Kahani

Parea (STEM Column)


Welcome to the Parea section of my blog! Parea is a Greek word that refers to the notion of friends gathering to share their experiences and learn. With this part of the blog, I aim to build community around STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics.

I’ve found that my most memorable learning experiences — whether that be in programming, chemistry, or bioengineering — have come from taking the initiative to explore a topic through content and tutorials online, in the form of blog posts, YouTube videos, and online communities.

While I mainly write about emerging research in biology, engineering, and medicine (I am a biomedical engineering major after all haha), I’ll also share my experiences working on various engineering projects, as well as resources that have helped me dive into STEM subjects.

Things I Wonder as a Biomedical Engineering Student: Can we stop using mice for research?

Things I Wonder as a Biomedical Engineering Student: Can we stop using mice for research?

Sara Devi Jul 24, 2025 5 min read

Recently, I came across this news release from the FDA, where as of April 2025, the agency declared it would be phasing out animal testing for monoclonal antibodies (man-made proteins meant to stimulate the immune system) and other drugs.

Things I Wonder as a Biomedical Engineering Student: How close are we to CRISPR becoming the standard of care? 

Things I Wonder as a Biomedical Engineering Student: How close are we to CRISPR becoming the standard of care? 

Sara Devi Jul 9, 2025 4 min read

I’m writing this post after reading this article from the Harvard Gazette, which discussed how the first personalized gene therapy was developed for a newborn baby with severe CPS1 deficiency, a rare genetic disorder that causes buildup of ammonia in…

Things I Wonder as a Biomedical Engineering Student: Can we engineer the bacteria in our gut to improve human health?

Things I Wonder as a Biomedical Engineering Student: Can we engineer the bacteria in our gut to improve human health?

Sara Devi Jun 16, 2025 5 min read

10¹⁴. It’s a large number – one hundred trillion to be exact. To put that into perspective, one year contains approximately 3.15 × 10⁷ seconds, so to get to 10¹⁴ seconds, that would take about three million years.

Unraveling the Story of Proteins: The Results 

Unraveling the Story of Proteins: The Results 

Sara Devi Jan 2, 2025 7 min read

The result of protein production is probably the most important part of the story, which I started telling in this post. Proteins govern all our body processes, from digestion to oxygen transport. So, what happens when the result – or…

Unraveling the Story of Proteins: The Start

Unraveling the Story of Proteins: The Start

Sara Devi Jul 24, 2024 4 min read

When we think of proteins, a lot of us probably think about eating foods rich in protein – such as meats, fish, and legumes. However, these foods are high in amino acids – the building blocks of proteins.