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Yasemin Saplakoglu

Yasemin Saplakoglu

Staff Writer

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Illustration of a snail climbing on a mirror, showing the opposite spiral of its shell in the reflection.
origins of life

Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
September 6, 2023
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The preferred “handedness” of biomolecules could have emerged from biased interactions between electrons and magnetic surfaces, new research suggests.

Illustration of a bacterial cell in mid-fission. Its threads of DNA and other internal molecules are divided between the cells. A constriction on the midline marks where the daughter cells are splitting.
evolution

Even Synthetic Life Forms With a Tiny Genome Can Evolve

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
August 9, 2023
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By watching “minimal” cells regain the fitness they lost, researchers are testing whether a genome can be too simple to evolve.

developmental biology

Why Insect Memories May Not Survive Metamorphosis

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
July 26, 2023
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The reshuffling of neurons during fruit fly metamorphosis suggests that larval memories don’t persist in adults.

Illustration of a brain surrounded by castle walls that keep out blood vessels.
explainers

How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
June 20, 2023
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To buffer the brain against menaces in the blood, a dynamic, multi-tiered system of protection is built into the brain’s blood vessels.

A person stares at a thought bubble.
cognition

Is It Real or Imagined? How Your Brain Tells the Difference.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 24, 2023
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New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by checking whether they cross a “reality threshold.”

An illustrated human figure with memories of a blue flower looks out at the world and is more attuned to seeing other blue flowers.
memory

Memories Help Brains Recognize New Events Worth Remembering

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 17, 2023
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Memories may affect how well the brain will learn about future events by shifting our perceptions of the world.

A female Bolivian squirrel monkey with a baby on its back, walking across a suspended rope ladder. A third money crouches behind it.
evolution

Animal Mutation Rates Reveal Traits That Speed Evolution

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 5, 2023
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The first large-scale comparison of mutation rates gives insights into how quickly species can evolve.

microbiome

Global Microbiome Study Gives New View of Shared Health Risks

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
March 14, 2023
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The most comprehensive survey of how we share our microbiomes suggests a new way of thinking about the risks of developing some diseases that aren’t usually considered contagious.

An illustration of a plate of spaghetti with big virus particles instead of meatballs.
microbiology

With Nothing to Eat Except Viruses, Some Microbes Thrive

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
February 21, 2023
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“Virovores” — organisms that survive and multiply by eating viruses — might influence the flow of energy through ecosystems.


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About the author

Yasemin is a staff writer covering biology for Quanta Magazine. Previously, she reported for three years on a wide range of fields for Live Science, with extensive coverage of neuroscience, health and COVID-19. She has also written for Scientific American and the San Jose Mercury News. She holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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