Author: Ben Block (Ben Block)

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CRISPR: more than a drawer in your refrigerator

The world’s worst diseases and ailments may finally have cures. The life sciences recently discovered the ability to alter the human genome, the very entity that encodes our humanity, in order to eliminate disease, mutations, and potentially engineer the perfect human. Originally identified in the immune systems of single-celled organisms, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats...

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‘The Last of Us’ marks new era of story-driven games

Joel and Ellie barely survived the initial ambush. Cornered and outnumbered, the duo’s only chance of survival was for me to steer them through it. Out of ammunition, I was in for a hell of a fight. I am not a ‘gamer.’ Occasionally, I play “Call of Duty”or “Battlefield” with friends, but “The Last of...

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Write that novel this month, NaNoWriMo

“For fall break I just stayed here and wrote 10,000 words in two days,” said Chandler Ryd, a freshman from Colorado. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has come to Hillsdale. A small number of authors will spend the month writing novels with the goal of reaching at least 50,000 words. Writers meet for at least...

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Hillcats to perform faculty jazz recital

The HillCats –– the Hillsdale College Faculty Jazz Ensemble –– will be performing this Friday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. in Phillips Auditorium. No tickets are required, and the event is free to all who wish to attend. The ensemble will be playing the music of Billy Strayhorn, a famous jazz pianist and composer who...

City officials prepare for November elections
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City officials prepare for November elections

On Nov. 5, Hillsdale residents will hit the ballot boxes at the public library in order to elect a mayor, four city council wards, city treasurer, and a city clerk. The current mayor, Doug Moon, is not running for reelection. Scott Sessions and Brian Watkins are contending for the position, who currently represent ward I...