actually determine success, either in the classroom or in the real world.

CDC reveals rapid rise in cases of STDs throughout U.S.

BY HALEY LUCIAN '17

Two weeks ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their 2015 STD Surveillance Report, which details “statistics and trends for sexually transmitted diseases in the United States through 2015.” The principal diseases tracked by the CDC in this report are chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, all of which reached unprecedented levels of incidence in the 2015 United States population.

Learn how to conduct a breast self-exam

BY MEGHA PATEL '20

Performing monthly breast self-exams allows you to familiarize yourself with both the look and the feel of your breasts, helping you to easily recognize any abnormalities when the time comes. According to the nonprofit Breastcancer.org, three-quarters of breast cancer patients have no family history and are therefore not considered high risk, so it is important to check frequently, even if there are no other warning signs. There are several ways to complete a breast self-exam, so feel free to choose which one works best for you.

When should I start thinking about my breast health?

BY SABRINA EDWARDS '20

The number of women diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime in the U.S. has increased steadily from 10 percent in the 1970s to 12.4 percent today, according to the National Cancer Institute. A lifetime is a long time, though; when should women start considering their breast health?

Cart (0)