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Jason McGavin ’12 observes the organic balls that seem to be bleeding dye into the surrounding liquid. But what caused the destruction? In this microscopic game of Space Invaders, it is the destructive entity that is the aggressor: piscidins, a type of bacteria-killing protein found in fish. McGavin is looking at two specific piscidins and attempting to relate their destructive function to their chemical structure.

Rapidly becoming a cult classic, Mean Girls gives its viewers more than a wildly entertaining movie experience: it offers a front row seat to the effects of relational aggression. Initially thought to be present mostly in middle- and high-school girls, relational aggression has been found in almost all demographics. Working under Professors of Psychology Gregory Pierce and Penny Yee, Liz Chapin ’12, Carolyn Dopp ’11 and Danielle Mortorano ’12 have been testing new ways to measure relational aggression.

A trip to the emergency room can be a harrowing and frustrating experience, especially given the rising cost of medical care. In cities such as Bhaktapur, Nepal, many people lack the funds to receive necessary medical care. With support from a Jeffrey Fund for Science Internship, Tenzing Lama ’13 is working with doctors and nurses at Siddhi Memorial Hospital that provides much-needed medical care at low costs.

Located only 10 miles from Hamilton’s campus, Utica often seems a world away. The city is riddled with concerns of unemployment, environmentalism and historical preservation. Kevin Alexander '13 is the first Levitt Center-funded Rust to Green Civic Research Fellow and is dividing his time between an internship with the Rust to Green initiative and a research project with Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology George Hobor.

The Facebook group “Stand with Youth, Call for Obama's Leadership toward Bold Climate Action,” currently has 22,112 members. But how many of them called the White House in preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference? Activists who give their support but contribute little else are called slacktivists and are increasingly common with the growth of the Internet. Emily Gerston ’11, who received a Levitt grant, is learning how the Internet has affected political participation.

The summer is always a busy time for construction on the Hill. Among many other projects around the campus such as repaired lights and ceilings, coated decks, replaced doors and constructed parking lots, the Sadove Student Center at Emerson Hall is  complete. The crew opened the hall’s doors to the public on July 26. An official dedication will take place during Fallcoming weekend, Oct. 7-10.

Watching a Bollywood film in India is more like a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show than a typical American viewing experience. Viewers participate: they yell, dance and sing along during the three-hour spectacle. But for Kirkland Summer Research Associate Jori Belkin ’11, her interest extends far beyond the theater; Belkin is researching the role and perception of women in Bollywood films.

When viewing our existence from a molecular level, one miniscule change can have enormous repercussions. Carbon dioxide, for example, is the natural waste product of our respiration; but carbon monoxide is toxic to us when inhaled. Similarly, a molecule’s orientation can also affect the way the body processes it. This summer, Cara Vennari ’12 is working under Associate Professor of Chemistry Ian Rosenstein to expand ring molecules that have three carbon atoms in them to contain five.

The Presidential Fellows Program, sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), encourages students to think about the U.S. president's role, and this past year Andrew Steele ’10 was the first fellow from Hamilton.

After our trash leaves our hands, we in the U.S. like to pretend it no longer exists. But to people in Mokattam, an informal settlement just outside Cairo, Egypt, sorting and recycling garbage is essential to their livelihood. Working with Assistant Professor of Government Peter Cannavo, Caitlin O’Dowd ’12 was awarded an Emerson grant to investigate the relationship between the waste system and social justice in Mokattam.