What You See is a short story about a simple subject: what makes us, us? Are our consciousness linked to intelligence, awareness, or our progression on the evolutionary tree?

If it's the latter, then have our consciousness changed throughout human history? And what about those who come after us?

The current alarm about the coronavirus outbreak in China had again shown us how vulnerable we are to the humblest of creatures. Their success lies in their simplicity: invade, replicate, propagate; and from that leaves a trail of misery in their wake.

Maybe one day we can harness their abilities. But for now, they are not our friend.

​Without segmentation, organisms would lack sophisticated means of movement and complex body structures that enable advanced functions. Segmentation provides the means for an organism to travel and protect its sensitive organs from damage. The ability to divide functions into different portions of the body allows an organism to perform increasingly complex activities and use different segments to perform varying functions.

So the next time you bend down and touch your feet, thank your far-flung, worm-like ancestors for that.

Carbon is the element of life. We've discussed this topic from the viewpoint of biology but how would a chemist look into the life-giving nature of carbon? Biology is basically applied chemistry after all, would a chemist rob biology of the beauty and mystery of life?

​Or would we better understand and realize that everything in this universe is co-dependent on each other?

From our observation of the universe, life is a rare occurrence, and when it exists, a fragile one. The Earth itself had periods of extinction events that nearly turned our little blue planet into a barren death world not unlike Mars.

And we have taken life, including our own, for granted. Last Life of Leaves tells a story of how it is lost and regained, and serves as a warning and reminder to us all.