Author: EUSci
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Scalable artificial photosynthesis device can produce fuel from sunlight, CO2 and water
A new device developed by a team in Cambridge marks a breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis technology, due to its efficiency and scalability. It converts sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and formic acid. Utilising the greatest renewable energy source available to us – the sun – this technology does not require electricity to power…
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Dissecting BP’s 2050 net-zero carbon pledge
Sami Cheqrouni Espinar examines the credibility of each of the aims outlined by BP to shift its position in a transforming energy sector. On the 12th of February 2020, BP set a company-wide ambition of achieving net-zero emissions by the year 2050. Bernard Looney, the current CEO of BP, stated, “the world’s carbon budget is…
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Reflections on the history of radiocarbon dating
Alice Spaccasassi explores what the history of radiocarbon dating can teach us about how we celebrate and remember scientific discoveries. Few recent discoveries in chemistry have affected as many scientific fields as radiocarbon dating. Archaeologists, geologists, oceanographers and many others use it to determine the age of objects up to 60,000 years old. For reference,…
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Making The Brain: The Role of Mitochondria
Many people have heard the phrase “mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell”, whether as a part of their biology studies at school, or from the various memes on social media. This is said because mitochondria are structures within cells that provide over 90% of the energy needed by the body. These tiny organelles are…
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Coronagenes: A study of the genes behind severe COVID-19
COVID-19 affects individuals in different ways. Some people are asymptomatic whereas others require intensive care; most cases are short lived, but others experience more long term symptoms. The body’s reaction to COVID-19, like most illnesses, is dictated by both environmental and genetic factors. As COVID-19 emerged, environmental risk factors for severe symptoms, such as old…
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The sunscreen of the sea
Coral reefs are one of the most bountiful – and beautiful – ecosystems on the planet. These diverse, underwater rainforests host at least a quarter of all marine life, despite only occupying a tiny fraction of the ocean floor, and provide stability and filtration to our oceans and shores. However, in recent years more and…
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Turning invisible: lessons from cephalopod cells
Ellie Bennett looks at the way in which cephalopod cells might hold the key to turning our dreams of invisibility into a reality, albeit at the cellular level. There are few other classes of animal that conjure up such feverish images of deep-sea monsters or otherworldly aliens than that of the cephalopods. Translating from Greek…
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COVID-19, a disease of the blood vessels?
COVID-19 baffled doctors and scientists around the world with its strange symptoms and disproportionate mortality rates. Months after the onset of the pandemic, researchers may finally be closer to understanding how the disease manifests itself in patients. An important clue lies in the circulatory system. Early on, most COVID-19 patients showed signs and symptoms of…
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Growing evidence for climate change that sparked dawn of dinosaurs
During the Carnian Stage in the late Triassic Period, around 237 to 227 million years ago, three major events occurred: the Wrangellia eruptions, the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), and the emergence and diversification of dinosaurs. The Wrangellia eruptions, which formed the Wrangellia basalt floods in the eastern Panthalassic Ocean, were major tectonic events that caused…
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What can we learn from ye olde medicine?
Ellie Bennett explores how answers to the global problem of antimicrobial resistance, a decidedly modern phenomenon, may lie in the lotions and potions of our ancient predecessors. The Romans gargled urine for mouthwash, the Ancient Egyptians used dung as remedy for, well, everything and Hippocrates diagnosed his patients’ by nibbling on an amuse bouche of…