Author: News
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Researchers discovered placental stem cells that can regenerate heart after heart attack
Back in 2011, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai generated excitement in the cardiology community when they announced they had used placental stem cells to regenerate damaged hearts in pregnant mice. Now, they’ve taken that research a step further, isolating the precise population of cells that can regenerate healthy heart cells…
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Regulating bacteria in the gut may be an effective way to treat the symptoms of anxiety
A review of 21 studies investigating the benefits of regulating gut microbiota on symptoms of anxiety has found that use of probiotic and non-probiotic foods and supplements may help to alleviate symptoms. The NHS describes the feeling of anxiety as one of unease, worry, or fear that may be mild or severe. Anxiety is usually…
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Thinking Through Animals review
It was an uncharacteristically pleasant spring evening as I joined the waiting crowd for the evening’s event, Thinking Through Animals, a discussion panel on what we know about how animals think and behave. As we filed into the venue, I was struck by the relaxed on-stage atmosphere. The speakers for the night sat on a…
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For best results, start early: Healthy meal-prep kits boost children’s long-term ‘health’
CW: Discussion of BMI and health in relation to socio-economic status Your childhood might shape your eating habits more than you know, a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Bath suggests. With poor diet posing a major risk factor for the development of a multitude of disorders, such as…
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Shrimp with cocaine: Surprising pollution in Suffolk waterways
Illicit drugs in their powdered form can end up in all sorts of strange places. For one, we have all heard that banknotes contain traces of cocaine, which was one reason the UK introduced plastic bank notes in 2016. However, according to a recent study from King’s College London in collaboration with the University of…
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A review of 12 years to save the planet Earth
As stated in the Edinburgh Science Festival brochure, “In 2018, top environmental scientists issued a final call to save our planet from catastrophic climate change. They argued that ‘rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society’ are necessary to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.” The…
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Being a woman in science: Changed times?
As part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, the Royal Society of Edinburgh hosted a panel, “Being a Woman in Science: Changed Times?” The panel brought together three very different women, from three very different backgrounds. Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell is an astrophysicist who grew up in Ireland in the 1950s and made a name…
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A Very Short Introduction to Depression review
CW: mental health Jan Scott, a Professor of Psychological Medicine at Newcastle University, and Dr Mary Jane Tacchi, a consultant psychiatrist, make a formidable duo. The former, more outgoing and easily slipping into the role of professor, the latter slightly more introverted and observant but nevertheless an easy complement to her colleague. This duo took…
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Not an easy choice: the science behind humanity’s dark side
Versatile as ever, The Edinburgh International Science Festival provides insights not only into hard sciences like physics and biology, but also into the less discussed and more volatile pockets of research. Such is the case for The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side, a lecture delivered last week by psychologist Dr Julia Shaw, who has spent…
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Crohn’s disease research set to benefit from £1.8m funding boost
Crohn’s disease is a chronic and often debilitating condition that causes inflammation of the digestive system and gut. It leaves sufferers in a constant cycle of relapse and remission of symptoms that include malnutrition, abdominal pain and fatigue. With it affecting at least 115,000 people in the UK alone and up to 80 per cent…