Eli Mirek

Today, I would like to share this paper I am proud of that I wrote for my environmental physiology class. We're traveling very far from the Midwest today and exploring Costa Rica. I hope you enjoy this change of pace. Differences and Complexity of Human Interactions with Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii) and Pineapple (Ananas comosus) in Costa Rica By Eli Mirek Costa Rica is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. Home to thousands of species, 27% of land in Costa Rica is...

This week, I am stumped on what to write about. It is midterm season, so I am preoccupied with schoolwork and just have been thinking about other things. I decided to write about a career that I am interested in: forensic entomology. TW: Discussion around death, pictures of bugs and decomposing organisms, mention of physical abuse, rape, murder, and other heinous crimes. Forensic entomology is the study of insects as evidence for crime solving. This includes looking at insect larvae life...

I have been pretty into the idea of apocalypses lately, especially after watching the new Resident Evil (Zach Cregger, 2026) and learning about pathogens in my pathogen genomics class. It seems like fall bring this excitement along every year... (check out my blog on a hypothetical Midwestern apocalypse). When you hear "cordyceps" you probably think of the video game and show, The Last of Us. If you aren't familiar, imagine a zombie-like creature overcome with a brain-altering fungus. Pretty...