Author: News
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The Microbiome: Can New Sequencing Techniques Fast Track Therapeutic Discovery?
A true staple of modern pop-science, the age-old nature vs nurture debate is the bread and butter for many. However, what the Dawkins-clutching masses may not be aware of is that our bodies have a further phenotypic control mechanism. One which, quite frankly, is a little bit gross. The human microbiome or microbiota is the…
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SpaceX’s new Starship builds hopes for Mars missions
Recently, Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, laid out his plans for the company’s new Starship and Super Heavy booster projects to reach orbit within the next six months. Their current aim is to get the rocket and booster to orbit the Earth as well as complete missions to the Moon and Mars. In the longer…
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A tale of two wildfires: the Amazon Rainforest and the Congo Basin
When NASA released satellite imaging of the Brazil forest fires on the 24th August, it quickly became apparent that Brazil was not the only country set alight. The image, taken from NASA’s Terra Satellite, displays red bands of fire in Brazil, around Bolivia’s border with Brazil and a large band across Central Africa. Emerging from…
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Sperm in space: The sexual politics of space travel
A recent discovery about the survivability of sperm cells in space has strong implications about the future of space travel. It may be women, not men, who colonise other planets. This presents a tremendous opportunity for female astronauts, but it may also represent an ideological step back in our goal for equality among the sexes.…