Curiositas Spring 2025:

Not only do mountain goats live at the top of the world, but they have also adapted to incredibly harsh climates where few other species are found. After spending time with and observing this particular herd, I’ve learned so much about their mannerisms and personalities. The group dynamic is incredibly complex and operates similarly to how humans participate in these dynamics. Every encounter I have with these special animals gives me a deeper awe and appreciation for how capable and resilient they really are. This herd lives in a harsh, rocky, alpine environment that yields little water and lots of temperamental weather. Despite the adverse conditions these animals face, they are able to live up to between fourteen and eighteen years of age. Their adaptations such as guard hairs, leather-like hoof soles, and salty, high-fiber diets allow them to navigate and thrive in an extremely unforgiving environment. These photographs are unique and special to me because of the relationship I’ve been able to cultivate with this herd, and this goat specifically. I am incredibly grateful to have captured this moment and be able to share it with everyone. The storytelling aspect of my photography is a huge part of my mission to share the beautiful places and creatures I find on my adventures to help protect them. Awareness and admiration will hopefully lead to the conservation and preservation of not only these wonderful creatures, but also the environments that they know as home. 

“Laundry Room Jungle” is a fun poem about the difficulties of doing laundry in a college dorm. At face value, it is a good laugh and an easy read. Looking deeper into the writing, readers will see themes of human nature and selfish individualism. I wanted this poem to represent what it feels like going to college as a freshman, surrounded by people who are already familiar with the campus and so engrossed in their day-to-day lives that they have no time to entertain newcomers.

 

In Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion, we are presented with a character in the midst of a crisis of identity. Maria, a failed actress in Hollywood, is beset by many of the problems commonly associated with a rising star in the industry. A reliance on drugs, a commodification of the self, and a deteriorating sense of who she is all play into her downward spiral. Yet when we examine the reason that Maria lacks an actualized sense of self, the reader is presented with a paradox. If we take the words of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan to be true, then language serves to create a filter through which a subject is distanced from the true nature of the world. They are placed into the symbolic order, a realm of socially constructed understanding that shapes the way we interact with the outside world. Our identity is tied to a sense of self that exists within the outside world, separate and unique from others. Yet we see that Maria is driven away from the symbolic order and toward a state of collapse, as the boundaries of her identity are dissolved through language.

Having recently inherited a set of cameras and film from a great uncle, Ray Wilmot (1923–1993), this work, Ghosts of the Landscapes, works to explore more about the life of a family member that I was unable to meet, having been born 11 years after his death. Ray Wilmot was an avid photographer, who pursued photography throughout his adult life until he was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis (MS) about 10 years before his death. This led him to leave his cameras and film sitting for the rest of his life, along with them sitting for 30 years beyond his death. I embarked on the journey of developing the film Ray had never been able to see and after studying them I chose to visit Livingston, Montana and photograph the landscapes my great uncle once photographed. The landscapes of Livingston were photographed on expired film that once belonged to my great uncle using his cameras. By collaging the prints from the found film and the new landscapes and using the equipment he had used, I have worked to combine the past and present, allowing myself to build a stronger connection to my family.

This paper explores Indigenous knowledge suppression as a form of epistemic violence and injustice. Through examination of the residential schooling system, I demonstrate how forced assimilation practices, such as language suppression and erasure, severed important epistemic ties for Indigenous children. Drawing on Gayatri Spivak’s account of epistemic violence and Miranda Fricker’s literature on epistemic injustice, I argue that colonial boarding schools incited epistemic violence which gave rise to testimonial and hermeneutical injustices. Furthermore, I critically analyze modern forms of reconciliation, declaring that such efforts fail to adequately address ongoing harms faced by Indigenous peoples. Instead, they perpetuate systemic oppression and epistemic injustice, thereby diminishing Indigenous testimonies in the modern era. Finally, I engage with José Medina’s recognition philosophy to assert the need for a radical shift in the process of recognition as a step towards sufficiently managing epistemic harms.

While the English language’s ability to describe love and attraction has grown immensely in the past two centuries, many identities have struggled to find a place within the system of sexuality. Those who experience a lack of sexual or romantic attraction often find themselves within a linguistic limbo, lacking the distinction of a name while still facing very real barriers to communication within their relationships. The mainstream language surrounding meaningful human connection places an emphasis on sex and romance, failing to acknowledge the important relationships that can exist outside these two concepts as anything other than “friendship.” In rebellion of this invisibility, new vocabulary has been developed to better describe non-normative bonds and orientations. This essay follows the language of love and attraction from the late 1800s to present, highlighting aromantic and asexual perspectives and illustrating just how powerful a name can be.

Many bacteria and archaea possess Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins, forming a CRISPR-Cas system that defends against viral infection. These microbes incorporate fragments of viral DNA as spacers between short DNA repeats, then transcribe these regions of alternating spacers and repeat units into guide RNA (gRNA) sequences that form complexes with Cas proteins. Upon subsequent viral attack, the gRNA sequences bind regions of complementary viral DNA, and the Cas proteins act as endonucleases, cleaving the DNA to curb the infection. The CRISPR-Cas system has been adapted into a gene editing technology, but viruses have evolved anti-CRISPR proteins to inhibit Cas proteins. There are many known anti-CRISPR proteins and they utilize different strategies to achieve the inhibition. However, no anti-CRISPR proteins have been described for the recently discovered group of transposon-encoded IS200/IS605 proteins known as IscB endonucleases, which are likely ancestors of the RNA-guided endonuclease Cas9. Our goal was to design artificial inhibitor proteins and assess their influence on the function of the IscB endonuclease.

In vivo metabolic labeling in animal models is difficult and poorly described in method papers. This is an underutilized technique when it comes to identifying important metabolic components. In this paper we describe a detailed up to date protocol for metabolic administration of metabolites into mice. This protocol is designed to make these procedures more available to the research community. This methodology can be utilized for delivery for other compounds such as drugs and isotopes. The primary focus of this review is to emphasize that jugular catheterization is a versatile and effective way of studying the effects of compounds on the entire body.

Rory Rossi has always been awed by the natural world and the history of this planet and has dreamed of being a paleontologist since he was very young. He came to Montana State University to pursue this lifelong passion. Rory is an undergraduate student in the Department of Earth Sciences, with a focus on paleontology. Under the guidance of his mentors, he is researching duck-billed dinosaurs at the Museum of the Rockies. Over the course of his undergraduate education he has been able to participate in research opportunities and international conferences, sharing his work with the larger paleontology community. He continues to overcome various challenges and believes in being open about his experiences in order to encourage and inspire future generations.

 

“Space Drifters” is a poem that describes two beings wandering the galaxy together, possibly after a catastrophic event destroyed their planet. Space is lonely, but these entities hold on to each other, spiraling together like the double helix of DNA. Rather than succumbing to the darkness, the beings find beauty in their drifting. The imagery attempts to capture the glory of the universe—stars, planets, swirling masses of color. Ultimately, the universe is not uncaring. It guides the couple, illuminating the path to new beginnings. Together, the space travelers will transform into a new planet, a home for life to start again.

This investigation examines spatial correlations between hard-rock mining, granitic bedrock stratigraphy, and stream contamination across three HUC8 sub-watersheds in central Montana. Using GIS methodologies and datasets from MBMG, DEQ, and USGS, I analyzed the geospatial relationships between abandoned mining sites and contaminated waterways, focusing on lead contamination. The analysis incorporated hydrologic mapping, elevation analysis, and strategic overlays of geological formations with mining sites. Results revealed that of 1,258 abandoned mines, 60.7% are situated within granitic formations. The study identified streams with lead concentrations exceeding the EPA’s 15 μg/L threshold, with 512 mining sites located within 0.6 miles of contaminated streams—a significant distance for potential contamination through runoff and acid-mine drainage. Five predominant metal contaminants were identified: lead, copper, aluminum, iron, and arsenic. While spatial analysis alone cannot establish causation, findings demonstrate an intriguing association between mining in granitic terrains and lead contamination in nearby fluvial systems. This research contributes to understanding mining impacts on watersheds and provides insights for remediation strategies. Future research could explore specific mechanisms between mining activities and pathways of contamination.

This review examines the neurobiology of rapid eye movement sleep and non-rapid eye movement sleep as it relates to mental health. The review aims to highlight the importance of sleep health in treating mental illness and discusses how sleep stages broadly impact mood, emotion, and memory. Materials were gathered throughout the sourcing of various research in the MSU Sleep and Development Lab. Results indicate a great level of complexity between the frequency and duration of brainwaves in the sleep-wake cycle. The neurobiology also suggests the need for a larger emphasis on sleep as a potential avenue for understanding and treating a variety of mental health conditions.