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Issue 2 & Member Applications Now Available!
Our second and final issue of Frontiers Volume 4 is now published! Read the articles online below, or find them…
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Volume 4 Issue 1 Out Now!
Dear Reader, Frontiers Magazine attempts to tell stories about health. We reframe dialogues, current events, and ideas so that the…
The Matter of the Heart
As medicine becomes increasingly specialized, it is more important than ever to train medical students to not only be competent but caring physicians. Nevertheless, many medical ethics courses continue to tend towards presenting impersonal, austere case studies that prioritize taking action and immediate decision making over seeing the patient as first and foremost, a person…
The Great Debate: Genetically Modified Organisms
Much of the food we eat today is not at all similar to the food our ancestors ate. Much of what we consume has been genetically altered. Through the combination of biotechnology, genetic engineering, and computer engineering techniques, the range of possible DNA products is greatly increased, thus allowing scientists to change the genetic composition…
Eye-Spy a Concussion
Playing professional football is a dream many aspire towards but few succeed to achieve. After being signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2015, NFL wide receiver Adrian Coxson had his big chance. Unfortunately, his dream suddenly came crashing down as soon as it began. After suffering a concussion during training camp,…
What Happens Now?
You wake up on the ground with blurry vision and feeling nauseous. The last thing you remember is going up for a header – a routine play in a routine match. The trainer runs onto the field and asks some standard questions. “What’s the score? Which half is it now? Did the team win the…
What’s Burning: The Reach of Wildfires
The air is thick and stifling. Flames leap up the trees and tear through dry brush, fueling them further, and smoke plumes rise high above. This imagery is is likely familiar to most by now, seared into minds with its constant presence in national news and Smokey Bear ads. But days later, and hundreds or…
To Modify or Not to Modify?: Environmental Effects of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Remember the last time a mosquito landed on you? While to most people this is a minor inconvenience, to others it is an immense medical threat. According to a 2014 report published by the World Health Organization, 3.4 billion people in the world are at risk for malaria and 2.5 billion for dengue, illustrating the…
Dignity in Death: End-Of-Life Planning Disparity As An Ethical Dilemma
People have wondered what it would be like to face the unimaginable: hearing a physician read off a hopeless list of test results, being forced to make an inconceivable decision regarding intubation and life support, while questioning what their beloved friend or family member would have wanted. Health providers often avoid and families often put…
The Quest for Global Surgery: Advances and Challenges
Surgery is an integral component of health systems for all countries at all levels of development. It is required across all disease categories, at all stages of life and within all levels of care, from prevention to palliation. In the absence of surgical care, even easily treatable conditions may become fatal. Obstructed labour may result…
Heart and Soul
With what seems to be an endless midterm season, I often find myself dragging my feet to Olin library, the only place I’ll ever get my work done. As soon as I settle into my chair, I put in my earphones and turn on my Spotify playlist. Looking around my surroundings, I see that my…
Of Microbes and Men
In the last several decades, many diseases have become less deadly. Prostate cancer as a cause of death has decreased by seven percent, heart disease by eleven percent, and stroke by sixteen. The fatality of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), on the other hand, has increased by 123 percent. Affecting nearly six million individuals and amassing nearly…