Whether you’re a returning student who spent the last few months avoiding thinking about Fall classes or a freshmang searching desperately for the Social and Behavioral Sciences building, you’re part of an internationally-renowned university making strides on the daily that have brought it to the attention of everyone from your nana to The New York Times.
So here are some baller news updates to kick-start your brain after its successful atrophication:
Dinosaur or the Egg
The evolution of the necessary brainpower to achieve flight occurred much earlier in non-avian dinosaurs than was previously thought, according to “Evolutionary origins of the avian brain,” a study led by Amy Balanoff, a Research Instructor in the Department of Anatomical Sciences, which is a division of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine.
Researchers used computed tomographic (CT) scans to examine the braincases of more than two-dozen specimens.
They found that the evolutionary trait that led to flight was not found exclusively in the earliest known birds, Archaeopteryx, but in several different species whose brains were proportionally larger in comparison to their body mass.
Essentially, if you have a big head don’t worry about it. You could hold the key/mutation necessary for humans to fly.
Around Campus App now available
The Around Campus app is now available to download free of charge. The app provides on-the-go coupons directed towards students on more than 180 campuses nation-wide.
The app provides coupons to both on and off campus businesses, including the Charles B Wang Center, the ironically named barbershop A Kut with Klass, and student favorite, Bagels ‘N’ A Hole Lot More.
Coupons from Around Campus are also available in the 2013-2014 student planner and at AroundCampus.com
Updated CCTV system
The University Police Department has completed its update on SBU’s CCTV system. On top of installing security cameras in many new locations across campus, they have updated the system to include high-definition IP cameras.
UPD states that new cameras have already been used to successfully solve crimes across campus, and that they’re “a great tool for use during large events,” according to the May 2013 UPD newsletter.
Who knows, perhaps UPD will finally be able to catch the hooligan who keeps stealing the gender-specific bathroom signs in the basement of the union.
Inbred Flounder, Aren’t We All?
According to research led by scientists from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, local populations of winter flounder in six bays of Long Island are inbred and the effective number of breeders in each bay now numbers below 500 fish.
The study, “Severe inbreeding and small effective number of breeders in a formerly abundant marine fish,” is one of the first that indicates the occurrence of inbreeding in a marine fish. This condition can lead to lower survival and reproductive rates, along with lower resistance to disease and environmental stress.
It’s pretty much why marrying your cousin is frowned upon in all but 20 states, most of which, surprisingly, are not located in the South. Myth busted, kiddies.
West Side Dining now open!
A full semester behind schedule, West Side Dining opened for students this fall. After a delay, caused in part by a compromised roof after snowstorm Nemo, West Side Dining will serve students from Kelly Quad, Roosevelt Quad and West Apartments, taking over the space where the lower-level Kelly Café used to be and the new building addition.
The new dining facility includes new dining stations, such as Bobs BBQ as well as old stand-bys. West Side will be open from 7am to 3am Monday-Friday, and 8:30am to 3am on weekends during the fall term.
For those worrying that they’ll miss the loud, engorged, neon-orange monster that is Stony Brook’s perpetual construction, fear not! The western-most portion of the building, where the old Kelly Dining used to reside, will be undergoing construction starting this semester and continuing through the school year.
Award-Winning Heart Savior
The Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine was recently awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the American Heart Association (AHA) for his work to improve the heart health of Long Islanders.
James R. Taylor Jr., MD, who is also a professor and Co-Director of Stony Brook University Heart Institute, has been performing cardiothoracic surgery for more than 20 years on Long Island.
He was named one of New York’s “Best Doctors” by New York magazine, and has surgical experience that includes coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, thoracic aortic disease, and minimally invasive cardiac surgery. You could say he’s the go-to.
by Jasmine Haefner and Rebecca Tapio
