Author: News
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Is mind and behaviour recognition going too far? A paranoid analysis
Hey Siri, Alexa, Google, Echo, et cetera – these greetings have become normal to listen to on a day-to-day basis. You can hear them on the street or even while using a virtual assistant at home. These technologies to control our devices by just using a voice-command are here to help us. We can order…
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Research reveals how the body can detect cancerous cells
Cancer is a group of diseases characterised by excessive cell division due to DNA damage, and can afflict many different cell types. Mutations often arise in genes involved in cell growth and survival, which makes cancer difficult to target and treat. However, the field of cancer therapy is moving forward at a swift pace, thanks…
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Video GP appointments: The new alternative to face-to-face consultations
A pilot study conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with the Universities of Warwick and Exeter has suggested that video consultations with a GP could be an alternative to face-to-face GP visits. This is a particularly contentious issue in most areas of work, as new technology is often used as a…
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Multiple sclerosis: Pinpointing risk factors
Because Scotland is of the countries with the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, many Scottish researchers are trying to figure out how it develops and working towards new treatments. A research group based at the University of Edinburgh has just published a new Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register (SMSR) in the Journal…
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Will we be changed? The dark possibilities of gay conversion therapy
Brexit Party MP Ann Widdecombe has received a lot of negative press recently for comments she made regarding gay conversion therapyin an interview with Sky magazine. Gay conversion therapy is a dark and antiquated practice that suppresses individual identity and often causes irreperable damage to mental health. Widdecombe claimed that science may “produce an answer”…
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Functional neurological disorder: Investigating an invisible illness
Loretta had been hoping for a promotion. Instead, she woke up one morning to find that her entire left side, from her face to her leg, had stopped working. A&E suspected she’d had a stroke, but a battery of tests revealed nothing. Six weeks later, Loretta was still housebound. “I would have some days that…
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Book review: The Making of You by Katherina Vestre
It is often said that the nine-month long construction of a new little human is one of life’s great miracles. However, in the same breath, we are perhaps also a little guilty of taking this extraordinary feat of biology for granted. Katherina Vestre’s book The Making of You: A Journey from Cell to Human pulls…
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Early melting of snow in the Arctic drives advancing springtime
New research indicates that spring snow melt, and to a lesser extent temperature, are key drivers of the timing of spring in the Arctic. These findings, from studies of plants from coastal sites around the Arctic, are important for understanding and documenting how the region is responding to climate change. The Arctic is warming more…
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Dog DNA could aid quest to help breeds breathe more easily
If you have ever taken a stroll through a popular dog park, you will have seen this classic sight. A dog owner strides purposefully ahead while their pug or french bulldog struggles to keep up, a cacophony of snorts, grunts and wheezes. These noises are part of the awkward, bumbling nature of pugs and bulldogs…
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Can eating insects save the world?
If you had asked an average UK citizen before the 1970’s to try a bite of raw fish, you’d have been met with a strange look. And yet, today sushi is widely popular all over the UK, Europe, and the United States. Like anything else, food trends come in and out of fashion, and there…