Re: Life / On viruses, shadowing, and...jellyfish?

My life condensed into variably interesting posts on the internet

Background image courtesy of Substack

Welcome to Re: Life 👋 !

I’m Aaryan - currently a sophomore at Stanford diving headfirst into a world of biology, hardware, and mild sleep deprivation.

You just stumbled on the weird corner of the internet where I chronicle my life. In every post, I share three quick updates from my life, two links to noodle on, and one idea to reflect on for the week.

Let’s begin.

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🎬 Three Speedy Updates 🎬

// As many of you know, I just wrapped up my most ambitious research project yet, where I discovered and named three new viruses. After more than a year of steady effort, it felt really rewarding to finally share these findings with the public.

I’m also aware how many of you offered your support for my latest article. Seeing all your kind words meant a lot to me, and I promise to use it as fuel to power even more meaningful science. Thanks, everyone!

// Over the past weeks, I shadowed my lab’s principal investigator, Dr. Paul Bollyky, at Stanford Medicine’s Infectious Disease department.

Standing in front of Edwards Building (Stanford’s old hospital) after a long day

As someone who’s always wanted to be a scientist, it was humbling just how much my trips to the hospital grounded me in my research. In the end, walking the halls, reviewing charts, and meeting patients taught me things I never would have learned at the bench.

// Still mopping up the unsightly aftermath of my latest research sprint (i.e. a giant pile of homework). In the meantime, I’m practicing Japanese with friends and rediscovering my favorite spots on campus.

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🎉 Two Links to Think 🎉

The “Neural Networks” of Comb Jellyfish
Recent evidence suggests that primitive brains may have emerged independently across many different animals.

Paging Dr. Barnes
Perhaps the most well-narrated (and disturbing) crime podcast I’ve listened to.

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🧠 One Interesting Idea 🧠

I’m not religious, but this line from the Bible found its way into my brain:

“The tongue has the power of life and death”

Perhaps it’s obvious, but it’s obviously true.

Much of your destiny boils down to the words you say and how you say them.

How intentional are you?

Best,
Aaryan

P.S. Shoutout to John Bailey, who I recently reconnected with on campus and is probably one of the most interesting, humble people I’ve met. John, thanks for reading Re: Life and being such an inspiring friend!

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