Natural Sciences & Mathematics – Williams Undergraduate Research Journal

The Effect of School Funding Inequality on Student Achievement Using Causal Inference Methods

By Elijah Tamarchenko Introduction Income inequality in the U.S is currently at an all time high and actively increasing, which in turn is causing an increase in the inequality in public school funding (Boustan et al., 2013). In the 1960’s Coleman (1968) published the Coleman report, a massive research pa per which found that factors…

Opioid System for Depression

By: Yuichi Fukunaga Targeting the Endogenous Opioid System for Depression Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent psychopathologies in the United States: the lifetime prevalence is approximately 12% for men and 20% for women (Kessler et al., 2003). Clinical depression is characterized by persistent depressive moods, and MDD patients exhibit symptoms…

The Promise of Psilocybin: Psilocybin as a Treatment Modality for Depression

By: Mukund Nair 1. Introduction 1.1 Psilocybin Throughout history, humankind has sought to make sense of life in a variety of creative ways. It should come as no surprise then that psychedelics, with their capability to induce hallucinations, ecstasy, and other mind-expanding states of consciousness, are on this list. (Vollenweider and Kometer, 2010). Used…

Human Exposure to Bisphenol A from Landfill Leachate-Contaminated Water

By: Gwyn Chilcoat Introduction Landfills are the preeminent mechanism for waste disposal in much of the world. Landfills compare favorably to other waste disposal methods such as dumping or incineration from a public health perspective, but their human health implications still warrant concern. It is near-impossible to generalize about the health consequences of landfills…